Sizhou opera

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Sizhou Opera

Applicant: Suzhou City, Anhui Province

Item No.: 206

Project No.: Ⅳ - 62

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Anhui Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Suzhou City, Anhui Province

Protection unit: Sizhou Opera Troupe, Suzhou City, Anhui Province

Introduction to Sizhou Opera:

Applicant: Suzhou City, Anhui Province

Sizhou opera is one of the four major operas in Anhui Province, formerly known as lahunqiang, which is popular on both sides of Huaihe River in Anhui Province. It has a history of more than 200 years. It, Liuqin opera in Shandong Province and Huaihai opera in Jiangsu Province are both developed from "soul pulling opera", and there is a certain blood relationship between them. Many people think that it originated in Haizhou area of Northern Jiangsu Province. It was originally a small play that local farmers improvised with folk tunes such as "Orion tune" and "Taiping song". Later, it spread to Sizhou and absorbed the local folk singing art, forming the "soul pulling tune" Sizhou opera in Anhui Province. Only around 1920 did Sizhou opera have regular troupes and began to enter the city.

There are more than 80 traditional operas in Sizhou opera, and more than 60 kinds of small operas and folding operas. The representative operas are "three curled cold bridge", "Yang Bajie saving brother", "fan Lihua ordering soldiers", "Pi Xiuying Sigao", "big garden", "Luo Xie Ji", "ronghua Ji", "running kiln", "picking up cotton flower", etc. Sizhou opera has a strong randomness of singing, and the actors can play according to their own voice conditions, so it is called "yixindiao". The male tune is bold and bold, high pitched and loud; the female tune is graceful and melodious, with a high octave at the end, bright, pungent and moving soul. Its accompaniment instruments are mainly earth pipa, supplemented by Sanxian, Sheng, erhu, Gaohu, dizi, etc., as well as bangu, gongs, cymbals and gongs.

The roles of Sizhou opera are mainly divided into Dasheng, Laosheng, ertou, xiaotou, Chou and so on. On the basis of rap, Sizhou opera absorbs a large number of folk dance forms, such as "embossing field", "car dance", "dry boat dance", "Lantern Dance" and "running donkey". It is not influenced by the opera program, and has the characteristics of bright, lively, simple, straightforward, vigorous, and full of strong vitality The local flavor of Northern Anhui. There are many unique figures and footwork in the performance, such as four platform angles, whirlwind style, scissors, crane walking, hundred horse battle, changing beams and pillars, swallows plucking mud, embracing the moon in the arms, Phoenix double wings and so on. Actors must pay attention to the coordination and cooperation of hands, eyes, waist, legs, steps and other parts.

Sizhou opera is closely related to the life and customs of the people in Northern Anhui, showing strong regional cultural characteristics. But in recent years, with the rapid development of society, the audience is gradually reduced, the performance is at a loss, and the traditional skills are on the verge of being lost. The survival of Sizhou opera is in crisis, which urgently needs the support of the government and society.