mtl008 Chapter 5 Early Century 3
Chapter 5 Early Century 3
The guests participating in the program included veteran actress Hu Chunxiao, who is 56 years old this year; Guan Zhiyan, a rising star born in the 95s; Song Ying, a soprano singer from the national team; Xia Jie, a newly crowned young film emperor; Ke Qianyu, the dance leader of the boy group "Fly" who became popular after his debut this year; and Liu Yuxi, making a total of six people from three generations.
This program is co-produced by Nanhu TV and tourism bureaus of various provinces. It is broadcast simultaneously in both live and recorded formats. It is broadcast live on Apple Video from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day, and a condensed version is broadcast on Nanhu TV during prime time on weekend evenings.
The first episode of the show was filmed in Beijing. Over three days and two nights, the group visited the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Monument to the People's Heroes. They watched the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square, climbed the Great Wall, learned about the hutong culture, and even watched a play at the theater.
While listening to the opera, Liu Yuxi thought about how opera-style songs had not yet appeared in this world, and how opera culture was gradually declining. Judging from the performance of the six guests, apart from the older Hu Chunxiao and Song Ying who listened with great interest, the others were only somewhat interested at the beginning.
She felt she might be able to bring about some change in the world, after all, good things should be spread more widely. In recent years, due to her inherently lazy nature, she's taken on fewer and fewer roles that interest her. In her free time, she finds professors from various universities to come to her home and train her in various skills that interest her. Being in the entertainment industry, she has also systematically studied composition and arrangement.
She thought of the song "Red-Clad Lament," which she loved very much in her original world. Every time she heard the line "Though lowly in rank, I dare not forget my country's worries," she couldn't help but tear up. While learning composition and arrangement, she also studied singing techniques. Her voice in this life was quite good, and she felt that she could definitely present this song perfectly.
Back at the hotel that evening, she started working on the computer. This song was on her old playlist from her original world computer, and she had listened to it countless times. So, the lyrics came out in no time. Then she started composing the music. Once everything was done, she applied for copyright certification on the copyright website.
The copyright law in this world is quite comprehensive. The next morning, Liu Yuxi separated from the group, saying before leaving that he had a surprise for everyone that afternoon.
She returned to the theater from yesterday, found the troupe leader Wang Dahai, and told him her thoughts. Wang Dahai's family was a family of Peking Opera performers, and he himself loved the profession very much. Otherwise, why would he keep the theater running even though he was losing money every day? He was afraid that if the theater closed down, the few old opera fans in the neighborhood would have nowhere to go to listen to operas.
Upon hearing that it could promote traditional opera, they decided to fully cooperate, distributing the sheet music to the various accompaniment masters and obtaining the necessary instruments from the program team. Liu Yuxi dressed up as a female lead and rehearsed on stage with the masters.
When that line, "In times of chaos, we drift like duckweed, watching the flames of war engulf our land," comes to mind...
Though my position is humble, I dare not forget my duty to the nation.
Even if no one knows me
People walked past, their faces no longer bearing the familiar colors.
When the person on stage came out singing "A Heartbreaking Farewell Song,"
Wang Dahai and others in the audience, along with the crew members following the program, couldn't help but tear up. They realized that traditional opera singing was like this, and that actors could also possess noble ideals. Wang Dahai thought to himself, "Perhaps there's hope for traditional opera!"
To maintain an air of mystery, the production team didn't broadcast Liu Yuxi's voice during the morning's live stream. It wasn't until the other guests had lunch and were brought to the theater that the live stream started.
Not only were the guests confused about why they were in a theater again, but the viewers watching the live stream were also baffled and discussing it amongst themselves, with the barrage of comments so dense that they couldn't even see the people in the chat.
Once the guests were seated, the performance began on stage. The music video, featuring the original world's most beautiful singer, perfectly complemented the story and song. Due to the rushed preparations, Liu Yuxi arranged for a baritone voice to narrate the story.
As the narration began, the guests and viewers fell silent, and then the curtain rose:
"In the first scene of the play, the water sleeves rise and fall."
Singing of joys and sorrows, of partings and reunions, has nothing to do with me.
Fans open and close, gongs and drums sound and then fall silent.
Love in the play, people outside the play—who can say?
Looking at Liu Yuxi on stage, dressed in a black Zhengdan costume, the guests were all discussing, "Is that Liu Yuxi?" and "What song is that?"
When the song reaches the line "Floating duckweed in troubled times, how can I bear to watch the flames of war engulf the mountains and rivers?"
In humble position, I dare not forget to worry about my country
Even if no one knows me
The entire internet fell silent, and the guests' eyes were moist. After all, the patriotism of the Chinese people is ingrained in their bones. Then, the online comments became densely packed.
"What song is this?" "Family, I'm so touched, does anyone know what it is?!" "It's broken!" "My grandpa asked me what song this is?" "Three minutes, I need to know everything about this song!"...
At this moment, a traditional opera tune rang out from the stage:
The audience walked by, their faces no longer bearing the familiar colors.
The person on stage was singing a heartbreaking farewell song.
The word "love" is hard to put into words.
She sang that blood must be shed to win.
The curtain rises, the curtain falls, who is the guest?
Before the guests and audience could even catch their breath, the sounds of opera performance began to drift from backstage:
Deep affection regrets being serious
Looking back, all is an illusion.
Who is on the other side?
To help the guests and audience understand the song's content more intuitively, the production team placed a teleprompter on one side of the stage, leaving the guests and audience completely stunned.
They never knew that traditional opera could be so moving. Various influential figures on Weibo started recording and posting about it, and the trending topics exploded with "Liu Yuxi, a new way of singing traditional opera!" "A new song format!" "A moving song!"
New viewers kept joining the live stream, and the show's director was beaming with joy. Investors were constantly calling, wanting to invest and add advertising slots—things they hadn't even dared to dream of at the beginning of the show. He knew this variety show was a sure thing!
Even after Liu Yuxi's performance ended, the guests were extremely excited, constantly pulling Liu Yuxi aside to ask him all sorts of questions. The online discussion was also very lively. On this day, the "opera style" sung by Liu Yuxi took root and sprouted in this world.
In the live broadcast, Liu Yuxi explained the origins, genres, and characteristics of traditional opera to the guests and audience. He also showcased various exquisite costumes. The best opera costumes are all hand-embroidered, ranging in price from hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan. These exquisite and elaborate costumes once again amazed the guests and audience.
By asking the staff and online audiences about their reactions, Liu Yuxi knew that the promotion of the opera was a success. Wang Dahai's reaction was even more direct, because the theater's information was public due to the live broadcast. Just now, tickets for the next week's worth of the theater had already been pre-sold.
Wang Dahai laughed and cried at the same time, repeatedly saying, "Traditional opera is saved! Traditional opera is saved!" Liu Yuxi could deeply empathize with this profound love, and many intangible cultural heritages have survived because of this kind of love.