2005音乐戏剧回顾

An Overall Review of Musical Dramas in 2005

2005年的严肃音乐创作表演．相对流行音乐更为活跃，不管是民乐还是交响乐，是歌剧还是音乐剧。新的作品与表演层出不穷，其中佳作不少。为免于泛泛而谈。且将话题集中于北京、上海、广州，集中于舞台上演的音乐戏剧，或许对去年音乐舞台剧创作表演的面貌能有所了解。

Both the musicals 'Casablanca' and 'Jinsha' have been composed in the same way,literally the combined form of classical music plus pop music,both being exquisite music productions. But the music of 'Casablanca' is more appropriate,more compact and more mature. The tale of 'Jinsha' is told mainly through the singing of actors. Due to the lack of theatrical content,the singing becomes groundless,and so is the music. Without the support of theatrical conflicts and theatrical climax,the passion of the music thus becomes passion with no basis. The 'Song of the Films' ,a multimedia musical with libretto by Luo Qirui and music by Jonathan Lee,directed by Zhang Wanting,tells a story of a few young people striving persistently for their dream of film. This is also a history of one hundred years' Chinese film industry. The multimedia film finally found a subject of film on the musical stage. The musical was performed at the Poly Theatre in Beijing for one round,but with the same problem of loose plot and inadequate peculiarity, which caused unfavorable criticism from both the Internet and mass media. It seems that almost all the Chinese productions of musical dramas for the year 2005 failed to reach satisfying results. 'Eight Women Die a Martyr' ,a Beijing production of multimedia musical drama,depicts and creates various figures by looking through a silhouette, by building up a setting and by presenting some expression of emotion. Characteristically,it pays no attention to the integrality of the dramatic story, of each character or of the plot,but rather seeks for the touching scenes and songs. Nevertheless,this becomes a problem for this multimedia musical. Another problem is that the musical uses pre-recorded accompaniment tape instead of the usual live performance of an orchestra. How could an opera possibly use accompaniment tape? The Harbin production of the same musical is realized with the same subject matter but with a slightly different story. In comparison with its Beijing production,it is characterized by more realism,more integrity of the story and more traditional music. It is truly an opera production with real acting,real singing and real orchestra. Among the musical plays in 2005, besides the two operas dealing with the subject of the Anti -Japanese War 'Eight Women Die a Martyr' and 'Struggles in the Old-Line City' ,there are also the dance drama 'Nanjing, 1937' and the musical 'Wild Snow' . Another musical 'Zhou Xuan' ,starred by Annie Yi,was premiered at Poly Theatre in mid-May. Unlike this production with the urban subject matter for the past,the two musicals 'Crazy for the Music' presented by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and 'Stars' by the Guangzhou Song and Dance Troupe are modern urban tales. 'The West Street of Yangshuo' ,a production of the Guangxi Provincial Opera and Dance Drama Theatre,may be one with tourism subject,while 'the Little Match Girl' ,a co-production by Shenzhen Bao' an Cultural and Art Centre and Shenzhen Tangren Original Musicals Company,and 'the Ugly Duckling' by Huizhou Song and Dance Troupe,are both based on foreign fairy tales.