Quanzhou Gaojia Opera

 

(Interview)

Wang Qiongfen - Inheritor of Gaojia Opera

00:01 (Mandarin) "Falling off could be inelegant. Too heavy on the feet. Alas, haha, well, that's not elegant, skip it."

 

(Voiceover)

00:17 Wang Qiongfen is the inheritor of Gaojia opera. She loves performing on stage. Now she teaches Gaojia opera in art school.

 

(Interview)

Wang Qiongfen - Inheritor of Gaojia Opera

00:28 (Mandarin) "When I was little, I had no idea about what Gaojiaxi is. Later on, I heard the Opera Troupe here was enrolling new students. And I came simply because I thought I could sing and dance thereafter. At that time, life was difficult in my family. It was rare to have merely one bowl of rice per day. Once becoming the student of the Troupe, I would be offered two bowls of rice per day, which I felt so happy about."

 

Wang Qiongfen - Inheritor of Gaojia Opera

01:02  (Mandarin) "Shall I ask them to do backward bending?"

Students

(Mandarin) "Oh,No. Xiaoqing can do it for us, well, come."

Wang Qiongfen - Inheritor of Gaojia Opera

(Mandarin) "Well, come."

 

(Interview)

Wang Qiongfen - Inheritor of Gaojia Opera

01:17 (Mandarin) "Frankly speaking, it was very tough to practice everyday in the Troupe. But at that time, I felt it much better than the life at home. Gradually, I fell in love with my work."

 

Students:

01:33 (Mandarin) "Hold the heels, hold the heels."

 

Wang Qiongfen - Inheritor of Gaojia Opera

01:43 (Mandarin) "Umm, hold on. Ok, back to stand. You have to practice like this from very young age. Some are naturally flexible while the others are not and feel it more difficult. So you're not flexible. Then you have to make extra efforts. And so is she. You should be flexible then."

 

(Interview)

Wang Qiongfen - Inheritor of Gaojia Opera

02:15 (Mandarin) "For me, I think the word 'enthusiastic' is even far from describing my love for Gaojiaxi. Personally, it's sort of infatuation. Now I'm retired and focus on teaching. Leaving the stage makes me feel sad and lost because I'm infatuated about my career, not just enthusiastic. Therefore, when taking about my life on the stage being over, I feel very sorrow."

 

02:50 "Gaojiaxi is my life. Either happiness, or sufferings, or the up and down in my personal life, is all experienced from my career. When I felt suffered, Gaojiaxi made me happy by relieving my sufferings. Cause once I stepped on the stage, I totally forgot all the worries and sufferings."

 

(Voiceover)

03:30 Gaojia opera originated in Quanzhou, Fujian. It is the most widely spread opera in the Minnan area.

 

03:48 The art school has a performance in local elementary school today. Children love the opera and laugh a lot.

 

(Interview)

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

04:22 (Mandarin) "When I just began the life in the troupe, the first and second year were for basic training, which was tough. My hand was broken during practicing. It was tough."

 

Reporter

04:40  (Mandarin) "What kind of performance tonight?"

 

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

(Mandarin) "The Artistic History of Gaojiaxi, which was performed in Beijing."

 

(Voiceover)

04:48 Gaojia opera is a form of Chinese opera popular in Fujian province. It is famous for its various chou, or clown roles. The form emerged at the end of the Ming Dynasty. It was originally an improvised form that was part of a religious parade. It then developed into Songjiang drama, which featured acrobatics and a relatively simple plot. In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, it absorbed the influences of Hui opera, Beijing opera, and Yiyang music. All music accompanying Gaojia opera is in the style of southern China, and is also influenced by Liyuan opera.

 

(Interview)

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

05:31 (Mandarin) "I'm interested in Gaojiaxi. So my heart made me stay."

 

(Voiceover)

05:42 Song Junquan is the lead clown performer tonight, in the famous new Gaojia opera - Jade Chain.

 

(Interview)

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

05:51 (Mandarin) "The garments?"

Actor of Gaojia Opera:

"In 201 and 202 (case number)."

 

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

06:14  (Mandarin) "The performance tonight is the "Poshanchou" in Gaojiaxi, which has been developed through integrating the role of "Chou" with the arts of marionettes."

 

Reporter

06:36  (Mandarin) "How many performances do you have per week?"

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

(Mandarin) "About 4 rounds, in different towns and villages. Because there're 24 towns and villages in Anxi and I need to make the tour around all of them."

 

Reporter

06:59 (Mandarin) "What do you parents think about your work?"

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

(Mandarin) "They think it is good. They always attend if I have the performance nearby."

 

Reporter

07:09 (Mandarin) "They're proud of you."

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

(Mandarin) "I think so."

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

(Mandarin) "How long do you think you would stay on the stage, until retire age?"

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

(Mandarin) "I think so. Maybe at my 60s?"

 

(Voiceover)

07:34 Gaojia Opera uses Southern Music for its scores. The music is also influenced by Liyuan Opera - another local form. The tenor of the music varies according to the role of the singer onstage. It can be bold and unconstrained, fine and smooth or lively and lighthearted.

 

08:07 Gaojia Opera has particularly good female (dan) and clown (chou) roles. The dancing of the clown is an imitation of puppets, and can be very funny indeed.

 

(Interview)

Song Junquan - Actor of Gaojia Opera

08:35 (Mandarin) "Some of my classmates left for doing their own business or other work. But I've never thought of doing other business. Some of them have made big fortune and have bright future. But I've never thought about those things."

 

(Voiceover)

09:14 Since the 1950s, Gaojia has developed fast. It is very popular in South Fujian, Taiwan and areas of southeast Asia where Minnan language is spoken. There are Gaojia troupes spread all over South Fujian.

 

09:42 The troupe has been invited to perform all around China. One of the five local forms of opera, Gaojia has been newly recognized by the government as part of China's cultural heritage.