Zhu, a lifetime opera performer
By Pan Zhiwei and Xu Wei |
December 26, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
JIADING District Elderly Art Association has been popular among senior citizens in Jiading for a long time, and the association is closely related with the name of Zhu Chenxiao, a famous artist and deputy director of the association.
In Jiading, many people above 50 years old know Zhu from his Xiju Opera performances, as well as his charismatic personality.
In 1959 when the Jiading Xiju Opera Troupe held auditions in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, Zhu, who grew up with Xiju Opera, applied. Then a 16-year-old boy, Zhu began to make the opera an integral part of his life.
During his study at the troupe, he kept practicing every day from 6am to 9pm. He spared no effort in practicing singing, body postures, martial arts and taking lessons in culture and arts. Zhu made his stage debut in the second year.
The troupe had to travel a lot around the country to give performance. It was a grueling task at that time, especially when they traveled by water, sometimes the male members of the troupe had to pull the ship loaded with heavy luggage along the banks of the river. Zhu recalls that they used to have a long walk of around four hours from Malu to Huating. After they arrived, Zhu and his colleagues had only a short time to prepare for the stage.
On summer evenings, the two fuel-burning lamps beside the stage not only lit up the excited faces of the village people, but also attracted numerous small flying insects. The insects swarmed into Zhu's mouth every time he started singing.
When Zhu entered the troupe, he was one of more than 40 young people. But only a dozen of them ended up staying because of the difficult conditions.
"Though at that time people were very poor, traditional opera was still very popular," Zhu says. "Each performance attracted at least 3,000 people. Sometime the number of the audience could be over 7,000."
The more people attending his performance, the more devoted he was on the stage. Owing to his beautiful vocal and clear pronunciation, Zhu rose to big fame at the Yangtze River Delta region in a few years.
In the late 1980s, Jiading Xiju Opera Troupe was dismissed because of the competition from TV and other media platforms. Zhu started to change his role from a performer to a back stage organizer for the elderly cultural and arts troupes.
Volunteering
A group of retired people have answered to Zhu's call to form a voluntary performing team of traditional Chinese operas. Some of them used to be Zhu's colleagues at the Xiju Opera Troupe while others are culture and art enthusiasts. Every year they present 150 opera performances for the elderly audiences in the local community and nursing homes. Their shows have attracted around 45,000 old people, which accounts for one-third of all the elderly people of Jiading District.
Most of the programs offered by the amateur performing team are amusing and impressive. Sometimes the audience is plunged into the story. On September 20 when the team was staging the Xiju Opera "The Luminous Pearl," a granny couldn't help running onto the stage telling the maltreated "mother-in-law" of the play to sue her "daughter-in-law." Each time Zhu and his team finish the performance, the aged audience would ask them when they will come back. Their words make Zhu and his colleagues feel encouraged and warm.
The performers have received no payment for their work in the community. Instead, they need to buy performance costumes and borrow performing props on their own. However, the number of the team members is ever increasing.
"Zhu is a charming person," says Yao Huijuan, the secretary general of Jiading District Elderly Art Association.
Although Zhu seems a little critical about the quality of the performances, he is a thoughtful and caring man in the eyes of each member of the team. His work covers all the trifles for a show, including program arrangement, venue decoration, coordination and hosting. People who know Zhu well say that Zhu usually keeps a low profile despite his title of national second-class actor. Up till now he has kept the habit of getting up early to buy vegetables with the canteen aunties to prepare lunch for the people in the association.
Program innovation is a must to satisfy the audience nowadays. Zhu and his colleagues have put forward many new stage plays including the singing performance "Manage a Wedding," dance performance "Happy Volunteers," comedy sketch show "Quarrels Caused by the Herb Residue" and the Xiju Opera play "Ode to the Red Flag."
Owing to their efforts, the association enjoys a rising fame among the local residents. Over the past years the performing team has received many city-level awards in Yueju Opera, Peking Opera, Huju Opera and Xiju Opera. Some of the plays have been chosen as mass culture performances during the World Expo 2010 Shanghai and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival.
Thanks to the support from all works of life, Zhu and his performing team are now able to stage more classic plays with more lavish scenes. Earlier this year, the team also received a van donation from the West Shanghai Group which makes it more convenient for the team to perform around the city.
Now the association has four branches covering dance, chorus, calligraphy and painting and traditional Chinese opera. More than 400 elderly volunteers have joined the 10 teams. The chorus team also won an award at a singing contest in celebration of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party in China.
Zhu has about 50 years' opera singing experience in Jiading District. Many people have grown up watching his shows. Now Zhu has a large number of fans in the village, local communities and nursing homes for the aged. The warm-hearted villagers love him so much and send him eggs and fresh vegetables to extend their gratitude. In return, Zhu would visits the villagers with gifts. They are just like brothers and sisters in one family.
In Jiading, many people above 50 years old know Zhu from his Xiju Opera performances, as well as his charismatic personality.
In 1959 when the Jiading Xiju Opera Troupe held auditions in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, Zhu, who grew up with Xiju Opera, applied. Then a 16-year-old boy, Zhu began to make the opera an integral part of his life.
During his study at the troupe, he kept practicing every day from 6am to 9pm. He spared no effort in practicing singing, body postures, martial arts and taking lessons in culture and arts. Zhu made his stage debut in the second year.
The troupe had to travel a lot around the country to give performance. It was a grueling task at that time, especially when they traveled by water, sometimes the male members of the troupe had to pull the ship loaded with heavy luggage along the banks of the river. Zhu recalls that they used to have a long walk of around four hours from Malu to Huating. After they arrived, Zhu and his colleagues had only a short time to prepare for the stage.
On summer evenings, the two fuel-burning lamps beside the stage not only lit up the excited faces of the village people, but also attracted numerous small flying insects. The insects swarmed into Zhu's mouth every time he started singing.
When Zhu entered the troupe, he was one of more than 40 young people. But only a dozen of them ended up staying because of the difficult conditions.
"Though at that time people were very poor, traditional opera was still very popular," Zhu says. "Each performance attracted at least 3,000 people. Sometime the number of the audience could be over 7,000."
The more people attending his performance, the more devoted he was on the stage. Owing to his beautiful vocal and clear pronunciation, Zhu rose to big fame at the Yangtze River Delta region in a few years.
In the late 1980s, Jiading Xiju Opera Troupe was dismissed because of the competition from TV and other media platforms. Zhu started to change his role from a performer to a back stage organizer for the elderly cultural and arts troupes.
Volunteering
A group of retired people have answered to Zhu's call to form a voluntary performing team of traditional Chinese operas. Some of them used to be Zhu's colleagues at the Xiju Opera Troupe while others are culture and art enthusiasts. Every year they present 150 opera performances for the elderly audiences in the local community and nursing homes. Their shows have attracted around 45,000 old people, which accounts for one-third of all the elderly people of Jiading District.
Most of the programs offered by the amateur performing team are amusing and impressive. Sometimes the audience is plunged into the story. On September 20 when the team was staging the Xiju Opera "The Luminous Pearl," a granny couldn't help running onto the stage telling the maltreated "mother-in-law" of the play to sue her "daughter-in-law." Each time Zhu and his team finish the performance, the aged audience would ask them when they will come back. Their words make Zhu and his colleagues feel encouraged and warm.
The performers have received no payment for their work in the community. Instead, they need to buy performance costumes and borrow performing props on their own. However, the number of the team members is ever increasing.
"Zhu is a charming person," says Yao Huijuan, the secretary general of Jiading District Elderly Art Association.
Although Zhu seems a little critical about the quality of the performances, he is a thoughtful and caring man in the eyes of each member of the team. His work covers all the trifles for a show, including program arrangement, venue decoration, coordination and hosting. People who know Zhu well say that Zhu usually keeps a low profile despite his title of national second-class actor. Up till now he has kept the habit of getting up early to buy vegetables with the canteen aunties to prepare lunch for the people in the association.
Program innovation is a must to satisfy the audience nowadays. Zhu and his colleagues have put forward many new stage plays including the singing performance "Manage a Wedding," dance performance "Happy Volunteers," comedy sketch show "Quarrels Caused by the Herb Residue" and the Xiju Opera play "Ode to the Red Flag."
Owing to their efforts, the association enjoys a rising fame among the local residents. Over the past years the performing team has received many city-level awards in Yueju Opera, Peking Opera, Huju Opera and Xiju Opera. Some of the plays have been chosen as mass culture performances during the World Expo 2010 Shanghai and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival.
Thanks to the support from all works of life, Zhu and his performing team are now able to stage more classic plays with more lavish scenes. Earlier this year, the team also received a van donation from the West Shanghai Group which makes it more convenient for the team to perform around the city.
Now the association has four branches covering dance, chorus, calligraphy and painting and traditional Chinese opera. More than 400 elderly volunteers have joined the 10 teams. The chorus team also won an award at a singing contest in celebration of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party in China.
Zhu has about 50 years' opera singing experience in Jiading District. Many people have grown up watching his shows. Now Zhu has a large number of fans in the village, local communities and nursing homes for the aged. The warm-hearted villagers love him so much and send him eggs and fresh vegetables to extend their gratitude. In return, Zhu would visits the villagers with gifts. They are just like brothers and sisters in one family.
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