Revolutionary opera
Encyclopedia
Revolutionary opera refers to the model operas (Simplified/Traditional Chinese: 样板戏/樣板戲) planned and engineered during the Cultural Revolution
by Jiang Qing
, the wife of Chairman Mao Zedong
. As Communist Party-sanctioned operas, they were considered "revolutionary" and modern in terms of thematic and musical features when compared with traditional operas.
In total, eight revolutionary operas were made, and, according to some sources, they were the only forms of artistic expression allowed in China at the time. Traditional Beijing opera was considered "feudalistic and bourgeois," and was banned. The operas were made in accordance with Mao's provision that "art must serve the interests of the workers, peasants, and soldiers and must conform to proletarian ideology." The limited number of operas (8) thus led to the coinage of the term Eight Model Operas (ba'ge)
The operas are often taken as paradigmatic of the Party-dominated art of the Cultural Revolution, and have been condemned as an aesthetic and cultural aberration.
After 1969 several other model operas were produced, including Azalea Mountain, Ode to the Dragon River, Battle in the Plains, and Bay of Panshi, following the original model in content and form. However it was the above (bulleted) eight plays that were most commonly played.
The new revolutionary theatrical forms were praised as "shining victories" of the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong Thought. An article published in the Red Flag journal under a pen name stated, "The glorious achievement of revolutionary operas marked a revolution in art by the proletariat. It is the major component of our country's proletarian cultural revolution. . . . In the series of revolutionary model operas nurtured by beloved Comrade Jiang Qing, the image of proletarian heroes is established; the stage that has been controlled by landlords and representatives of the bourgeoisie for the past thousand years is now gone. The real master of history has entered the field of art and started a new era in the history of art".
The "Eight model plays" were the most famous of the few opera
s and ballet
s that were permitted during the Cultural Revolution
in China (1966-1976). They all have communist or revolutionary themes.
The official versions of the opera
s were all Beijing opera
s and were produced by either the China Beijing Opera House or Shanghai Beijing Opera House, although many of them were subsequently adapted to local provincial types of operas. The ballets were produced by either the Central Ballet Troupe or Shanghai Ballet Troupe.
In addition to the traditional format of Beijing opera
, The Legend of the Red Lantern
was adapted to a piano-accompanied cantata
by the pianist Yin Chengzong
, which was basically a cycle of arias excerpted from the opera. And Shajiabang was musically expanded to a symphony with a full Western orchestra, a format similar to the ninth symphony of Beethoven
.
Toward the end of the Cultural Revolution
, the ballet Red Detachment of Women was adapted to a Beijing opera, and the Beijing opera The Azalea Mountain was adapted to a ballet, but they did not have a chance to become as popular as their earlier versions, and the ballet version of The Azalea Mountain never got officially released.
Although these works bear unmistakable political overtones of the time when they were created, they nonetheless had significant artistic values, and for this reason, some of the works remain popular even today, over thirty years after the Cultural Revolution.
The three most popular Beijing opera
s are The Legend of the Red Lantern
, Shajiabang, and Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
. And the ballet that still shows a considerable vitality today is the Red Detachment of Women
, the one that was presented to Richard Nixon
, President of the United States
, who visited China in 1972, seven years before the normalization of the Sino-US relationship
. This performance was reenacted in a slightly surreal form in John Adams
's opera Nixon in China
(1985-87).
The eight model plays were the subject of the 2005 documentary film Yangbanxi, The Eight Model Works.
Unlike European opera, which was essentially entertainment for the elite, modern Beijing opera had become a popular political art. Many ordinary Chinese citizens were familiar with the arias in these model operas and would sing them at home or on the streets.
Author Huo Wang, a citizen in China at the time, wrote in 1998 in reference to the cultural revolution era: "Model operas are the only art form left in the whole of China. You cannot escape from listening to them. You hear them every time you turn on the radio. You hear them from loudspeakers every time you go outside"
In her book Red Azalea, Anchee Min
describes her personal experiences with Mao's didactic creation, the revolutionary opera. She became a fan initially because there were not many other forms of diversion. ‘Entertainment was a 'dirty bourgeois word', but the revolutionary operas were supposed to be something else, "a proletarian statement." To love or not to love the operas was a serious political attitude, Min writes, and "meant to be or not to be a revolutionary."
For a decade the same eight operas were taught on radio and in school, and were promoted by neighborhood organizations. Min writes:
According to Liu Kang from Duke University
:
Beijing opera
Ballet
Beijing opera
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
by Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
, the wife of Chairman Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
. As Communist Party-sanctioned operas, they were considered "revolutionary" and modern in terms of thematic and musical features when compared with traditional operas.
In total, eight revolutionary operas were made, and, according to some sources, they were the only forms of artistic expression allowed in China at the time. Traditional Beijing opera was considered "feudalistic and bourgeois," and was banned. The operas were made in accordance with Mao's provision that "art must serve the interests of the workers, peasants, and soldiers and must conform to proletarian ideology." The limited number of operas (8) thus led to the coinage of the term Eight Model Operas (ba'ge)
The operas are often taken as paradigmatic of the Party-dominated art of the Cultural Revolution, and have been condemned as an aesthetic and cultural aberration.
Origin
Jiang Qing was the chief advocate and engineer of the transformation from traditional opera to revolutionary opera, and chose the Beijing opera as her "laboratory experimentation" for accomplishing this radical change in theater art. Traditional Beijing opera was revolutionized in both form and content. Eight yangbanxi (样板戏/樣板戲), or model operas, were produced in the first three years of the Cultural Revolution. They consisted of:- six modern operas:
- The Red Lantern (simplified/traditional Chinese: 红灯记/紅燈記)
- Shajia Village (沙家浜)
- Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategies (智取威虎山)
- Raid on the White Tiger Regiment (奇袭白虎团/奇襲白虎團)
- Praise of Dragon River (龙江颂/龍江頌)
- On the Dock (海港)
- and two ballets:
- Red Detachment of Women (红色娘子军/紅色娘子軍)
- White-Haired Girl (白毛女)
After 1969 several other model operas were produced, including Azalea Mountain, Ode to the Dragon River, Battle in the Plains, and Bay of Panshi, following the original model in content and form. However it was the above (bulleted) eight plays that were most commonly played.
The new revolutionary theatrical forms were praised as "shining victories" of the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong Thought. An article published in the Red Flag journal under a pen name stated, "The glorious achievement of revolutionary operas marked a revolution in art by the proletariat. It is the major component of our country's proletarian cultural revolution. . . . In the series of revolutionary model operas nurtured by beloved Comrade Jiang Qing, the image of proletarian heroes is established; the stage that has been controlled by landlords and representatives of the bourgeoisie for the past thousand years is now gone. The real master of history has entered the field of art and started a new era in the history of art".
Eight model plays
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
s that were permitted during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
in China (1966-1976). They all have communist or revolutionary themes.
The official versions of the opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s were all Beijing opera
Beijing opera
Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
s and were produced by either the China Beijing Opera House or Shanghai Beijing Opera House, although many of them were subsequently adapted to local provincial types of operas. The ballets were produced by either the Central Ballet Troupe or Shanghai Ballet Troupe.
In addition to the traditional format of Beijing opera
Beijing opera
Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
, The Legend of the Red Lantern
The Legend of the Red Lantern
The Legend of the Red Lantern is one of the Eight model plays, the only operas and ballets permitted during the Cultural Revolution in China. The official version was that of a Beijing Opera...
was adapted to a piano-accompanied cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
by the pianist Yin Chengzong
Yin Chengzong
Yin Chengzong is a Chinese pianist and composer.-Biography:Born on the "Piano Island" of Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, Fujian, in the People's Republic of China...
, which was basically a cycle of arias excerpted from the opera. And Shajiabang was musically expanded to a symphony with a full Western orchestra, a format similar to the ninth symphony of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
.
Toward the end of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, the ballet Red Detachment of Women was adapted to a Beijing opera, and the Beijing opera The Azalea Mountain was adapted to a ballet, but they did not have a chance to become as popular as their earlier versions, and the ballet version of The Azalea Mountain never got officially released.
Although these works bear unmistakable political overtones of the time when they were created, they nonetheless had significant artistic values, and for this reason, some of the works remain popular even today, over thirty years after the Cultural Revolution.
The three most popular Beijing opera
Beijing opera
Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
s are The Legend of the Red Lantern
The Legend of the Red Lantern
The Legend of the Red Lantern is one of the Eight model plays, the only operas and ballets permitted during the Cultural Revolution in China. The official version was that of a Beijing Opera...
, Shajiabang, and Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy is a Beijing opera, and one of the eight model plays allowed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution...
. And the ballet that still shows a considerable vitality today is the Red Detachment of Women
Red Detachment of Women
The Red Detachment of Women is the title of a novel as well as two films and a ballet, both of the latter are based on the novel. This article is about the ballet....
, the one that was presented to Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, who visited China in 1972, seven years before the normalization of the Sino-US relationship
Sino-American relations
For the article on U.S.-Taiwan relations, see Republic of China – United States relations.Sino-American or People's Republic of China–United States relations refers to international relations between the United States of America and the government of People's Republic of China...
. This performance was reenacted in a slightly surreal form in John Adams
John Coolidge Adams
John Coolidge Adams is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer with strong roots in minimalism. His best-known works include Short Ride in a Fast Machine , On the Transmigration of Souls , a choral piece commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks , and Shaker...
's opera Nixon in China
Nixon in China (opera)
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by the 1972 visit to China by US President Richard Nixon. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with...
(1985-87).
The eight model plays were the subject of the 2005 documentary film Yangbanxi, The Eight Model Works.
Deployment in China
Model operas were performed on stages, broadcast on the radio, made into films, and sung by millions. They were the only available theatrical entertainment for 800 million people, the entire population of China at the time.Unlike European opera, which was essentially entertainment for the elite, modern Beijing opera had become a popular political art. Many ordinary Chinese citizens were familiar with the arias in these model operas and would sing them at home or on the streets.
Author Huo Wang, a citizen in China at the time, wrote in 1998 in reference to the cultural revolution era: "Model operas are the only art form left in the whole of China. You cannot escape from listening to them. You hear them every time you turn on the radio. You hear them from loudspeakers every time you go outside"
In her book Red Azalea, Anchee Min
Anchee Min
Anchee Min is a Chinese-American painter, photographer, musician, and author who lives in San Francisco and Shanghai...
describes her personal experiences with Mao's didactic creation, the revolutionary opera. She became a fan initially because there were not many other forms of diversion. ‘Entertainment was a 'dirty bourgeois word', but the revolutionary operas were supposed to be something else, "a proletarian statement." To love or not to love the operas was a serious political attitude, Min writes, and "meant to be or not to be a revolutionary."
For a decade the same eight operas were taught on radio and in school, and were promoted by neighborhood organizations. Min writes:
"I listened to the operas when I ate, walked and slept. I grew up with the operas. they became my cells. I decorated the porch with posters of my favorite opera heroines. I sang the operas wherever I went. My mother heard me singing in my dreams; she said that I was preserved by the operas. It was true. I could not go on a day without listening to the operas. I pasted my ear close to the radio, figuring out the singer's breaths. I imitated her. The aria was called 'I won't quit the battle until all the beasts are killed.' It was sung by Iron Plum a teenage character in an opera called The Red Lantern. I would not stop singing the aria until my vocal cords hurt. I went on pushing my voice to its highest pitch. I was able to recite all the librettos..."
Modern repackaging
Some of the eight model revolutionary operas have been scrubbed clean of their political baggage and sent on tours around the world.According to Liu Kang from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
:
During a 1996 North American tour, the China Central Ballet repeatedly performed The Red Detachment of Women as its grand finale, which caused postmodern audiences in Los Angeles and New York to marvel at the opera's innovative multipositionality and hybridity, in which revolutionary ideologies, exotic nativist music and dances of the Li ethnic minority on Hainan Island, and high European styles and modalities coalesce in a neo-Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk.
Beijing operaBeijing operaPeking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
s
- The Legend of the Red LanternThe Legend of the Red LanternThe Legend of the Red Lantern is one of the Eight model plays, the only operas and ballets permitted during the Cultural Revolution in China. The official version was that of a Beijing Opera...
(红灯记) - Shajiabang (Former official English title: Shachiapang)
- Taking Tiger Mountain by StrategyTaking Tiger Mountain by StrategyTaking Tiger Mountain by Strategy is a Beijing opera, and one of the eight model plays allowed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution...
(智取威虎山) - Sweeping the White Tiger Regiment
- The Harbor (Official English title: On the Docks)
BalletBalletBallet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
s
- The White Haired GirlThe White Haired GirlThe White-Haired Girl is a Chinese opera, ballet, by Yan Jinxuan to a Chinese libretto. The first opera performance was in 1945, with Wang Kun playing the lead role. The film was made in 1950. The first Beijing opera performance was in 1958. The first ballet performance was by Shanghai Dance...
(白毛女) - Red Detachment of Women (ballet) (红色娘子军)
Beijing operaBeijing operaPeking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
s
- The Azalea Mountain
- Song of the Dragon River
- The Warfare on the Plain
- Panshiwan
- Red Detachment of WomenRed Detachment of WomenThe Red Detachment of Women is the title of a novel as well as two films and a ballet, both of the latter are based on the novel. This article is about the ballet....
See also
- Propaganda in the People's Republic of ChinaPropaganda in the People's Republic of ChinaPropaganda in the People's Republic of China as interpreted in Western media refers to the Communist Party of China's use of propaganda to sway public and international opinion in favor of its policies. Domestically, this includes censorship of proscribed views and an active cultivation of views...
- List of campaigns of the Communist Party of China
External links
- chinapage.com
- IMDB entry for Yangbanxi, The Eight Model Works
- Slant Magazine Film Review of Yangbanxi: The Eight Model Works by Keith Uhlich
- Stephan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages, "Model Operas"http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/ybx.html
- Excerpt of revolutionary opera from The Guardian