Exploration On Fifteen Strings Of Cash Performed By Zhejiang Kun Opera Troupe From The Perspective Of Musical Anthropology

The Kun Opera recovered under the policy of opera reform and the guideline of “all flowers bloom together and the new is brought forth through the old” after the founding of the People’s Republic of China.The adapted version of Fifteen Strings of Cash performed by Zhejiang Kun Opera Troupe in April 1956 caused a stir in the society,with its features like “rich feeling for people,high ideological contents and artistry.” It made Kun Opera sparkle nationwide attention once more,meaning the orchid in the field of traditional Chinese arts started to give out its fragrance.This adaptation emerges as the beginning of the creation and performance of modern Kun Opera.It should be noted that sorting out the history before and after the adaptation of Fifteen Strings of Cash and conducting an all-round study on a list of operas play a vital role in that of following Kun Opera.Admittedly,it is even worthwhile for the whole opera world to learn the experience.This thesis,from the perspective of musical anthropology,studies the artistic production and communication of the Fifteen Strings of Cash performed by Zhejiang Kun Opera as a cultural phenomenon in a certain social and historical circumstance by combining the research methods including musicology,drama,and cultural anthropology,with the opera music,stage performance and script literature in it as research emphases.The all-dimensional and overall illustration and profound exploration are carried out for the personal experience and creation phenomenon of Kun Opera artists and adapters through tracing the macro historical field of this Kun Opera and following with interest in the social factors,such as troupe organizations,groups of playwright,performance sites,and policies of literature and art,under different historical conditions.The specific discussion stretches from six dimensions,namely,“historical traces”,“repertoiretraditions”,“script adaptation”,“design of music for voices in a Chinese opera”,“stage presentation”,and “achievement enlightenment”.The first part is roughly divided into three periods by starting from the historical context of the evolution of Kun Opera and referencing social backgrounds,writer groups,artists’ performances and so forth.The traditional origin of the Fifteen Strings of Cash in the historical process is analyzed via taking Quanfu Troupe,Kun Opera Conservatory and Zhejiang Kun Opera Troupe as the crucial narrative clue.The second part to the fifth part talk about the traditional development and ontological study of the Fifteen Strings of Cash so as to sort out the evolution of source material,the version of musical score and the tradition of performance;and make analyses on such factors of the opera as preparation and performance,and script adaptation.The design of music for voices in a Chinese opera focuses on contrasting the adapted aria with the original musical score to explore its features in music style,melody of type of metre for music in Chinese operas,musical accompaniment and the relationship between tunes and words.Besides,the detailed clarification and summary of characteristics start from actors’ singing,performance,rehearsal and guidance and so on before the formal performance.The fifth part discusses the achievements of the newly-adapted Fifteen Strings of Cash,such as the revival of the troupe and genre of drama,the return of traditional repertoires,and the adaptation of the model,in addition to analyzing the reason for the cultural connotation behind its achievements.According to this paper,First,in terms of the ontological study on the artistic characteristics of the repertoire,the Fifteen Strings of Cash experienced three lucid evolution in the opera’s source materials,maintaining the advantages in both literary talent and the nature of language of Suzhou Opera School.The opera saw a trend that it was performed from all stories to only the highlights.Later,in the period of Chuanzibei,it came out as a new complete opera consisting of classic highlights of operas.The Fifteen Strings of Cash of Zhejiang Kun version was further adapted by taking the structure of operas at this time as a blueprint.In view of the layout of the set,rules and forms of the words,the characteristics of the type ofmetre and the form of the music in the design of music for voices,it is told that the adapted version reduces many number of the original Qupai(the name of tunes),that few numbers of Qupai follow the complete melody arrangement in the ancient tablature,but that most of them keep away from the tradition in the design of the Qupai music and position utilization.All of these made a breakthrough in the restriction of the rules and forms,undermining Kun Opera which is well-known for its fine,precise and highly regularized characteristics.And it also means a historical change of modern Kun Opera,that is,shifting from an elite art to a mass art.When it comes to stage performance,it is not easy for the later generations to transcend the excellent performance of Chuanzibei inheriting the Qianjia style.And some innovations were made by integrating the characteristics of the times.The splendid performance unseen before is the biggest highlight of this opera.Second,the Fifteen Strings of Cash is changing from the perspective of the historical construction.The musical aria,performance program and script structure of this opera are evolving because of these factors such as the spirit of the times,the aesthetic appreciation of the audience,and the change of actors.At the same time,Quanfu Troupe,Zhuangzibei,Xianni Troupe and Zhejiang Kun Opera Troupe have an intergenerational continuity in some ways in order to maintain social relationships.The wisdom of adaptation and Qianjia style of performance which have been inherited by them are the constant factors in the Fifteen Strings of Cash,indicating the interwoven tradition and modernity.The performance carrier of this opera changed from “folk troupe” to “state-owned” troupe.Actors’ social identity also shifted accordingly due to influences of political,economic and literary policies in different periods.Also,in terms of the artistic features presented in the Fifteen Strings of Cash,the adaptation of actors and adapters according to their personal experience in creation,concept and behavior has exerted a non-negligible effect on the development of the opera.Third,the Fifteen Strings of Cash performed by Zhejiang Kun Opera Troupe lets the opera circle know that it is possible to adapt the traditional Kun Opera.Off course,certain historical limitations exist in this adaptation.But it is no doubt that the adaptation plays akey role in the continuity of Kun Opera and acts as a guideline in altering the structure of modern Kun Opera,which are ahead of the times.A good survival environment as a whole represents a driving force for the development of Kun Opera art.In fact,the essential factor for its many times of survival at difficulty times rests on the irreplaceable artistic characteristics of its own.And it is also the eternal driving force for Kun Opera to develop for a long time and even till now.