越女天下白 越音天下?lián)P

汪正浩 婁少峰

越劇，這朵江南之花，在紹興嵊州孕育誕生，憑借真切細膩的表演、委婉動聽的唱腔、優(yōu)美抒情的風(fēng)格走紅九州大地、五湖四海，名聲遠揚，成為中華戲曲百花園中的一朵奇葩，受到萬千戲迷的追捧。

越劇，既是嵊州的金名片，也是浙江的金名片，更是江南文化的典型代表。

越劇何以擁有如此吸引人的魅力？用越劇《何文秀》里的一句起腔“隨我來”，為大家在此慢慢展開百年越劇的絢麗畫卷。

剡溪清清 唱書聲聲

在浙江東部，一個四山環(huán)抱的小城——嵊州，剡溪穿城而過。嵊州古稱剡縣，北宋時改稱嵊縣。這里素有“東南山水越為最，越地風(fēng)光剡領(lǐng)先”之美譽，“書圣”王羲之愛慕剡中山水而晚年隱居終老嵊州金庭，謝靈運、李白、杜甫、朱熹、陸游、戴逵等歷代文人墨客，多次來嵊游歷，留下不少詠剡佳句和訪剡遺跡。

在魏晉遺風(fēng)等影響下，此地佛道信仰普遍，廟會活動盛行，各種佛道音樂豐富。依存于廟會的民間藝術(shù)、佛教音樂、民俗文化豐富多彩;流傳于民間的生活小曲、山鄉(xiāng)茶歌、田間小調(diào)十分普遍。

歷朝歷代的文化滋養(yǎng)，使此地產(chǎn)生了很多“草木才子”“陰司秀才”，即民間所謂識文斷字的能人，與元朝時的書會才人相仿佛。清朝中后期，在嵊縣甘霖鎮(zhèn)馬塘村一帶，出現(xiàn)了一些能夠應(yīng)景編詞進行田頭歌唱的村民。其中有個叫金其炳的，把平時人們唱的山歌、和尚唱的宣卷調(diào)念佛曲、老祖宗的工尺譜合起來，弄了句“四工上合尺”襯著，自創(chuàng)了“四工合調(diào)”，使田頭歌唱更為順口動聽。

當(dāng)時，嵊縣常遭遇旱澇災(zāi)害。災(zāi)后，為討生活，在金其炳的帶領(lǐng)下，一些唱書藝人沿門唱書，去富裕人家換些米面年糕。其后，參與唱書的藝人越來越多，他們逐漸走出剡溪兩岸，走向杭嘉湖等富庶地方。藝人金芝堂更走進了茶樓，使沿門唱書成為了“走臺書”。在相互交流競爭中，落地唱書的技藝更臻完善，流傳也更為廣泛。但這畢竟只是一種曲藝形式，有很多內(nèi)心的表達顯得捉襟見肘，難以完成。

漸漸地，一種不滿足的種子在其中萌發(fā)了，越劇就在這樣的土壤里悄悄地長成了胚胎。

“小歌班、吊腳板”

時時光終于流轉(zhuǎn)到了1906年的清明節(jié)前后。數(shù)十年之后，經(jīng)過推算，這個重要日子被定格在3月27日。

當(dāng)時，一批在外地唱書的藝人回家祭祖，事后聚在香火堂前講外面分角色唱書的故事。鄉(xiāng)親們一聽來了勁，“既然能分角色唱書，何不扮起來唱戲？”這不經(jīng)意的吆喝，想不到成了落地唱書走上舞臺的動員令。于是，先在家鄉(xiāng)登臺演戲的計劃在香火堂前孕育而生。

農(nóng)歷三月初三（1906年3月27日），李世泉、李茂正等邀請了高炳火、錢景松、袁福生、金世根、俞柏松、高金燦等，組成演出班子，用四只稻桶墊底，上鋪門板搭成舞臺，用鵝蛋粉當(dāng)水粉，大紅紙蘸水代胭脂，鍋底灰畫眉毛，穿用基本符合角色的服裝（官服是借廟里的菩薩蟒袍），走上稻桶臺，唱著“呤嗄調(diào)”，演出了《倪鳳扇茶》《十件頭》和大戲《雙金花》。越劇就這樣在稻桶上呱呱誕生。當(dāng)時稱“小歌班”。小歌班演出時沒絲弦、無鑼鼓，只有鼓板敲擊發(fā)出“的的篤篤”聲，很多地方的人們稱它為“的篤班”。因為演的多是家庭倫理、情愛故事，深受群眾歡迎，稱之為“小歌班、吊腳板”，意思是看了小歌班就忘記吃飯干活，走不動路了。嵊縣唱書藝人紛紛效仿，一時間就涌現(xiàn)200多副戲班，都是男子演出，演出范圍從嵊縣擴大到滬、杭、甬、紹。1917年，小歌班藝人袁生木等首闖上海。1920年，一座專供越劇演出的戲院——升平歌舞臺拔地而起，越劇從此在上海打開了局面。

1923年，越劇發(fā)展的河流出現(xiàn)了一個奇特的轉(zhuǎn)彎。一個叫王金水的商人從上?；氐搅酸涌h甘霖鎮(zhèn)的施家岙村。他受京戲髦兒班在演出市場吃香的啟發(fā)，心想要是能弄出個小歌班髦兒班，一定會很賺錢。于是他重金聘請“廂房老虎”金榮水擔(dān)任主教師傅，招收了施銀花、趙瑞花、屠杏花等50多個女孩，女子越劇的第一副科班由此誕生。

越劇柔美的基因由此注入，如同剡溪之水，從此波動起婉約的柔光。良臣公祠里戲臺兩邊的對聯(lián)這樣寫道：“一彈流水再彈月，半入江風(fēng)半入云”，與臺上臺下女孩子們的唱念做打，形成了無比和諧的畫面。

立足上海 海納百川

無無論從演出市場來說，還是從藝術(shù)提升來說，嵊縣已經(jīng)無法容納如雨后春筍般發(fā)展起來的女子越劇科班了?！八募敬嚎瓢唷薄案呱枧_”……紛紛走出嵊縣，奔向上海灘。在上海，不同階段有了不同的名字，比如開始叫“小歌班”、“的篤班”，因小歌班不擅武戲、文戲較多，又被稱為“紹興文戲”，也有的稱為“嵊劇”“剡劇”等等。

從1938年始，越劇的演出中心從浙江移到上海。此時男班漸趨衰落，被女班所取代，自此越劇進入女子越劇時期。至1941年，上海的女班多至36個。在上海，越劇在保持鄉(xiāng)野質(zhì)樸本質(zhì)的同時，開始呈現(xiàn)出吐故納新、海納百川的新貌。

1938年，“越劇皇后”姚水娟率先邁出了越劇改良的步伐。她請原《大公報》記者樊迪民為自己編寫新戲《花木蘭代父從軍》。越劇從此有了自已的專職編劇。至1942年9月，越劇用了4年左右的時間完成了從農(nóng)村傳統(tǒng)文化向城市現(xiàn)代文化的轉(zhuǎn)變，這一階段被稱為“女子改良文戲”階段。

1942年10月，袁雪芬聘請了一批文化界的有識之士，開始了有別于之前女子越劇的改革，建立了具有現(xiàn)代戲曲理念的編、導(dǎo)、演、音、美體制，創(chuàng)造了“尺調(diào)”，女子越劇進入“新越劇”階段。根據(jù)魯迅作品《祝?！犯木幍摹断榱稚返难莩?，成為“新越劇的里程碑”，它標(biāo)志著越劇進入了一個嶄新的階段，并促使劇種更加深入發(fā)展。1944年，尹桂芳等投入創(chuàng)造“新越劇”的行列。不久，上海的主要越劇團都加入了這個行列。

1947年，袁雪芬、尹桂芳、范瑞娟、傅全香、徐玉蘭、竺水招、筱丹桂、張桂鳳、徐天紅、吳小樓等越劇名伶聯(lián)合義演《山河戀》，一時轟動上海，成為越劇史上的壯舉，這十位越劇名伶被媒體稱為“越劇十姐妹”。這次事件，使得越劇以群體形象展現(xiàn)在人們面前。經(jīng)過大上海的洗禮，越劇已經(jīng)不再是剡溪之畔那個質(zhì)樸的鄉(xiāng)間丫頭，而蛻變成為清秀靈動、鶯聲嚦嚦的城市姑娘。

花開全國 走向世界

1949年10月1日，新中國成立的偉大聲音從天安門城樓發(fā)出，激蕩全世界。在天安門觀禮的人群中，就有越劇界的代表，她就是時年27歲的越劇表演藝術(shù)家——袁雪芬。

以袁雪芬為代表的越劇人，由衷地感受到了黨對于越劇人的關(guān)懷，他們把無限的熱情投入到越劇事業(yè)發(fā)展中去。在越劇鼎盛時期，全國20多個省市都有專業(yè)越劇團，全國擁有200多個專業(yè)越劇團。其間，新的劇目大量涌現(xiàn)，藝人群芳斗艷，各種流派唱腔相繼形成。

質(zhì)樸自然風(fēng)格的領(lǐng)頭羊是袁派，緊隨其后的是王派、戚派。袁派由袁雪芬創(chuàng)立。袁雪芬不追求曲調(diào)的花哨，而注重以情帶聲，以真情實感和潤腔韻味扣人心弦。袁派影響很大，戚雅仙、呂瑞英、金采風(fēng)、張云霞都師承袁派而后自成一家。王派唱腔善于表現(xiàn)壓抑、纏綿的感情，長于塑造情感細膩、熱情奔放且性格執(zhí)著的人物形象。戚雅仙標(biāo)志性的中低音，讓這個流派在各流派中極具辨識度。

典雅華麗風(fēng)格的代表是傅派。傅派由傅全香創(chuàng)立。傅全香她大膽學(xué)習(xí)吸收了美聲唱法的發(fā)聲技巧，實行真假聲結(jié)合，被譽為“越劇界的花腔女高音”。

婉轉(zhuǎn)悠然風(fēng)格的代表是張派。張派由張云霞創(chuàng)立。張派既繼承了袁派的質(zhì)樸委婉細膩，又融入傅派的俏麗多變。唱腔旋律性強，起伏較大，小腔豐富，變化靈活。

激情活力風(fēng)格的代表是呂派。呂派由呂瑞英創(chuàng)立。曲調(diào)的高低起伏，中高音區(qū)的俏麗小腔，切分音型的運用、板式快慢和節(jié)奏張弛的鮮明對比，這些都是呂派的顯著特征。

端莊聰慧風(fēng)格的代表是金派。金派由金采風(fēng)創(chuàng)立。她的嗓音明亮、音色甜美，抑揚頓挫的念白具有音樂性，自然流暢而不張揚，秀婉而凸顯棱角。

如果說旦行流派中還有承轉(zhuǎn)起合，那么生行流派真的是個性鮮明。

紳士的尹派。尹派由尹桂芳創(chuàng)立。尹派唱腔委婉纏綿中帶著灑脫深沉，純樸雋永中含著清新舒展，以柔為主、柔中寓剛。

性情的范派。范派由范瑞娟創(chuàng)立。范派唱腔音域?qū)挘善鸱?，曲調(diào)顯得華彩而有氣派，具有陽剛之美。

率真的徐派 。徐派由徐玉蘭創(chuàng)立。徐派唱腔旋律多在中高音區(qū)展開，音調(diào)大起大落，顯得高亢激昂，熱情奔放。

清新的陸派。陸派由陸錦花創(chuàng)立。陸派唱腔清純高雅，舒展灑脫，音調(diào)樸實流暢，運腔松弛而大方。

最明朗的畢派。畢派由畢春芳創(chuàng)立。畢派唱腔剛健有力，明朗豪放，具有一種粗獷的男性特點。

蒼勁的張派。 張派由張桂鳳創(chuàng)立。張派剛健質(zhì)樸，蒼勁持重，富于感情。

越劇不僅形成了風(fēng)格各異的流派特色，還在劇目、音樂、舞美、服裝等方面形成了自己獨特的風(fēng)格，在中國360多種地方戲曲中，越劇展現(xiàn)出了獨樹一幟的美麗光芒。

越劇不但走向了全國，還在黨和國家領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的關(guān)懷下走向了世界。1954年，周恩來總理帶著越劇《梁山伯與祝英臺》來到了日內(nèi)瓦，“東方的羅密歐和朱麗葉”“中國歌劇”開始在世界人民中傳揚。從此，越劇的花朵開向了世界。

改革開放以來，越劇又一次煥發(fā)了青春，“小百花”現(xiàn)象成為世人矚目的文化現(xiàn)象。茅威濤、董柯娣、何英、何賽飛、方雪雯、陳輝玲等都脫穎而出。紹興小百花的吳鳳花、陳飛、吳素英等也以文武兼長受到觀眾歡迎。上海則培養(yǎng)了趙志剛、錢惠麗、單仰萍、王志萍、陳穎、方亞芬、肖雅、韓婷婷、金靜等優(yōu)秀青年演員。福建芳華越劇團則培養(yǎng)了王君安、李敏、鄭全、陳麗宇等新秀。越劇舞臺在新的時期實現(xiàn)了世紀(jì)交替，重新展現(xiàn)出青春活力。

故鄉(xiāng)情深 傳承有序

嵊州是越劇的故鄉(xiāng)，越劇是嵊州的代名詞，兩者魂牽根連。越劇因嵊州而風(fēng)華，嵊州因越劇而精彩。2004年12月14日，時任浙江省委書記習(xí)近平同志到嵊州視察時說，嵊州文化底蘊深厚，首先是越劇之鄉(xiāng)，聲名遠播，無論在哪里都知道，知道越劇就知道嵊州，要把越劇傳承好、發(fā)揚好，做好越劇這篇文章。如今，“越劇團，團團都有嵊州人;嵊州人，人人都會唱越劇”的越鄉(xiāng)傳統(tǒng)優(yōu)勢得以延續(xù)和發(fā)揚。越劇小鎮(zhèn)、越劇藝校、越劇廣場、越劇城、越劇角等成為越鄉(xiāng)亮麗風(fēng)景。越劇文化生態(tài)保護區(qū)成為沒有圍墻的越劇博物館，讓越劇之鄉(xiāng)文化旅游更加流光溢彩，成為浙江文化旅游的“金名片”。

春風(fēng)十里不如你，因為越劇在這里等你。

Originating in Shengzhou， Shaoxing city， Yueju opera （or Shaoxing opera） was originally a local opera of Zhejiang province. It boasts of a refined style with sincere performance and melodious singing， which in the past century has won over the hearts of theater lovers both in China and from abroad. Indeed， Yueju opera become a “golden card” not only for Shengzhou city， but for Zhejiang as well.

Where does its glamor all come from？

At the east of Zhejiang province lies a small city， surrounded by mountains. Now known as Shengzhou city， in ancient times it was called Shanxian county， where a creek called Shan was meandering through， and was then changed to Shengxian county in North Song （960-1127）. Throughout history， men of letters who admired its natural beauty， including Wang Xizhi （303-361）， Xie Lingyun （385-433）， Li Bai （701-762）， Du Fu （712-770）， Zhu Xi （1130-1200） and Lu You （1125-1210）， to name just a few， had frequented the place， leaving behind memorable calligraphies and poems.

During the Wei and Jin dynasties （220-420）， Shanxian county was heavily influenced by Buddhism. Folk culture focused on Buddhism flourished in various forms， such as temples fairs， Buddhist music， and ballads， which were hummed by villagers wherever they went.

Yet music alone was not enough， especially for those who were more cultured. In middle and late Qing dynasty （1616-1911）， some villagers began to match made-up lyrics to music when they felt like singing in the fields. Among them， a man called Jin Qibing created a tune known as sigong hediao that combined folk songs， Buddhist chanting， and gongchepu， a traditional Chinese musical notation. This came to the aid of some local singers particularly in tough times when disasters like floods and droughts struck， to which Shengxian county was no stranger. Led by Jin， they went door-to-door to sing for richer families， who would give them food in return. As they grew in number， some left Shengxian county for more prosperous places like Hangzhou， Jiaxing， and Huzhou. An artist named Jin Zhitang even made it to the tea house， bringing the new art form to the stage. Although at the time it had been technically improved and thus better received， this artistic tune was more about form—the “flesh” was still lacking. Imperfect as it was， it laid the groundwork for further development of Yueju opera.

In 1906， around the Tomb Sweeping Day， some singers returned home to pay respect to their ancestors. After the ceremony， they gathered in front of the ancestral hall and shared anecdotes about how they role-played while singing stories. Fellow villagers were captivated， “Why dont you guys try this role-play thing with opera？” And they did.

A few days later， on March 27 to be more precise， the very first troupe of Yueju opera was formally established. Wearing borrowed clothes as costumes and colored powders as makeup， these opera singers performed on a makeshift stage—four rice buckets topped by a door plank， backed by nothing but drum clapper. Despite everything， folks loved the performance of the Small Singing Troupe （Xiaogeban）， often finding themselves enchanted by the down-to-earth story telling. Soon it went viral： over 200 troupes came into being overnight （all of which had only male singers initially）， and gradually went beyond Shengzhou to play in Shanghai， Hangzhou， Ningbo， and Shaoxing cities. In 1917， an artist called Yuan Shengmu bravely led his troupe into Shanghai; three years later， a theater specially dedicated to Yueju opera was built， marking the beginning of its glorious journey.

The year 1923 was a significant turning point for Yueju opera—the first all-female troupe appeared. It was initiated by a businessman named Wang Jinshui， who wanted to establish his own female troupe back in Shengxian county after seeing how popular the Peking opera actresses were in Shanghai. Wang enrolled more than 50 girls into his troupe， and hired an established Yueju opera master by the name of Jin Rongshui to mentor them. Since then， Yueju opera has put on a new look that is soft， tender， and graceful.

However， Shengxian county could no longer accommodate the increasing female troupes. By 1938， the center for Yueju opera began to move from Zhejiang to Shanghai， where female troupes were gradually replacing their male counterparts. By the year of 1941， there were as many as 36 female troupes in Shanghai.

In 1938， Yao Shuijuan， known as the “Queen of Yueju Opera”， was among the first to reform the Yueju opera. She invited Fan Dimin， a former reporter with Ta Kung Pao， to write a new script for Miss Hua Mulans Military Legend. From then on， full-time scriptwriters for Yueju opera started to appear. By September 1942， Yueju opera had been fully adapted to the urban cultural settings， gradually moved away from rural areas for the past four years.

In October 1942， Yuan Xuefen， another Yueju opera diva， began her reform in a different way. Together with some cultural experts， she established a holistic system encompassing script-writing， directing， acting， sounding， and stage art， and created a new tune called chidiao， ushering in the so-called New Yueju Opera stage. The staging of Wife of Xiang Lin， an adaptation of Lu Xuns novel New Year Sacrifice， is regarded as a milestone for this period.

In 1947， Memory of My Country was put on as a benefit performance by ten Yueju opera divas， an all-time sensation in Shanghai and a feat to remember in history. The media highly praised those brave young women—Yuan Xuefen， Yin Guifang， Fan Ruijuan， Fu Quanxiang， Xu Yulan， Zhu Shuizhao， Xiao Dangui， Zhang Guifeng， Xu Tianhong， Wu Xiaolou—as “Ten Sisters of Yueju Opera”. From then on， Yueju opera was recognized collectively as a distinctive opera.

It was under the leadership of the Party that Yueju opera gained national popularity. Over 20 provinces and cites set up their own Yueju opera troupes， and altogether there were 200 across the country， when Yueju opera was at its prime. Meanwhile， new plays mushroomed， artists were eager to get up on stage， and different schools of singing style began to form. Among the most influential schools of singing style were Yuan， Wang， and Qi. Established by Yuan Xuefen， Yuan School is characterized by its natural and truthful performance， while Wang School is good at subdued， lingering emotions， and Qi Yaxian， the founder of Qi School， was an iconic mezzo-soprano and alto.

Not only did Yueju opera stand out for its uniqueness in more than 360 kinds of local operas in China， it also shined on the international stage. In 1954， Premier Zhou Enlai took Butterfly Lovers： A Tale of the Chinese Romeo and Juliet to Geneva， putting the Yueju opera under the global spotlight. Later on， thanks to the Reform and Opening-Up， Yueju opera bloomed again： the phenomenal Xiaobaihua Yueju Opera Troupes enjoyed success not only in Hangzhou， Shaoxing， and Shanghai， but all over China. Today， young talents keep emerging， giving Yueju opera renewed vitality.

Shengzhou is blessed to have Yueju opera， just as Yueju opera is blessed to be nurtured by its beautiful hometown. For years， the Shengzhou governments strong commitments have underpinned the inheritance and innovative development of Yueju opera. Thanks to both official and popular support， the century-old melodies of Yueju opera are expected to be sung for generations to come.