WANG KAI: EMBED BEL CANTO TO THE AGE OF INTERNET

WANG KAI: EMBED BEL CANTO TO THE AGE OF INTERNET

People say that art is both mysterious and prestigious. However, for Wang Kai, Art is not as abstruse and hard to understand as most people believe. Now we are in the age of the internet, karaoke apps and livestream software change not only the way of making music, but also the relationship between the performer and the audience.

Wang Kai believes that it is good for professional Bel Canto singers to put their feet on the ground and join such internet platforms to create new high-quality art experiences.

Text &Photos by/Yang Yin Translations by Tao Wenjia （圖片由受訪者提供）

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Wang Kai, a young tenor singer from the The headquarters of the Army Comrade Dance Ensemble, he studied under famous Chinese tenor singers such as Jin Tielin, Song Yi and Qu Xuexuan. Wang is now a council member of the Chinese Artist Association.

When I met him for an interview one afternoon, Wang waited for me at a distance. He was tall and straight, and from one look, I could see his Tenor-Singeraura. However, after talking to him, I noticed, he was defi nitely not your typical “Tenor Singer”.

Wang believed that the most satisfying music that he made was his take on “O Sole Mio”. “Just like everyone has his own Hamlet, every tenor singer has his own version of 'O Sole Mio'. I tried many different versions of the song, and the most satisfying one is my popular version.” Wang Kai told me. Using modern instruments and rhythm helps bring new life into this classic song, and moves the live audience every time.

People now are more and more in need of arts as the direct outlet for their emotions. In fulfi lling such needs, artists started to attach unique styles on their work. As a result, a variety of different voices have emerged in this fi eld. Wang appreciated such consciousness of innovation. “Arts need constant new ideas: it's the only way to break through. However, innovation does not equal mindless changes. Successful creation needs to fi nd its foundation in classics and showcase the core ideas of classics with alternative means. Such new aesthetic experience is what we should pursue.”

For instance, people always think that the Bel Canto is a high-end art, whereas pop is somewhat a less artistic genre. “As a young singer, I'm constantly considering the question: how to combine Bel Canto with Pop? How to make Bel Canto more 'grounded' so that ordinary people, especially the younger generations will love it?”

Wang has made some very bold moves, but eventually he found out that no matter what kind of innovation, you have to keep the original essence of Bel Canto. We don't need some half-hearted attempts of “Bel Canto pop”. What we need is to add new elements and spirits to Bel Canto. Based on this principle, Wang produced some interesting music that is uniquely his. Upon listening, one can instantly tell that they are Wang's songs.

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In the recent couple of years, “One Belt One Road”became a hot topic in China. For Wang Kai, cultural communication has long since become the pioneer of the “One Belt One Road” strategy.

“My own cultural communication experience was as early as 2004. At the time I was a freshman in college. Because of my outstanding performance, I was lucky to go to Florence, Italy for a short-term exchange. Even though I was quite naive, the cultural communication and clash during that time had a huge impact on me.”

Wang believes that utilising national soft powers of culture and arts is extremely signifi cant during inter-country communications. “Music is the most beautiful language. Music can break through the limits of nationality and language to connect people of different colours. It can serve as the best bridge of cultural communication. It is not only my wish, but also my duty to become a cultural messenger for my country”.

After his exchange in Italy, Wang visited New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Russia, Italy, France and Kazakhstan with national leaders. “It is my hope to sing my songs in every corner of the world so everyone can enjoy the charms of Chinese music and culture.”

王凱把美聲嵌入“互聯網+”時代

很多人說藝術是一座閃耀的金字塔，神秘而崇高。但在王凱看來，它并沒有那么深奧和難以理解。現在，社會全面進入“互聯網+”，諸如“唱吧”“全民K歌”等唱歌App和手機直播軟件，改變了音樂的模式，也改變了演出者與受眾的關系。

王凱覺得專業美聲歌手可以邁開步子，放下身段，積極加入這些平臺，創作出高水準、高質量的新藝術體驗。

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王凱是陸軍總部戰友文工團青年男高音歌唱家，師從于金鐵霖、宋一、曲學選，是中國藝術家協會理事。采訪的下午，他站在不遠處等我，高大偉岸的身材，軒昂的氣質，一眼望去就是高音歌唱家范兒。

但與他聊過之后，我發現他又不完全是刻板印象中的那種“高音歌唱家”。

學習聲樂至今，王凱說他最滿意的是他獨特演繹的《我的太陽》。“正如每個人心中都有一個哈姆雷特，在每個男高音心中，也都有一個《我的太陽》。我改編過很多個版本，最后最讓我驕傲的是流行版本的《我的太陽》。”王凱說。用現代的配器和節奏賦予這首老歌新的生命力，每次演唱這首歌都能讓現場的觀眾感受到熱情，獲得經久不息的掌聲。

現代人越來越需要用藝術作為直接表達情緒的出口。在這種需求下，藝術工作者們開始關注個性風格，藝術領域出現了很多不同于傳統的聲音。王凱說，自己很欣賞這種創新意識。“藝術需要不斷迸發新的靈感，才能有新的突破。不過‘創新'不等同于毫無章法地‘另類'，成功的‘創新'一定要基于尊重傳統、尊重藝術的基礎之上，使其中的精神內涵以富有特色的方式呈現和升華，這樣創造出來的新的審美趣味，才會更具個性，更具風格。”

比如，我們常常會聽到這種說法——美聲唱法是“陽春白雪”，流行唱法是“下里巴人”。“作為一名年輕的歌者，我就一直在思考這個問題：怎樣才能將美聲唱法與流行音樂完美結合？用什么樣的方式才能讓美聲‘接地氣'，讓更多的老百姓尤其是年輕人喜歡?”

為此，王凱大膽作了很多嘗試，最終發現不論何種形式的創新，一定不能背離美聲原本的形態。聲樂舞臺上需要的不是突然冒出來的“美通唱法”，而是加入了更多新元素、新氣息、新精神的美聲唱法。王凱本著這一原則，創作出很多有意思的作品，這些作品都打著王凱的標簽，讓人一聽，就會說：“嘿，這是王凱的歌！”

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近年，“一帶一路”成為社會各界廣泛關注的熱門話題。王凱認為“一帶一路”不但沒有忽略文化，而恰恰在很多方面是文化先行。

“我個人的文化交流之旅，其實早在2004年就開始了，那時候，我還是個大一新生，由于專業表現突出，有幸隨學校赴意大利佛羅倫薩進行學習交流。雖然那時各方面都還很稚嫩，但是，游學過程中文化的交流與碰撞，給我的內心帶來了很大的沖擊。”

在國與國的交往中，充分發揮文化藝術的軟實力，王凱認為尤為重要。“音樂是人類最美麗的語言，它能夠沖破國籍和語言的限制，將不同地域不同膚色的人聯結在一起，是文化交流的橋梁和紐帶。作為年輕的文藝工作者。利用自己的專業，做一名合格的文化使者，一直是我的愿望，更是我的職責。”

從意大利歸來后，王凱先后隨國家領導人出訪新西蘭、澳大利亞、日本、俄羅斯、意大利、法國、哈薩克斯坦等地。“我希望有機會把歌聲傳遍世界每一個角落，讓世界各地的人都能感受到中國音樂與文化的魅力和實力。”

“USING THE CHINESE LANGUAGE TO EXPRESS BEL CANTO SONGS”

N=NIHAO

W=WANG KAI

N: How do you think it's possible to blend the Eastern and the Western cultures in Bel Canto?

W:Because I was professionally trained in college, I mostly learned from Western traditions, so I have respect for their culture. However, I'm Chinese, and I love our nation. The traditional Chinese music also attracts me. In addition, as a young artist, I had access to pop music, which inspires me constantly. In 2009, I competed in the Youth singers Grand Prix of Yunnan Province. The original folk songs performed at the contest shocked me, because they came from the local lives and were inherited from ancient times. It is one of the roots of modern Chinese music. Such music was from our own blood and memories. For me, to blend the West and East, is to perform a song with the Chinese language without deserting the Western vocal skills of Bel Canto.

N: Does that mean that the themes of songs should be more inclined to the eastern culture?

W:That's right. We should be able to sing Chinese songs in Chinese. I was the lead in three modern operas in China: “The Red guards on the Hong Hu Lake”, “Confucius”, and “The city of fi shing”. All proved that it's possible to do that. Many Bel Canto singers cannot pronounce clearly when performing Chinese songs. The audience can't understand what they are singing about, nor can they understand the emotions that songs want to convey. I think to “speak clearly” in your performance is the gold key to open a harmonious communication between the eastern and western cultures.

N: Do you think songs from different countries and regions express different values?

W:I'm from the headquarters of the Army Comrade Dance Ensemble, so I perform in front of our soldiers all the time. One winter, we went to inner Mongolia to wish the soldiers there a happy new year. It was extremely cold. It was diffi cult to even open your mouth, but the soldiers there were very dutiful. After the performance, when we were about to leave, we walked pass a remote guard post. A lone soldier was there, his face was already nearly frozen, but he stood straight. We went up to him and performed again in front of him. The soldier did not say a word, but his lips quivered. At that time, I suddenly understood what an army song was talking about: “Why we choose the most diffi cult path and the most remote locations? Why we rather sacrifi ce our youth and take loneliness as wine? Because we have to shoulder this responsibility.” This is what Chinese soldiers believe. This is the value that they cherish.