"Aoli Berry is a first-grade Sound-type apprentice from the Mist Tower. Her parents are professional actors from the White Horse Opera Troupe, and they started even earlier than I did. Her acting is also good, it's just..."
Looking at Aoli Berry's face, which was sweet and cute but couldn't be called stunning, Liji-Xiaosi shook her head in disapproval.
"Natasha, the young girl in 'blood shadow rose', holds the title of the most beautiful woman in the Rose Kingdom. Although Aoli Berry is also very pretty, she clearly doesn't fit the character's design."
The actors auditioning on the scene were all professional opera actors who could recite the entire script of "blood shadow rose" backward. Therefore, each of them had a very detailed understanding of all the characters in the script.
Even if there are a thousand Natashas in a thousand people's eyes, when it comes to measuring "beauty," they still have a scale in their hearts.
And Aoli Berry's appearance clearly didn't match the fantasy in everyone's hearts.
"But her singing voice and acting are both very good. Among young actors, she is very much worth learning from."
As she spoke, Liji-Xiaosi's peripheral vision couldn't help but glance at Jia Na beside her.
For some reason, even though they had only met recently last weekend, when Liji-Xiaosi saw Jia Na again this week, she always felt that compared to before, she had gained a few more captivating Charms.
"Could it be that this person has the bloodline of an abyss succubus? Otherwise, why would even I, a fellow woman, be attracted?"
Just from a few glances, Liji-Xiaosi felt her earlobes slightly heating up.
And at this moment, Jia Na, who had all her attention focused on her competitors, had no time to pay attention to Liji-Xiaosi's rich inner thoughts.
As a newcomer to opera performance, what Jia Na currently lacked most was experience.
And Aoli Berry, as an experienced peer, indeed had many things that Jia Na could learn from.
...
"May I ask Xiuka to cooperate with me for a scene?"
Xiuka-Boge, who was originally preparing to find a chair to sit for a while, couldn't help but look at Roman-Roland, who was sitting in the middle of the judges' panel, when he heard Aoli Berry's sudden request.
After receiving Roman-Roland's nod of approval, Xiuka-Boge smiled and walked to the center of the examination hall, standing two meters away from Aoli Berry.
"Of course, no problem. Which scene do you want to perform?"
"The scene where she first meets the young Loki."
"No problem."
After receiving Xiuka-Boge's agreement, Aoli Berry also smiled and curtsied, then she stepped back two steps, took a deep breath, and half-squatted on the ground on her tiptoes.
"La la~~ la la la~~"
"Why do the southward-flying birds flee the frost? Why can't a young maiden be accommodated on the battlefield?"
Unlike Aoli Berry's sweet appearance, her singing style and melody were extremely high-pitched and full of momentum.
As if at this moment, she was the young girl Natasha who had escaped a matchmaking banquet and was sulking alone in the back mountains.
Wildly throwing off the elaborate dress that bound her legs, she sat on the ground and loudly told the sky that she wanted to join the army and kill the enemy, instead of hiding at home and being matched with a group of people she didn't know, over and over again.
"Who's there?"
After finishing the song, "Natasha," who was about to stand up, suddenly noticed someone hiding behind a bush not far from her side.
"Cough cough... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hide here."
As "Natasha" questioned loudly, Xiuka-Boge, who was cooperating with the performance, also covered his right abdomen with a pained expression and gave "Natasha" a salute with his hand on his forehead.
"Are you a soldier of the Rose Legion?"
"Yes, I am Loki, the trumpeter of the Rose Legion. I was attacked by the Bloodline on my way back... Cough cough cough cough!"
"Don't speak first, your injuries are very serious. You need a priest to heal you."
Seeing the tearing wound on "Loki"'s right abdomen, "Natasha" completely disregarded the noble etiquette requiring modesty between men and women and directly stepped forward to support the staggering "Loki".
"Cut!"
As Crane-Roland lightly clapped his hands, Aoli Berry, who had just had an anxious expression, immediately switched back to her initial sweet and proper smiling expression.
"Your singing is very good, and your handling of the performance details is also very well done."
"Thank you for the comment, Director Kelan."
The five minutes of assessment time had quietly passed, but Xiuka-Boge was not in a hurry to call the next interviewee. Instead, he walked over to Crane-Roland and spoke a few words to Crane-Roland in a low voice with his ear turned.
"Miss Aoli, the judges have requested to temporarily add another scene. Do you have any issues with that?"
"I have no problem!"
Seeing Xiuka-Boge and Director Kelan whispering, Aoli Berry still smiled, but she unconsciously bit her lip tightly.
It wasn't until Xiuka-Boge indicated the addition of a scene that Aoli Berry, who had been extremely uneasy, immediately broke into a surprised smile.
"Then let's add a scene where Natasha learns of her father's death in battle and cuts her hair to join the army."
"Hiss—"
Upon hearing this, the interviewees present all looked at each other, and even several young women who were also auditioning for the role of "Natasha" couldn't help but gasp.
"Oh my god, they're starting with this level of difficulty? The judges' requirements this time are too strict!"
Hearing Liji's complaint from the side, Jia Na, who had her brows tightly furrowed, also nodded unconsciously.
The plot of Act A mainly tells the story of the young girl Natasha, who had a "hero's dream" since childhood, from her innocent and naive girlish nature to her resolute decision to join the army after learning the news of her father's death from a Bloodline attack.
And one of the highlights of the entire Act A is the scene where Natasha, after learning of her father's death from Loki, is swept away by negative emotions such as pain, sadness, and hatred, then cries uncontrollably, and gradually regains her composure, resolutely cuts her hair, and joins the army.
When Jia Na saw this passage at the time, she couldn't help but relate it to the scene in "Mulan" from her previous life.
Her father's past kindness and the pain of the young girl's determination for revenge made Jia Na's emotions surge, creating an unspeakable sense of immersion.
But this highlight scene is also one of the most difficult for actors to perform. While expressing emotional outburst, they must also ensure that the singing style and melody are not affected by crying, which is very challenging for actors.
When Liji-Xiaosi first taught Jia Na this singing passage performance, Jia Na practiced it many times, but she was always a bit lacking in emotional expression.
...
"Miss Aoli, do you need extra time to prepare?"
Seeing that Aoli Berry hadn't moved for a while, Xiuka-Boge gently reminded her from the side.
"Thank you, Xiuka, but I think I'm ready... This time, I'll have to trouble you to continue cooperating with me for this scene."
"It's nothing."