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Ladies sing male scholars in Yueju Opera

By Xu Wei | March 21, 2007, Wednesday | Print Edition

If you can't take the clangor and screech of Peking Opera, you might enjoy the subtler, more easy-listening southern Yueju Opera.

Yin Guifang, a late Yueju master, founded the subtle Yin School singing and performing style. She was renowned for her roles of young, cultivated scholars in love with the gifted heroines.

Yin had many successful apprentices, who were identified at an early age for their somewhat deep voices. Deep voices for girls are unusual - and discouraged - in a culture in which feminine voices traditionally are in the upper register.

One of Yin's most famous apprentices is Wang Jun'an, who after 10 years' studying in the United States, recently returned and staged several stage productions to revitalize Yueju Opera.

She has released her first CD of Yin School songs and hopes someday to arrange Yueju Opera world tours.

Master Yin died in 2000. Like other traditional operas, Yueju is losing popularity.

"The biggest regret in my life is that I couldn't be with my teacher for the last moments of her life, as I was studying abroad," says the 36-year-old Wang, the youngest inheritor of the Yin School. "I owe a lot to her. Now the best way to repay her kindness is to pass on the beauty of her unique performing arts."

In late January, Wang and three other Yin School students - Mao Weitao, Zhao Zhigang and Xiao Ya - staged special concerts in memory of their teacher.

Wang awed the audience with her performance of excerpts from "Jade Dragonfly" and "Questioning My Wife." The show was a great success and Yueju Opera fans praised her performance for preserving the soul of Yin's singing style. Wang's long absence from the stage did not affect her debut, though she was suffering from a cold and sore throat.

"I simply didn't want to let my teacher and fans down," Wang says. She diligently studied the scores and keeps practicing every day, still calling herself a beginner, rather than a veteran.

The century-old Yueju Opera originated in Shengzhou, Zhejiang Province, but it flourished in Shanghai. Its soft, sweet tunes and melodies as well as its focus on romance has made it the polar opposite of the clanging and masculine Peking Opera.

In this virtually all-female art from, there are six widely recognized schools: Fan, Fu, Qi, Xu, Yin and Yuan, each named after its greatest performer.

The Yin School has attracted many fans because of its charismatic portrayal of male characters, usually intellectuals, with smooth and deep voices. But it is not easy to find female pupils who are gifted with low-pitched voices and a "handsome" image for stage costuming as a man.

Wang is so gifted, possessing all the qualities for the Yin School.

"When I was 12 years old, my mother discovered my genius for singing and performing," Wang recalls. "Thanks to her, I distinguished myself from several thousand candidates." She was finally admitted to the training program of the acclaimed Fanghua Yueju Opera House in Fujian Province.

Master Yin, then founder and head of the troupe, was impressed by Wang's performance at a final rehearsal and began to teach her on her own.

Four years later, 16-year-old Wang sang the leading role as Jia Baoyu in the Yueju Opera classic, "A Dream of Red Mansions," gaining wide popularity for her authentic Yin School performance that was elegant and classical.

"My teacher was modern and enlightened - she loved traditional Chinese culture but was very open to new things," Wang says.

Sometimes Yin took her students to Red House, a famous Western-style restaurant and a stylish place for Shanghai people in the 1990s. Sometimes she prepared restorative soup and dessert and invited Wang to her house.

"For me, Yin was just like my grandma - always considerate, caring and devoted to her children," Wang recalls emotionally. "In addition to performing skills, she also told me to be modest, honest, and ready to help others no matter how successful. She helped me learn that artistic achievement is linked with personality."

After creating many memorable characters on stage, Wang was nicknamed "little Yin Guifang" by fans.

However, in 1996, in the prime of her career, then 26-year-old Wang made a surprising decision: She quit the troupe to study abroad.

"I was envious of those who could speak fluent English," Wang says. "And I believed studying abroad could improve my overall capabilities."

Wang's decision met with opposition from others, but her mind was made up. She had Yin's permission and understanding, though her teacher was sad that her student was leaving.

Through years of hard work, Wang received a bachelor's degree in economics and financial management from the Catholic University of America. She considers her experience rewarding and useful.

"I was so lucky that I had the love from my family and teacher," Wang says. "I used to take that for granted. Over these years I learned to appreciate and cherish what I have."

Wang recently released her first CD. All of the nine Yin School-style cuts have Chinese and English descriptions of the opera stories, by Wang herself.

Wei Xiangdong, a director from China Central Television, says Wang's excerpts from "A Dream of Red Mansions" will be part of the coming Yueju Opera documentary film of the same name. "We hope to preserve the charms of Yin School art," he says.

Wang says it's good to include high-tech stage elements, but the show must feature authentic singing and performing, like that of her predecessors.

"Our film industry has witnessed rapid development," she says. "Effective marketing can also promote Yueju Opera among young people. It will be difficult, but we will carry on."

 

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