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Famous Kun Opera Artists

It takes a famous Kun Opera artist several years of practice to be able to perform Kun Opera. Only those artists who have a deep love for Kun Opera can endure the ordeal of high-intensity practice and persevere. These artists love Kun Opera and are dedicated to spreading it. Hoping you can get more idea about Kun Opera after those Kun Opera artists have been introduced.

Famous Kun Opera Artists

Hao Zhenji | 郝振基 hǎo zhèn jī | 郝振基 Hok Chun Kei

Hao Zhenji(1870-1942) is a famous Kun Opera artist in China. He comes from a farming family, and he loved Kun Opera since childhood. He has a firm voice and a majestic appearance. In order to better nail the part of Sun Wukong in the play "The Mountain of Flowers and Fruit", he raised a monkey and observed it day and night, making great efforts to learn the monkey's movements and expressions. Therefore, the Sun Wukong he played has a unique style and no one can do that.

Yu Zhenfei | 俞振飞 yú zhèn fēi | 俞振飛 Yue Chun Fei

Yu Zhenfei is a famous performing artist in both Peking Opera and Kun Opera. He once cooperated on the same stage with many famous artists such as Mei Lanfang and Zhou Xinfang. He absorbed valuable nourishment from the performing art of Peking Opera and continuously improved his own artistic level. He has profound attainments in the performance, singing and other aspects of Kun Opera. With his solid basic skills in singing and speaking, combined with decades of painstaking research, he can vividly perform various characters. Yu Zhenfei created a singing method that pays attention to rhythms and flavors, and developed the "Yu School" singing method. He is proficient in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and is good at playing the flute, having high achievements in flute style, fingering, and coordinating breath with the singing.

Wang Zhiquan | 王芝泉 wáng zhī quán | 王芝泉 Wong Chi Chuen

Wang Zhiquan is a renowned Kun Opera performing artist and a first-class actor in China. Having been engaged in the art of Kun Opera for over fifty years, she has strictly adhered to the traditional performance norms of Kun Opera, while also learning humbly from the strengths of others and being bold in innovation. She has created extremely precious artistic value for the martial female roles in Kun Opera, established the aesthetic pursuit for this role type, laid a solid foundation for the important position of the martial female roles in modern Kun Opera, and made outstanding contributions to the revitalization of Kun Opera.

Zhu Jiyun | 朱继云 zhū jì yún | 朱繼雲 Chu Kai Wan

Zhu Jiyun is a second-class actor in China. In 1960, he started teaching the trainees in the troupe. From 1962 to 1977, he was moved over to teach in the Kun Opera class of the Jiangsu Provincial Opera School, and later he was transferred to the research office of the Jiangsu Kun Opera Theatre to be a teacher. He has picked up Kun Opera from many famous Kun Opera artists. During that period, he studied the "traditional Kun Opera composition method" and Chinese "music theory". Therefore, he has high attainments in Kun Opera.

Ke Jun | 柯军 kē jūn | 柯軍 O Kei Kwan

Ke Jun is a first-class actor in China. With a handsome appearance, solid basic skills, a high-pitched and sonorous voice, free and unrestrained yet passionate performances, he is good at learning strength from other art forms. In particular, he is committed to improving his comprehensive quality. In his spare time, he has practiced calligraphy and seal cutting for more than twenty years. By integrating his martial arts skills in operas with a strong literati charm, he has gradually formed a unique performing art style that reveals an elegant and calm demeanor within a heroic spirit, being equally proficient in both civil and martial aspects and shining brightly on the stage.

Gu Weiying | 顾卫英 gù wèi yīng | 顧衛英 Koo Wai Ying

Gu Weiying is a second-class actor in China. She was an actor in the Suzhou Kun Opera Theatre before. She is currently teaching at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts. She is good at depicting the images of classical women from different classes and of different types. Gu Weiying is very meticulous when performing Kun Opera and carefully shapes the characteristics of each role. She insists on doing a large amount of skill training every day, carefully pondering over the plot and the personalities of the characters, and expressing the characters' personalities and emotions through movements, expressions, and singing.

By Mia Li
Web Editor

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