Li Yugang

Li Yugang (Chinese: 李玉刚; pinyin: Lǐ Yùgāng), is a First Class National Artist and a leading performer in the National Opera and Dancing company of China; a member of the National Youth Federation, and one of the most exciting and colorful young artists on the Chinese stage. A specialist in "nan dan" performance (male who plays female role in Peking opera), Li is a hypnotic master of illusion. From 2010-2014, Li Yugang released 3 CDs to his own credit; They are 2010 "The New Drunken Beauty" (新贵妃醉酒 ); 2011, "The Dream Chaser" (逐梦令); 2015 "Lotus Flower" (莲花). In 2014, Rhymoi Music company released all Li Yugang singing album "Once Upon a Time in Shanghai" (民国旧梦), and the latest "Lotus Flower" （莲花）album became a sensation in China. It remained in the top 20 song chart for many weeks. Li Yugang will be the director and starred in his own stage masterpiece "Lady Zhaojun" (昭君出塞), a grand Oriental Poetic Stage production which took him more than three years in preparation. "Lady Zhaojun" will be premiere in Beijing on April 16-19 and will go on a world tour after that.

"Lian Hua" CD promotion 2015

Diao Chan in "Portrait of Four Beauties

Yang Guifei in "Portrait of Four Beauties.

==Early life==

Li was born into a farming family in Jilin province in 1978. His parents were too poor to send him to college even though he was accepted by the provincial Art College. After a term he had to drop out and left home to work in a big city.^[1] He first went to Xi'an to work as a waiter in an entertainment club after he became jobless in Changchun. He was fascinated by the singers whom he came across for the first time in his life. Soon, he was allowed to sing a few songs and became a club singer. His breakthrough came when one day a female colleague didn't show up and he had to take her place singing in female voice.^[1] "That's how I started with female roles" recalled Li Yugang. His talent to sing both male and female voices impressed the audience. The owner of the establishment hired him full-time and he started to have a proper job. From 1998 to 2006, he began professionally to be trained and to develope his singing and acting in nan dan (male plays female role in Peking Opera), and from then on Li Yugang gave Chinese traditional art a modern edge and new hope.^[2]

==Career==

In 2006, Li came to prominence after he came third in the Star Boulevard, a nationwide talent competition programme on CCTV.^[3] His performance in "Farewell My Concubine" (霸王别姬) and "The Drunken Beauty" (贵妃醉酒), both from the famous Peking Opera made him an overnight sensation. He became a highly sought-after performer afterwards. The following year, Li became an unprecedented success when he gave his first solo performance in Beijing: "Where Flowers are Unbounded" (凡花无界). In 2009, he was invited to join the "National Performing and Dancing Company" and became China's First Class Artist (National Treasure).^[2] In that same year Li Yugang was invited to perform at Sydney Opera House in Australia, the second Chinese artist to have done so, and was awarded Southern Cross Gold Prize for Culture by the Australian Government. From 2010-2014, for stage performance, Li created "Flower in the Mirror, Moon in the Water" (镜花水月) and "Portrait of Four Ancient Beauties" (四美图)。Together he performed over 100 shows in the country and internationally. Li Yugang also released 3 CDs from his company "The New Drunken Beauty" (新贵妃醉酒), "The Dream Chaser" (逐梦令 ) and "Lotus Flower" (莲花). In 2014, the Rhymoi Music company released Li Yugang's "Once Upon a Time in Shanghai" (民国旧梦) CD album.In 2015, Li Yugang directed and starred in his own stage masterpiece "Lady Zhaojun" (昭君出塞), a grand Oriental Poetic Stage production which took him three years in preparation.^[4] Today, the range of Li Yugang's influence extends far beyond the entertainment world, opening up new dialogues among critics of contemporary music, theatre and aesthetics, and has become an icon in China's contemporary cultural scene. Beyond his professional and international accolades, Li is known as a celebrity in his own hometown, Gongzhuling in Jiling, and is respected for his generous donations and help to local charity organisations, especially in education. A very modest man who is aware that he has not had the rigorous training of traditional Peking opera, he is constantly studying and passionately committed to make China's rich cultural heritage accessible both to the young generation and to audiences around the world.

References

External links

• CCTV-星播客-男扮女装李玉刚

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