Performers › Stage Performers
Xu Yulan
Yue opera xiaosheng performer, born Wang Yulan, founder of the Xu school, who played Jia Baoyu in the 1962 Yue opera film Dream of the Red Chamber
Backstage of a theatre troupe, an open trunk spills embroidered red and blue robes, one worked with a phoenix, beneath a jewelled headdress with long plumes; a mirror stand, a stool and a row of painted drums stand beside it, with a red curtain hanging at the right.
Also known as Born Wang Yulan
- Roles
- Stage Performers
Xu Yulan, born Wang Yulan in Xindeng, Zhejiang, in 1921, specialised in the young male roles of Yue opera. In September 1947 she formed the Yulan troupe in Shanghai, and in 1954 she joined the Shanghai Yue Opera House. Her xiaosheng singing became the Xu school. Her repertoire included Dream of the Red Chamber, The West Chamber, The Tale of Chunhyang, Chasing the Fish and The Prince of Beidi; in the 1962 Yue opera film Dream of the Red Chamber she played Jia Baoyu opposite Wang Wenjuan's Lin Daiyu. In 1987 she and Wang Wenjuan founded the Honglou troupe of the Shanghai Yue Opera House. She died in Shanghai in April 2017.
Life and times
Dates 1921 CE–2017 CE