Performers › Stage Performers

Chang Xiangyu

Henan opera dan performer from Gongxian who built the Chang school on the western Henan tune, known for Hua Mulan, Hongniang Under Interrogation and The White Snake

Also known as Born Zhang Miaoling

Chang Xiangyu, born Zhang Miaoling in Gongxian, Henan, in 1923, began learning opera from her father at nine and later studied with Zhai Yanshen and Zhou Haishui, taking the surname Chang for the stage. Building on the western Henan tune and drawing on other Henan opera styles, she developed a clear, well-rounded vocal manner known as the Chang school; her signature plays were Hua Mulan, Hongniang Under Interrogation and The White Snake. From August 1951 she led the Xiangyu Troupe on a benefit tour of about six months and used the proceeds to donate a fighter aircraft, named the Xiangyu Troupe. She headed the Henan Provincial Yu Opera Theatre and the Henan opera school, and died in Zhengzhou in June 2004.

Life and times

  1. 1923 CEBornRepublican EraModern Era
  2. 2004 CEDied

Works

  1. Stage · Plays2
    1. Hua MulanFirst staged 1951Yu opera adapted by Chen Xianzhang from the Peking opera Mulan Joins the Army, a signature role of Chang Xiangyu
    2. HongniangDate unknown (Chang Xiangyu made her name in Kaifeng with the role early in her career)From The Romance of the Western Chamber: Chang Xiangyu's Hongniang, sung with eastern Henan tunes, made her famous