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
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 Zhang Miaoling
- Roles
- Stage Performers
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
Dates 1923 CE–2004 CE