Performers › Stage Performers
Yao Xuanqiu
Teochew opera qingyi actress from Chenghai in Guangdong, known for Sweeping the Window, Su Liuniang and Cilangzhou, and a national representative bearer of Teochew opera
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.
- Roles
- Stage Performers
Yao Xuanqiu was born in 1935 in Chenghai, Guangdong. Orphaned young, she worked in a match factory until her voice caught the attention of the Lao Zhengshun Teochew opera troupe, which she joined in 1950; her first piece, the scene Sweeping the Window, made her name. In 1956 she went with the troupe to Beijing, playing Su Liuniang, The Tale of the Lychee Mirror and Sweeping the Window, and Mei Lanfang wrote an inscription praising her. A dan specialist, she was also known for Chen San and Wuniang and Cilangzhou, and was later named a national representative bearer of Teochew opera as intangible cultural heritage. She died on 2 July 2022.
Life and times
Dates 1935 CE–2022 CE