Yu Kuizhi (Chinese: ; born 15 December 1961) is a
Peking opera
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...
performer of
Hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
Chinese ethnicity. He plays the role of elderly men (
laosheng) in Peking Opera.
Biography
Yu Kuizhi was born in
Shenyang City,
Liaoning Province
Liaoning () is a coastal provinces of China, province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and i ...
, into a typical working-class family, his mother being a music instructor and his father being a level eight fitter. He was inspired by his mother since he was little, and was the lead singer in his primary school choir. In April 1972, only 10 years of age, he was selected to learn Peking Opera by the Shenyang Chinese Opera Institute, and was carefully taught by many of the masters of Peking Opera. He laid a solid foundation in all aspects of Peking Opera, and at the age of 13 he had been given a main role as a child in the modern Peking opera, “Da Lu Ge”, which he performed hundreds of times and received positive responses from.
In order to further his studies in the art of Peking Opera, he gave up his wages from the Shenyang Chinese Opera Institute and went to Beijing to audition for the
National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts
The National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts (NACTA; ) is a Chinese public university in Fengtai District, Beijing which offers B.A., M.A. and M.F.A. degrees in Chinese opera. Niu Junfeng is a notable alumni from National Academy of Chinese Theatre ...
, the top institution for studying Peking Opera. He graduated in 1982 with excellency in all his subjects, and was chosen to be part of the
China National Peking Opera Company
The China National Peking Opera Company (CNPOC), originally named the National Peking Opera Theater of China, is one of the national ensembles of performance arts directly under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic o ...
's No. 1 Troupe.
During his career, he has cooperated with many other senior Peking Opera artists, and has performed across Asia, Europe and America.
In 1992, he married Leung Yee Mai from Hong Kong. They had their son Yu Wing Leung (Ferdi) in 1998.
Work experience
* In 1992, he was promoted to a national level 1 performer
* In 2001, he served as the leader of the China National Peking Opera Company No 2. Troupe
* In 2005, the China National Peking Opera Company reestablished a new No. 1 Troupe, and appointed him as leader
* In March 2010, he assumed the office of China National Peking Opera Company's art director and vice president
Representative works
Traditional operas
*''Da Jin Zhuan (Shang Tian Tai)''
*''Qi Yuan Bao (Wu Pen Ji)''
*''Wu Zi Xu''
*''Shi Jie Ting • Kong Cheng Ji • Zhan Ma Su''
*''Yang Jia Jiang''
*''Ji Gu Ma Cao''
*''Si Lang Tan Mu''
*''Hong Zong Lie Ma''
*''Long Feng Cheng Xiang''
*''Ye Zhu Lin''
*''Xiang Ma Chuan''
*''Jiang Xiang He''
*''Man Jiang Hong''
*''Da Bao Guo • Tan Huang Ling • Er Jin Gong''
*''Qing Guan Ce''
*''Qun Ying Hui • Jie Dong Feng • Hua Rong Dao''
*''Da Yu Sha Jia''
Modern operas
* ''Dan Jian Ji''
* ''Bing Sheng Sun Wu''
* ''Da Tang Gui Fei''
* ''Mei Lan Fang''
* ''Zhi Yin''
* ''Yuan Chong Huan''
* ''Zou Xi Kou''
* ''Feng Yu Xing Huang Qi''
* ''Chi Bi''
References
External links
美哉，于魁智！氍毹于音 于魁智
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Kuizhi
1961 births
Chinese male Peking opera actors
Living people
National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts alumni
20th-century Chinese male singers
21st-century Chinese male singers
20th-century Chinese male actors
21st-century Chinese male actors
Male actors from Shenyang
Musicians from Shenyang
Singers from Liaoning
Middle School Affiliated to the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts alumni
Hui male actors
Hui singers