Early life
 | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2018) |
Mao Weitao Máo Wēitāo | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 8, 1962 Tongxiang, Zhejiang, China |
| Genres | Yue opera |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Chinese name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 茅 威 濤 |
| Simplified Chinese | 茅 威 涛 |
Mao Weitao (born 8 August 1962) is a Chinese Yue opera actress-singer who usually portrays Sheng roles (i.e. male characters). [1] A founding member of the acclaimed Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe who also served as its president from 1999 to 2018, Mao Weitao is a household name among Yue opera listeners. For non-opera listeners, she is best known for her portrayal of Dongfang Bubai in the 2001 TV series Laughing in the Wind .
Mao Weitao is one of only 4 people who have won the Plum Blossom Grand Prize, given to those who continue to be active and innovative in theatre or opera after winning the Plum Blossom Prize twice. She is also the vice-chairperson of China Theatre Association. She was a member of the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th National People's Congress.
For years Mao Weitao has taken steps to "modernize" Yue opera. She has recently secured investment from billionaires Jack Ma and Song Weiping to realize some of her more ambitious plans regarding Yue opera.
| | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2018) |
From 1999 to 2018 she has been the president of Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe, with which she debuted in 1984.
| | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2018) |
In 2018, Mao Weitao quit her position in the Xiaobaihua Troupe to become chairwoman of Baiyue Cultural Creativity Co., which was registered in 2016 with the investment of Zhejiang billionaires Jack Ma and Song Weiping. The company seeks to provide services on theatre administration, play production, international collaboration, art education, theatre talent agency, as well as theatre investment, etc. [2] [3]
One of Baiyue's first projects was the construction of China Yue Theatre (中国越·剧场) in Hangzhou in 2018, whose state-of-art, butterfly-shaped complex was designed by C. Y. Lee. [4]
| English Title | Original Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dream of the Red Chamber | 紅樓夢 | Jia Baoyu | |
| He Wenxiu | 何文秀 | He Wenxiu | |
| Five Daughters Offering Felicitations | 五女拜壽 | Zou Shilong | made into a 1984 film |
| Tang Bohu Fails the Imperial Examination | 唐伯虎落第 | Tang Bohu | made into a 1988 film |
| Peacock Flies Southeast | 孔雀東南飛 | Jiao Zhongqing | |
| Butterfly Lovers | 梁山伯與祝英台 | Liang Shanbo | made into a 2013 film |
| Romance of the Western Chamber | 西廂記 | Zhang Junrui | made into a 2010 film |
| Rouge | 胭脂 | Wu Nandai | |
| The Peach Blossom Fan | 桃花扇 | Hou Fangyu | |
| Lu You and Tang Wan | 陸游與唐婉 | Lu You | made into a 1989 film |
| The Desert Prince | 沙漠王子 | Luolan | |
| Sorrows in the Han Palace | 漢宮怨 | Emperor Xuan of Han | |
| Cold Friendship | 寒情 | Jing Ke | |
| Kong Yiji | 孔乙己 | Kong Yiji | made into a 1998 TV series |
| The Tale of Ancient Book Collector | 藏書之家 | Fan Rong | |
| The Moon's Reflection on the Second Spring | 二泉映月 | Abing | |
| The Good Person of Jiangnan | 江南好人 |
| |
| Coriolanus and Du Liniang | 寇流蘭與杜麗娘 | Coriolanus | |
| Chunhyangjeon | 春香傳 | Yi Monglong | |
| Li Qingzhao | 李清照 | Zhao Mingcheng | made into a 2010 TV series |
Traditional Chinese opera, or Xiqu, is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more than a thousand years, reaching its mature form in the 13th century, during the Song dynasty (960–1279). Early forms of Chinese theater are simple, but over time various art forms such as music, song and dance, martial arts, acrobatics, costume and make-up art, as well as literary art forms were incorporated to form traditional Chinese opera. Performers had to practice for many years to gain an understanding of the roles. Exaggerated features and colors made it easier for the audience to identify the roles portrayed.
The China Theatre Plum Blossom Award, more commonly the Plum Blossom Award, is the highest theatrical award in China. It is awarded by the China Theatre Association.
Yu opera, or Yuju opera, sometimes known as Henan bangzi, is one of China's famous national opera forms, alongside Peking opera, Yue opera, Huangmei opera and Pingju. Henan province is the origin of Yu opera. Henan's one-character abbreviation is "豫" (yù), and thus the opera style was officially named "豫剧" (Yùjù) after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The area where Yu opera is most commonly performed is in the region surrounding the Yellow River and Huai River. According to statistical figures, Yu opera was the leading opera genre in terms of the number of performers and troupes. While Yu opera is often called "Henan opera" in English, within Henan it is considered to be just one of the province's three most important forms of opera, the other two being Quju (曲剧) and Yuediao (越调).
He Saifei is a Chinese actress of film and television, as well as a celebrated Yue opera performer of dan (female) roles. Internationally, she is best known for playing supporting roles in period films like Raise the Red Lantern (1991) and Temptress Moon (1996).
Yue opera, also known as Shaoxing opera, is the second most popular Chinese opera genre. Only Peking opera is more popular nationwide.
Ma Lan is a Chinese performing artist of Huangmei opera who usually plays dan (female) roles. Before her abrupt departure from the stage in 2000, Ma Lan was considered the most popular Huangmei opera performer in the country. She has won the Plum Blossom Award, the China TV Golden Eagle Award, and the Flying Apsaras Award, and performed on CCTV New Year's Gala in 1984, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1997, and 2005. She is often compared to the 1950s/1960s superstar Yan Fengying, whom she movingly portrayed in a hit 1988 TV series.
Fu Quanxiang was a well-known Chinese actress of Yue opera. In the Chinese press she was named as one of the ten leading female actors in Yue opera. In the view of others she was one of only two truly famous artists, the other being Yuan Xuefen.
Wang Wenjuan was a noted performer in Yue opera. She was well known for playing the title role Lin Daiyu in the 1962 film of Dream of the Red Chamber, an adaptation of a work by Cao Xueqin.
The Shanghai Yue Opera Group is a theatre in Shanghai, China, founded in 1950 and dedicated to Yue opera.
Wang Ying is a Chinese actor. He has won the Huabiao Award for Outstanding Actor, 9th Golden Phoenix Award, Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actor, and received the 22nd and 25th China Golden Eagle Awards for Favorite Actor.
The Zhejiang Yue Opera Troupe is a troupe in Hangzhou, China, founded in 1952 and dedicated to Yue opera. The Zhejiang Yue Opera Troupe is one of the most famous Yueju troupes.
Bi Chunfang was a Chinese Yue opera performer, known as the founder of the "Bi style" of Yue opera. Born in Shanghai of Ningbo ancestry, she joined the Xuesheng troupe led by Yuan Xuefen in 1948, later joining the Dongshan troupe led by Fan Ruijuan and Fu Quanxiang. She partnered with Qi Yaxian.
The China Theatre Association is a subordinate of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC). Founded on July 24, 1949, the organisation was initially named the China National Theatre Workers Association. In 1953, it was renamed the China Theatre Association. So far it has more than 11,000 registered members, with branch associations across the nation.
Wu Yue is a Chinese actress, best known in film for portraying Li Weihua in Chrysanthemum Tea, Chen Cuifen in Road to Dawn and Li Lianqiao in Former Wife, and has received critical acclaim for her television work, particularly as Wen Lu in Age of Peace and Dong Guilan in The Great China Earthquake.
Only Side by Side with You is a 2018 Chinese television series based on the novel of the same name by Xiao Hu Ru Wei (小狐濡尾). It stars William Chan and Bai Baihe. The series premiered on Jiangsu TV and Zhejiang TV on March 25, 2018.
Xiju, also known as Wuxi opera, is a genre of opera which originated in the southern region of the Yangtze River Delta in China. It evolved from "Tanhuang" (滩簧), a folk opera art in the region of Wuxi and Changzhou of Jiangsu province. As one of the main local operas in Jiangsu Province, Wuxi opera has been reputed as "a piece of plum flower in Taihu Lake", a title given to the three major operas in East China, alongside Yue opera and Huangmei opera.
Li Shengsu is a Chinese Peking opera singer-actress who plays Dan roles. She began performing traditional Chinese opera from a young age and is a student of Mei Baojiu and other famous opera performers. She is widely considered a Peking opera superstar and has many renown performances. Currently, Li Shengsu is the director of Troupe One of China National Peking Opera Company. Li also holds positions in other organizations as well, including being a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. She has received multiple awards and recognition for her performance in Peking opera.
Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe is a professional all-women Yue opera troupe in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Along with Zhejiang Yue Opera Troupe and Shanghai Yueju Troupe, it is one of China's most famous Yue opera troupes. It has toured the U.S., France, Holand, Belgium, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and other places.
Birthday Celebration by Five Daughters (五女拜壽) is a Chinese Yue opera play written by Gu Xidong (顾锡东) in 1982, set in the Ming dynasty before and after the fall of Yan Song. There is some similarity between the story and that of King Lear, although Gu Xidong never acknowledged any Shakespearean influence. The story emphasizes the importance of traditional Confucian values such as filial piety, which like traditional theatre had been attacked and suppressed during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).
Liu Housheng was a Chinese theatre director, critic, scholar, and playwright. As Vice President of the China Theatre Association, he co-founded the Plum Blossom Award in 1983. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the China Theater Awards in 2009.
 | This article about a Chinese actor is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
