Wang Peiyu [People.cn]
Famous Peking Opera performer Wang Peiyu attended a seminar jointly initiated by Beijing Cultural Development Foundation, Beijing Youth Daily and Beijing People's Art Theater, to give a comprehensive introduction to Peking Opera on May 6.
Pu Cunxin, Chairman of Chinese Theater Association, attended the event together with Chinese actor and painter Lan Tianye. Pu also presided over the seminar.
Wang graduated from the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts with a master's degree and currently serves as a national-level actress in Shanghai Jingju Theater Company. She was also a member of the 12th CPPCC Shanghai committee, and a deputy to the 15th Shanghai People's Congress.
She learned from famous Peking Opera masters such as Wang Siji, Zhu Bingqian, Tan Yuanshou, and other mentors, molding a unique style with her quaint performance and gentle appearance, and thus became a representative of the new generation of Peking Opera performers.
Due to her outstanding contributions to Peking Opera, Wang has received numerous awards such as the Plum Performance Award, the Shanghai Magnolia Awards, and she is an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage in Shanghai.
For all her years pursuing this profession, Wang has always insisted on the practical inheritance of traditional opera. She has constantly explored innovation and practiced different dissemination methods for Peking Opera through various platforms and channels in a manner more consistent with the habits and preferences of today’s young people.
Last year, Wang also appeared in various variety shows to promote traditional Peking Opera culture. Because of her, more and more people have approached this art and started to appreciate it in the theaters.
As a traditional art performer, she not only broke the stereotype of Peking Opera being low profile, stiff and mysterious, but also propelled its development in an entertaining manner. "What I have done is to create a good atmosphere for Peking Opera and to encourage more talented Peking Opera actors to concentrate on what they are doing," said Wang.
