The dan (旦), or female role, in Beijing opera has traditionally been played by men, but with the inclusion of female performers, men who play the part are increasingly rare on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The presence in Taiwan of 93-year-old dan actor Lee Yi-ching (李毅清), the only male actor in the role over the age of 90, is all the more precious.
Although the quality of his voice is far from when he was in his prime, and he can no longer perform more difficult moves, Lee said that he is still able to alter his voice to one octave above and below his normal range for the part.
Photo provided by Lee Yi-ching
“Even I find it amazing that I can still perform,” Lee said in an interview.
Born in China’s Hubei Province, Lee attended Beijing operas when he was between five and six years old, and went on to be an accountant for the Hankou Performance Hall when he was 18 and 19.
The exposure to actors and watching the senior actors train new ones, in both action and reciting dialogue, gave him a solid foundation in the “four basics” of Beijing opera: singing, chanting, expression and dancing, he said.
In 1949, Lee followed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government to Taiwan, where he was unexpectedly tapped by Hu Shao-an (胡少安), then considered the “premier Lao Sheng (老生) actor across the Taiwan Strait,” to join the former Hai Kuang Opera Troupe (海光劇團), after Hu watched Lee perform at a Beijing opera club, he said.
Like Zhang Zhunqiu (張君秋), a renowned dan actor in China who founded the “Zhang school” of performing, Lee also possessed a sound range one octave above and below his normal voice.
On Oct. 27 last year, Lee performed in Los Angeles for the Chinese Opera Association.
At the performance, Lee performed snippets from all four major schools of Beijing opera — the Cheng Yanqiu (程硯秋) school, Mei Lanfang (梅蘭芳) school, the Xun Huisheng (荀慧生) school and the Zhang school.
Hong Kong Traditional Chinese Culture and Art Research Society head Yang Ming (楊明) said that it was “quite rare” for people like Lee, who did not have “proper” training, to become famous.
Lee’s imitation of Zhang and Mei was “incredible,” Yang said, adding that his ability to still perform at his age is remarkable.
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