Actor Zhang Ruihong, a lady, played this male role of Liang Shanbo. Zhang became famous largely for his portrayal of Shanbo, and then she further developed the performing techniques of this character. Chen Ying, the actress who played Shanbo’s lover Zhu Yingtai, is also very popular. She has a soft voice and is delicately dressed up, and resembles a sweet freeze on the stage.
At the Story-telling Teahouse—From Pursuing the Fish Fairy
Pursuing the Fish Fairy is a legend about love. After being adapted into a Yuju opera, it has been successfully performed by the Wang School.
Zhang Zhen, a scholar, falls in love with a fish fairy at first sight, while at the fish fairy part, she also admires worldly love, but she will not become a goddess if she does so. Finally, the fairy makes up her mind to be together with Zhang Zhen, but tragically she dies at last.
The excerpt “At the Story-telling Teahouse” is the two characters’ first meeting, and the successor of this school Shan Yangping performed in a vivid way. Her teacher, Wang Zhiping, had been very successful in portraying the fish fairy, but Shan Yangping did even better. She rearranged the route of the fairy when she first came on the scene. The fairy played by Ms. Wang comes out wittily, but in a straight route, while Ms. Shan comes out in a curved route. This makes the little fairy even more lively and lovable.
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