Mei Lanfan, Century Masters

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Summary

Western audiences often find Peking Opera incomprehensible. That is especially true of the tradition where male actors portray female characters. Mei Lanfang became famous as a Dan performer, a man...

Western audiences often find Peking Opera incomprehensible. That is especially true of the tradition where male actors portray female characters. Mei Lanfang became famous as a Dan performer, a man who specialized in playing female roles. While to outsiders, Peking Opera seems unchanged over the centuries, Mei Lanfang helped to bring it into the modern era, transforming both the way it is performed as well as the way it is taught.

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