Peking Opera artist Huang Xiaoci dies

Peking Opera artist Huang Xiaoci sings during a performance. [Photo by Chen Yong/Asianewsphoto]

Famed Peking Opera artist Huang Xiaoci, who twice won the Plum Performance Award, the highest honor of China's performing arts, died on Monday at age 73.

Huang worked at Jiangsu Peking Opera theater and learned from Peking Opera master Du Jinfang. Huang developed her own performing style and was known for representative plays, such as Rickshaw Boy (Luotuo Xiangzi), Hong Ling Yan and Si Lang Tan Mu.

Huang was diagnosed with cancer in June 2016, yet she participated in the rehearsal of the youth version of Hong Ling Yan as art director and often went to rehearsals with pain killers. The play won good reviews in the final stage show.

Huang had dedicated her whole life to the Peking Opera. "I only did one thing in my whole life, which is loving Peking Opera, learning Peking Opera, performing Peking Opera and inheriting Peking Opera", Huang always said. She was always willing to teach anyone for free if she thought the person had potential.

Gao Fei, Huang's favorite pupil, said that Huang always told them that artists are poor and do not expect to get rich in this way. "What we shall pursue is the satisfaction and sense of honor we get from art," she said.