RTR4G1LC.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
Guo Lanying, an 85-year-old soprano and vocal music mentor and a native of Pingyao, Shanxi Province, became one of the Chinese Cultural Figures of 2014 because of her lifetime contribution to Chinese folk music, opera and promoting ties beyond China's borders, Women of China reported.
In 1940s, Guo, who started her musical career at the age of four, performed a leading role in a national opera titled "The White Haired Girl" (Bai maony). The said opera incorporated western operatic elements successfully for the first time, making it an all-time favorite and is considered a classic in China and abroad.
Guo traveled and performed all over the world where she won national and foreign artistic awards. Aside from Chinese opera and music, Guo pioneered stage performances, vocalizations, acting, musical and play innovations.
In order to support the national opera, Guo and her husband sold their properties and moved to Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. In 1986, Guo Lanying Arts School was established, offering music and arts education. Guo produced a generation of operatic artists. She has been supporting the Chinese national opera for more than 20 years now, Women of China revealed.
According to China Daily, the Chinese Cultural Figures of 2014 awarding ceremony was held in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, on Jan. 06, Tuesday.
The Chinese Cultural Figure award is given to China's top specialists who focus on world Chinese culture and advancing the unity of Chinese people all over the world. The said award started in Dec. 2009 through the Chinese Culture Promotion Society and Hong Kong's Phoenix Satellite TV, website World Ethics Institute Beijing added.
