Wang Kun (singer)

Wang Kun (Chinese: ; pinyin: Wáng Kūn; 1925 – 21 November 2014) was a Chinese opera singer, actress, musical director, and teacher specializing in revolutionary repertoire. She was most famous for her leading role in the opera The White Haired Girl, and her interpretations of songs such as "Nanniwan" (1943).

In 1982, she became director of the Oriental Song and Dance Company, and educated a number of influential singers including Yuan Zheng, Zheng Xulan, and Zhu Mingying. Although she mainly sang revolutionary songs herself, Wang was an ardent supporter of popular music in the early 1980s, when such music was the target of heavy criticism in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. Her personal approval of Cui Jian, now known as the "Father of Chinese Rock", gave the singer the opportunity to debut at a major 1985 concert organized by the Oriental Song and Dance Company.

Wang Kun's husband Zhou Weizhi was an influential musician who served as acting Minister of Culture of the PRC. They were married from 1943 until 2014, when the couple both died within a period of three months.

Wang was born in 1925 in Tang County, Hebei. In the 1940s, she joined the performing arts troupe of the People's Liberation Army. In 1945, she played the lead role in The White Haired Girl (modern China's first Western-style opera), produced by the Yan'an Lu Xun Institute of Arts (延安鲁艺戏剧音乐系), and also performed in other modern dramas.

Along with her contemporary Guo Lanying, Wang was a member of the first generation of Chinese performing artists to train overseas. Following the Chinese Revolution in 1949 she continued studying music in the USSR with Medvedev, as well as with the Chinese singer Lin Junqing (林俊卿). In 1954 she entered the Central Conservatory of Music, to further her education. She later directed the Oriental Song and Dance Company (东方歌舞团), serving as regimental commander.

...
Wikipedia