A children's Peking Opera troupe established in Shanghai

A Peking Opera group of young students has been founded in Shanghai. The traditional art's young heirs will be given stage opportunities and will perform with renowned Peking Opera maestro Wang Peiyu in charity performances and other events.

Members of the new Little Yuyin Society are exceptional students from Wang's Peking Opera youth program, which has been recruiting since 2021. The session was then designed for students between the ages of 5 and 10. Wang chose the kids herself.

Ti Gong

Wang said that for years, preschool children and young learners have been drawn to Peking Opera. The children and their parents regard it as a fashionable art form that distinguishes itself from other children's activities.

The students have spent the last two years learning the fundamentals of Peking Opera, including basic postures and motions, as well as singing and acting. Those who qualified for basic stage acting were accepted into the Little Yuyin Society group.

The young company will participate in performances in the future as part of a "Liyuan Inheritance" charity project. Wang will also lead the group and, on occasion, share the stage with them.

Ti Gong

"Charity is not limited to allowing people to eat their fill and wear warm clothes, but to bring more life experiences to them and meet their spiritual needs," said Wang, who has taken her shows to rural communities for retired soldiers and stay-at-home children.

"The charity performances will also teach members of the Little Yuyin Society the meaning of goodwill from an early age," she added.

Wang's Yuyin Society has been designated as Shanghai's first Kunqu Opera grading assessment point. Before the establishment of the Shanghai point, the country's Kunqu Opera practitioners could only travel to Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, for grading exams.

Kunqu Opera influenced the development of many Chinese traditional opera styles, notably Peking Opera.

Ti Gong