There is seemingly nothing that can connect these two different voices together. But believe me, they are from the same person. Li Yugang is currently one of the most popular female impersonators in China. By combining traditional Peking Opera art with pop music, Li Yugang has pleasantly surprised Chinese audiences and established his unique performance style. He may have shot to fame in a televised talent competition, but his continued success relies on his great efforts and smart business mind.
Li Yugang was born in a village in Jilin province in North China. He loved performing even when he was little. At the age of 17, he was given an offer by an art college. He chose instead to work as a waiter in a nightclub in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province, because his family was too poor to afford his study.
He started his new life with a small suitcase and 200 Yuan or 25 US dollars. That was all he had to his name.
Although life was tough, Li Yugang never gave up his dream of the stage. In his spare time, he took part time jobs performing in clubs.
One accident changed his life, forever.
During an important show, a female singer was absent. Li Yugang proposed to the boss that he could finish the show for her. Everyone had their doubts. It was a formal show, not some silly drama. Could Li sing two roles?
The result couldn't have been better.
The audience was stunned. They broke into applause and cheers. The experiment was a success.
"I was really happy. I thought, I can earn money now, and my parents won't suffer in the future."
From that point on, people flocked to see his performances. Li Yugang gradually found his confidence and discovered the huge market potential of female impersonation.
To make his performance more life-like and feminine, he began the formal training of Peking Opera. In classical Peking Opera, female impersonation has a history of about 200 years. It is practiced as a special skill and is highly regarded.
To play a real female role, singing competence is far from enough. Appearance, figure, gestures are equally important. Li Yugang decided to learn all these techniques at the age of 23.
"I knew I was too old to dance, but I always believed that I could make a miracle."
Li Yugang was optimistic, but the learning process was a real ordeal.
"I really suffered a lot then. My legs even trembled when I met the teacher. Many people felt for me. I couldn't tell what my motivation was, I just kept at it, day by day."
All of his efforts were not in vain. Audiences began to feel a sense of sadness from just the look in his eyes, full of tender affection. People even considered his female image "the unprecedented beauty in generations".
Li Yugang began to taste success.
In 2005, his performance in Europe drew lots of attention. The European Times featured him on the first page, declaring that he had brought Opera art out of China.
But his golden time was still to come.
In 2006, Li Yugang participated in a national TV singing contest.
When the pretty woman on stage turned into a handsome young man, the audience went wild. They had rarely seen a show like that before, especially outside of opera theatres.
As he attained national attention, he became the talk of the town, for both praise and criticism . Artistically, Li Yugang is far less skilled than some female impersonators in Peking Opera art circles. Many professional opera actors disapprove of Li for using Peking Opera to glorify his pop culture performances.
However, still many think if young people can learn more about Peking Opera from Li Yugang's mixture of the traditional and pop culture, it shouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.