The Renowned Peking Opera Performer Mei Baojiu Has Died at 82

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Mei Baojiu, Peking opera master, rests outside the meeting room of the Great Hall of the People during a plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, at which he is a delegate, on March 7, 2013, in BeijingFeng Li—Getty Images
By Rishi Iyengar

Mei Baojiu, one of the foremost performers of China’s famous Peking opera, died on Monday aged 82, according to Chinese state media.

Mei died around 11 a.m. local time at a hospital in Beijing after going into a coma following a bronchial spasm, state-run news agency Xinhua quoted his theater company as saying. He had reportedly been hospitalized for nearly a month.

The renowned artist furthered the “Mei school” of opera pioneered by his father, legendary Peking opera artiste Mei Lanfang. He was best-known for his portrayal of female characters in famous plays like The Drunken Beauty and Farewell My Concubine.

 

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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com