Li Guangxi

Li Guangxi ( or ; 15 November 1929 – 13 March 2022) was a Chinese national-level actor and one of China's most outstanding tenors.

Early life and education Li was born in Tianjin, China in 1929, the fourth of eight children. His father was a senior staff at Kailuan Mining Bureau . In his early teens, he expressed interest in singing. When he was in high school, his father died of overwork. In order to make a living, he went to work in the company where his father had worked. In 1954, he was accepted to the Central Experimental Opera and Dance Theatre.

Career In 1956, Li acted as Arman in La traviata, the first classical opera in China under the leadership of Zhou Enlai. He received positive reviews for the role. At the end of 1957, he became a sent-down youth in the Down to the Countryside Movement. He worked in Funing County, Hebei Province. In 1958, Zhou Enlai was going to visit the Soviet Union. He was transferred back to Beijing and accompanied Zhou Enlai on the visit. He performed in Eugene Onegin at the Bolshoi Theatre. His wonderful performance won the praise of Nikita Khrushchev. In 1969, during the Cultural Revolution, the Central Experimental Opera and Dance Theatre was disbanded and Li forced to work in the fields in the suburb of Tianjin. In 1972, after a coup in Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk stayed in Beijing. Norodom Sihanouk liked to compose music and wanted to invite Chinese singers to sing. After receiving instructions from Zhou Enlai, the relevant departments transferred Li from Tianjin's countryside to Beijing. At Sihanouk's birthday party, he sang a few songs composed by Sihanouk and won the praise of Sihanouk. Subsequently, the China National Radio invited him to record two songs, "Beijing Yangge" and "The Love's Voyage", which was welcomed by the national audience. In 1978, he sang "The Toasting Song," written to commentate the end of the Cultural Revolution, and it sold up to a million albums.

Operas La traviata Eugene Onegin

Singles "Beijing Songge" "The Love's Voyage" "The Toast Song" "When Will We Meet Again?" "Ode to Yanan" "Waves of Gulangyu"