Zhou Xuan

By Hu Bei

Just as Edith Piaf is known as "the Queen of the French chanson" with the most distinctive voice in France, Zhou Xuan could also be called "the Queen of the Shanghai chanson."

Zhou was one of the great singers of China, a Shanghai girl who made it big in the late 1930s and 40s.

Nicknamed the "Voice of Gold," Zhou was recognized as an exceptional performer at an early age, and rapidly became the most famous and marketable popular singer in Shanghai.

Zhou was also a film star and began working in movies in 1935, when she was 17, achieving stardom in 1937 with her appearance in Street Angel, a Chinese black-and-white film about two sisters leading a bitter and oppressive life in Shanghai after fleeing from the war.

From then on Zhou made more than 40 movies but she always regarded Street Angel as her favorite.

And her most popular songs, "The Four Seasons Song," and "The Wandering Songstress," were created for this film.

Some of her other song hits included "Nighttime Shanghai," "When Will My Gentleman Return," "Songstress at the Ends of the Earth," "Daughter of a Fishing Family," and "A Lovely Morning."

Zhou's delicate lilting voice captured the hearts of millions of Chinese in her day.

While her professional career was glorious and successful Zhou's private life was steeped in tragedy.

Her actual birth date is unknown because she was adopted by a Shanghai couple surnamed Zhou when she was a toddler. The couple named her Zhou Xiaohong.

At the age of 13, already a proven talent, she took Zhou Xuan as her stage name - xuan means beautiful jade in Chinese.

Her life was crowded with failed love affairs and marriages, which left her two sons born to different fathers.

Zhou spent several years in and out of mental institutions, and in 1957 she died in a Shanghai mental hospital, aged just 39.

From August 13 to 15, Zhou Xuan returns, in spirit at least, to the stage in an original Shanghai-style musical dance drama.

Zhou Xuan will be performed at the Shanghai Grand Theater before it tours the US, taking in Broadway, Houston and Atlanta at the end of this year - a rare thing for a show from China.

A scene featuring young Zhou Xuan (front) from the musical dance drama Zhou Xuan. Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Opera House

The director of Zhou Xuan, Chen Weiya, was the vice director of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games opening ceremony.

He believes that Zhou Xuan is still remembered by Chinese people, especially Shanghai people, not only because of her beautiful voice and her songs, but also because of her tortured life.

"Of course 100 different people will have 100 different opinions about her. In our show we want to present Zhou's simplicity and innocence, and her permanent love for her art. Even in the later years of her life, Zhou contributed a lot to the anti-war movement by giving charity performances, helping organize ordinary people to be active," Chen said.

"We are not just telling a story about Zhou Xuan herself, who was only 39 years when she died, but we are also trying to reveal the history of Shanghai that existed alongside this wonderful singer."

Unlike big Broadway shows, where the music often delivers loud, brassy renditions of the songs with big choruses and a full orchestra, in Zhou Xuan, the music has a particular traditional quality related to Chinese opera and the Shanghai airs of the 30s to 40s.

Artistic director Zhou Jie said that as well as the classic hits sung by Zhou Xuan, this original show will portray the city which could be seen in her day.

"We will bring to the stage the cries of sellers through the streets, old-fashioned posters and the fashions of that time."

Zhou Jie plays the role of a modern artist in the show. "I look back at her past life but from a modern point of view," she said.

Zhou Xuan's life has been told in several different ways over the years.

A 1982 Hong Kong film featured mainland actress Shen Danping in the role of a 1930s singer clearly based on Zhou Xuan. The film's Chinese title was Nighttime Shanghai, one of Zhou's 1930s hits which had a different title for its English release, A Lady From Shanghai.

In 1987, a Taiwanese television station aired the miniseries Yidai Gehou (The Song Queen of A Generation).

And in 1989, HKTV made a miniseries called Songstress at the Ends of the Earth, again named after a Zhou Xuan hit.

In 2005, a stage musical based on her life was produced in Beijing.

"The biggest difference between our production and the earlier shows will be that, although it is called Zhou Xuan, it is not just about a singer, but it is also about the society around her," Zhou Jie said.

This production will have English subtitles.

Date: August 13 to 15, 7:30 pm

Venue: Shanghai Grand Theater

上海大剧院

Address: 300 People's Avenue

人æ°'大é"300号

Tickets: 100 to 680 yuan

Call 6386-2836 for details