Renowned Chinese singer Guo Lanying dies at 97

BEIJING – Guo Lanying, one of China’s most celebrated opera singers hailed as a “People’s Artist,” died at the age of 97 on Tuesday, the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater said in an obituary on Wednesday.

Guo, whose powerful yet lyrical voice made her a household name in China and one of the most recognizable figures in Chinese performing arts, left behind a body of work that includes some of the country’s most enduring songs, many of which remain popular decades after they were first performed.

Among her most famous works was the song “My Motherland,” which she sang for a 1950s film set against the backdrop of the battle at Shangganling, one of the most fiercely contested engagements during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953). With its stirring melody and heartfelt lyrics expressing deep affection for the homeland, the song became a lasting part of the collective memory of generations of Chinese people over the following 70 years and continues to be widely sung today in China.

Guo also won widespread acclaim for her portrayal of the heroine Xi’er in the revolutionary-themed opera “The White-Haired Girl,” a landmark work in modern Chinese opera.

In 2019, Guo was awarded the national honorary title of “People’s Artist,” one of China’s highest national honors. The award citation praised her for her “pioneering contributions to the establishment of China’s national opera performance system and the development of Chinese vocal art.”