Li Yugang

Early years

In 2006, Li rose to prominence after placing third on Star Boulevard (星光大道), a national talent competition on CCTV.^[3] His performances of "Farewell My Concubine" (霸王别姬) and "The Drunken Beauty" (贵妃醉酒), both from the Peking Opera repertoire, gained him significant public attention.^{[citation needed]}

The following year, Li gave his first solo performance in Beijing, titled "Where Flowers are Unbounded" (凡花无界). In April 2008, he performed at the "2008 United Nations Spring Cultural Festival" at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.^[4] In 2009, he joined the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater^[2] and was awarded the title of National First-Class Actor.^[5] That same year, Li performed at the Sydney Opera House,^[6] becoming the second Chinese artist to do so, and was awarded the Southern Cross Gold Prize for Culture by the Australian Government.^{[citation needed]}

Stage

In 2010 and 2011, Li developed the stage productions "Flower in Mirror, Moon in Water" (镜花水月) and "The Painting of Four Beauties" (四美图), respectively, performing over 100 shows domestically and internationally. In 2015, he directed and starred in "Lady Zhaojun" (昭君出塞), an Oriental Poetic Stage production that took three years to prepare.^[7] It premiered in Beijing from 16–19 April 2015.

A new musical adaptation of "Lady Zhaojun" premiered at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center on 26 April 2019, followed by a global tour in June. By 8 December 2019, the production had completed 46 performances.^[8] Following a hiatus, the tour was scheduled to resume in 2023.^[9]

Music

In 2010, Li Yugang released his debut album "The New Drunken Beauty" (新贵妃醉酒), and then released "Dream-chasing Chant" (逐梦令) and "Lotus" (莲花). In 2014, the Rhymoi Music company released Li Yugang's "Once Upon a Time in Shanghai" (民国旧梦) CD album.

On 10 November 2016, the single "Happened to meet you" (剛好遇見你) was released for the 10th anniversary of his debut and the self-titled album was released in 2017. "Happened to meet you" stayed on the music charts for 10 weeks, and the music video for the song reached over 100 million views on YouTube. After that, he started the tour of "Li Yugang's 10-year Classic Concert" (李玉剛十年經典演唱會) on 17 Dec. 2016.^[10]

By now(2023), Li Yugang has released nearly a hundred singles, mainly in Chinese style. He has also blended variety styles like R&B,  rap and electronic elements into his music.

Cross-Border

In addition to being a stage actor and singer, Li Yugang has also branched out into writing, planning and holding cultural gatherings, promotion of ceramic culture, and film director.

In November 2016, his first literary work "The beauty I met" (玉見之美) which recorded his pilgrimage to China's intangible cultural heritage with words and pictures was published.^[11] At the end of 2016, Li 's art space "Jade Space" (玉空間) was completed in Beijing, extending his love and obsession with traditional culture from stage art to life aesthetics.^[12] In May 2021, after the "Jade Space" in Beijing and Suzhou, Li Yugang's porcelain culture-themed art space - "Jade Workshop" (玉工坊) was unveiled in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province.^[13]

In 2019, the short film "A Date After Twilight", Li directed and starred, was set as the opening film of the 86358 Short Film Exchange Week hosted by Jia Zhangke Art Center.^[14] On 30 March 2023, Li has begun filming his feature directorial debut "Nostalgia in the Cloud" (雲上的雲).^[15]

Singles

(English titles with "*" are from the official.)

Studio albums

EP

Live album of Musical