House Of The Flying Water-Sleeves: Yueju Crossover part 4

Below are 2 clips of Qian Huili and Fang Yafen singing arias from "Romance of the Red Mansion" and "Lu You and Tang Huixian" respectively. Qian Huili was trained in Xiaosheng roles singing in Xu-style, whereas Fang Yafen was trained in Huadan roles singing in Yuan-style. The expressive Xu-style of singing is best known for frequent leaps into high notes, hence requires the singer to have a wide vocal range. The Yuan-style of singing was created by Yuan Xuefen, and it was her who paved ways to the creation of other singing styles by other Yue opera masters.

Qian Huili and Fang Yafen are famous Yue opera actresses from Shanghai Yue Opera Company. Their near perfect image on stage made them idols to many Yue opera lovers. However, in this next clip, they sacrificed their wholesome image to play the clownish roles of Third Aunt and Master Shi respectively. Zhang Hailing, a versatile actress from the same opera company who was able to switch between Laosheng and Laodan roles easily, took on a Huadan role in this clip singing Lyu-style instead.

My verdict:
This is the most enjoyable clip in this series, as Fang Yafen and Qian Huili's portayal of Third Aunt and Master Shi were really beyond my expectation. They were so comical that I just can't stop laughing. However, that doesn't make them any less serious. In fact, it was their seriousness in their role that make their renditions a success. Zhang Hailing, on the other hand, did not stand out as much as her role was more of a "serious" one. Her acting and singing were good, but her chubby size made her look a bit comical.

My ratings:
Qian Huili's singing