Liu Hulan (opera)

Liu Hulan (刘胡兰) is a 1954 Chinese-language western-style opera by Chen Zi. It is based on the death of a 14-year-old communist party girl Liu Hulan, who was elevated into a revolutionary martyr. Part of the original opera was composed in 1949, only 2 years after her death, and revised into a full-scale opera in 1954. Several other composers such as Ge Guangrui also contributed to Chen's opera.^[1] A similar opera based on another revolutionary martyr is Sister Jiang.

An early piece of art depicting Liu as a heroic martyr was the spoken drama Liu Hulan.^[2]: 161 In Spring 1947, members of the Combat Dramatic Society founded by General He Long read an account of Liu's martyrdom in Jinsui Daily.^[2]: 161 A member of the organization interviewed Liu's family and local villagers and used these accounts to collectively write the spoken drama over the course of several weeks.^[2]: 161Inspired by the success of The White-Haired Girl, in 1948 the Combat Dramatic Society adapted their spoken drama into the operatic version, Liu Hulan.^[2]: 161

In 1950, one of Liu's executioners (Zhang Quanbao) attended a performance of the opera Liu Hulan.^[2]: 164 He broke down emotionally while seeing the audience's animosity toward the character ("Big Beard") which represented him.^[2]: 164 He was captured in 1951, put on public trial, and executed.^{[2]: 164–165}