Sabrina Lee

Biography

Long Jian Sheng is a famous Hong Kong Cantonese opera actress, renowned for her role as a male-female lead (wen wu sheng). Born in 1944 into a teacher's family, she was the fourth of eight children. She began studying opera at age sixteen, training under renowned opera stars Ren Jian Hui and Bai Xiu Xian. In 1960, she passed an audition for the "Xian Feng Ming" troupe, selected from thousands of applicants, and made her debut in 1961 in "Bai She Xin Chuan." In 1969, she became the principal wen wu sheng of the "Chu Feng Ming" troupe. She performed numerous famous operas on stages in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and North America. In 1992, she announced her retirement from the stage and moved to Vancouver, Canada, but returned to performing in 2004. Since 2014, she has collaborated with a new generation of opera performers to pass on the art and legacy of her teacher Ren Jian Hui to future generations.