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Taiwanese Opera Artist | Ellvan Ku Yi-fan

  • Date:2020-03-02
Taiwanese Opera Artist | Ellvan Ku Yi-fan

  • Name: 古翊汎
  • Born: Sept. 22, 1980
  • Birthplace: Kaohsiung City
  • Did you Know That …?
  • Ellvan Ku Yi-fan's nickname is "Big Ku (大古)" in a play on words on his family name. His teacher Liu Nan-fang (劉南芳) would specially compose songs for Ku to help him become more familiar with Taiwanese opera tunes, which eventually became known to other students along the lines of "Big Ku Tune One" and "Big Ku Tune Two." 

In fourth grade of elementary school, Taiwanese opera performer Ellvan Ku first heard of drama school at his babysitter's house and immediately informed his parents of his desire to apply. In fifth grade, Ku moved from Kaohsiung to Taipei to study at the Department of Jing Ju (Peking opera) of National Fu Hsin Dramatic Arts Academy (now National Taiwan College of Performing Arts, 國立台灣戲曲學院) — all for the sake of learning to somersault and other showstoppers.

Ku was first assigned the "Jing" character type, which are characters with painted faces and specialized variations of singing, before being transferred to "Combat Jing," which focuses on movement and combat. After graduating from high school with high scores, Ku was admitted to the National Fu-shin Troupe (now Chinese Opera Troupe of National Taiwan Junior College of Traditional Performing Arts, 國立台灣戲曲學院京劇團).

What should have been a time for Ku to shine instead was one squeezed by acting bottlenecks. The following year, his alma mater established a specialized department, and Ku, who felt inadequate, decided to go back to school for further studies. This was a crucial period for Ku to learn to be more emotive and further hone his acting skills.

Liu Tung-kuei (劉光桐), Liu Wen-liang (劉文亮), and Liu Nan-fang (劉南芳) were three teachers who had profound influence on Ku. Director Liu Tung-kuei created suitable performance opportunities for Ku. Teacher Liu Wen-liang boldly invited Ku to perform in Taiwanese operas (koa-á-hì), even though Ku was not yet proficient in Taiwanese. Composer Liu Nan-fang specially composed songs to help him learn.

In 2002, Ku participated in the performance of "The Palace of Eternal Life (長生殿)" and thus began his adventures in Taiwanese opera. He then continued to perform with many Taiwanese opera troupes, including Hsu Yafen Taiwanese Opera Troupe (許亞芬歌子戲劇坊), Tang Mei-Yun Taiwanese Opera Company (唐美雲歌仔戲團), and Holo Taiwanese Opera Troupe (河洛歌子戲團), slowly gaining recognition from the Taiwanese opera community.

Before all of his performances, during the day Ku would practice with the troupe, and at night he would repeatedly review and practice his own lines and lyrics. This burning passion and state of tension in Ku's performances never change. Every aspect of singing, reading, and combat is integrated into the act, and Ku has sought out the linkages between Peking and Taiwanese operas to gain new ideas to better his performances.





In 2017, Ku played the role of Liu Zhi-yuan (劉志遠) in the Taiwanese opera "Lady Lee (李三娘)" and received the Best Individual Newcomer title at the Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music for his extremely talented displays of singing skills and martial arts combat. It was a great moment for Ku, for the novice traditional actor with a solid foundation was not yet a fluent Taiwanese speaker, but was now gaining recognition in the field.





The next year, Ku was named Best Actor at the traditional Golden Melody Awards for his performance in the theater production "Battle of the Right to Life (夢斷黑水溝)," which is based on an original Taiwanese story describing Tangshan immigrants crossing the ocean to Taiwan. Ku played the young headstrong hero Li Chong (李沖).

Ku's potential talent shone through during his training in Peking opera. Through Taiwanese opera, Ku seemed to have found another arena to display his brilliant artistry.

When Ku received his Best Actor award, he thanked the many teachers and people along the way who made him what he is today, and thanked the jury for the affirmation and recognition of his hard work. He specifically also thanked Shintrun Taiwanese Opera Troupe (薪傳歌仔戲劇團) and opera artist and national treasure Liao Chiung-chih (廖瓊枝). Ku promised to continue to work hard to bring more excellent performances to viewers.