Well-known Chinese singers, including Dedema and Caidan Zhuoma, will perform at the Shenzhen Citizens’ Center next month.

These singers, popular in the 1950s and 1960s, enjoying high reputations, will present a program of songs quite familiar to older Chinese people.

Dedema is an Inner Mongolian mezzo-soprano, commissioner of Chinese Youth Union and member of the Chinese musicians’ committee. Born in 1947, she was enrolled at an Inner Mongolia art school studying singing in 1962. Two years later she registered at the China Conservatory specializing in voice training under professor Jiang Jiaxiang.

While working in Inner Mongolia, she studied traditional Mongolian singing known as “long tune” under prominent singer Hazhabu. After years of study and exercise, Dedema established a style of singing combining bel canto and pop, creating her own special singing style and exploring a new field of the art.

Caidan Zhuoma, a Tibetan singer, shot to fame with her song “On the Golden Mountain in Beijing.” Although Caidan Zhuoma is now the most famous Tibetan singer in the country, before the founding of New China she was regarded as a serf in Tibet, leading a harsh life grazing cattle and sheep.

In 1957, she went to study in Shaanxi Province, and later furthered her studies at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The song, “On the Golden Mountain in Beijing,” expresses the happiness of Tibetan people after being liberated from serfdom. The song is still popular throughout the country and has been adapted by a number of modern singers.

Several young singers will also appear on stage during the concert. Renowned Chinese soprano You Hongfei was a Gold Medallist in Singing at the Pyongyang International Arts Festival in 1999 and 2004. She has performed leading roles in numerous operas and operettas. In September 2001, her performance in Paris won great acclaim from respected critics writing in publications such as Le Figaro and The New York Times.

Time: 8 p.m., Dec. 8

Tickets: 180-880 yuan

Reservations: 11185

Venue: Citizens’ Center

(市民中心)

Add: Fuzhong Road 3, Futian District (福田区福中三路)

Buses: 15, 34, 35, 38, 41, 60, 64, 71, 76, 105, 107, 221, 232, 234, 235, 236, 244, 311, 371, 373, 374, 391

Metro: Shi Min Zhong Xin Station (Citizens’ Center Station 市民中心站), Exit B

(Zhang Chanwen)