In beijing in 1964, french embassy clerk bernard boursicot fell for an opera singer named shi pei pu. Shi even produced a child, whom he claimed was their offspring. Boursicot granted wadler lengthy interviews about deeply personal matters as well as. During the interview, pei pu sits next to his adopted son, du du, the young man who boursicot thought was his son with pei pu. Shi pei pu, a 26yearold male opera singer in 1964, had been born in the southwestern chinese province of yunnan. In one 1988 interview, pei pu explains, i used to fascinate both men and women. Butterfly, once pressed upon me a gift of rare jewels.
He grew up in kunming in yunnan where he learned french and attended the university there. Butterfly, once pressed upon me a gift of rare jewels, and to my shame, i accepted. This 30yearold play about gender and asian identity is more relevant than ever. He masqueraded as a woman and had a 20 year long sexual relationship with a french diplomat, whom he used as a source of intelligence. Shis death to agence francepresse and said he was 70. It was arranged that shi and the 20yearold boursicot would meet. Butterfly for a new production, but its themes of toxic masculinity and asian gender stereotypes have been there from the beginning. In 1964 beijing, shi pei pu lived and worked as a man, singing in the beijing opera and teaching chinese to diplomats families. Well, the broadway premiere wasnt long after the global scandal involving bernard boursicot and shi pei pu, so that had just been in the news. From a male opera singer to a diplomats wife duration. He told of his interview with barbara walters, his relationship with biographer joyce wadler, and what it was like for him to see the play and movie, m. Butterfly broke ground when it premiered in 1988, bringing gender nonconformity to the stage in new and surprising ways. In later interviews, boursicot vaguely explains that his first and only.
Since then, the facts i have learned about shi pei pu have done little to dispel his mystery. December 21, 1938 june 30, 2009 was a chinese opera singer from beijing. Shi was a chinese opera performer who met bernard boursicot, a french embassy accountant, in beijing in 1964. Hwang modeled his play on the strangebuttrue story he heard at a cocktail party about bernard boursicot and shi pei pu, who were caught in similar circumstances. Boursicot thought for nearly 20 years that his male lover shi pei pu was a. Shi pei pus story seems to start off fairly normally, he was born in 1938 in shandong province to a father who was a university professor and a mother who was a school teacher.
Pei meis chinese cookbook volume i pei mei shi pu 1. On july 1, inspectors jeanlouis flori and patrick lamongie of the security agency climb the six flights of stairs to interview shi pei pu. Shi pei pu was a chinese opera singer from beijing. He wished to promote himself as a beijing opera star though there was no evidence he had ever been one in china. Shi pei pu is a chinese opera singer, spy, who was born on 21 december, 1938 in shandong, china. Shi pei pu chinese opera singer and spy britannica. In later interviews, boursicot vaguely explains that his first and only sexual encounters were brief, and with men, before changing the subject.
At 83, bernard boursicot, the french embassy worker at the center of. In his role as instructor, shi met a french embassy clerk by the name of bernard boursicot. Shi pei pu, who died in paris on june 30 aged 70, was a chinese opera singer whose name would have remained obscure to the world were it. The story was a hit on stage, but its finding that life on the big screen is a whole different ballgame. Butterfly from 1988 to 2017 howlround theatre commons. Boursicot, whose only sexual experiences involved men, was determined to fall in love with a woman. The story, while entwined with that of the opera madama butterfly, is based most directly on the relationship between french diplomat bernard boursicot and shi pei pu, a peking opera singer.
I applied in midjuly for a position in the new york, ny, office. At everyman theatre, a chance meeting baltimore sun. Bernard boursicot born on 12 august 1944 is a french diplomat who was caught in a honeypot trap seducing him to participate in chinese espionage, by shi pei pu, a male peking opera singer who performed female roles, whom boursicot believed to be female. Shi pei pu 10 insane disguises that actually worked. Shi convinced boursicot that he was a woman, and they began an affair that continued on and off for twenty years. Almost four weeks later, i had a brief phone interview with a person in the uk who i thought was the manager. Bernard told the group when he first met shi pei pu, it was under the guise of learning chinese. He would do an interview only if the magazine arranged for him to perform on. Shi pei pu, who died in paris on june 30 aged 70, was a chinese opera singer whose name would have remained obscure to the world were it not for his starring role in one of the most bizarre. In that time, boursicot passed shi sensitive documents and shi produced a. He was also an actor and playwright and spoke french. Masterful at both opera and disguise, shi pei pu not pictured here pulled the wool over french diplomat bernard boursicots eyes for years before being.
He gave many interviews years ago, so i asked him why he still. Pei pu meanwhile never confirmed what exactly hishertheir gender identity was but it was likely fluid. He said, if shi pei pu were a woman, id be a hero, lancisi says. Butterfly and the movie of the same title, died june 30 in paris. Butterflys other template is the scandalous true story of french diplomat bernard boursicot born 1944, who falls in love with a seemingly female performer, shi pei pu 19392009. Shi pei pu was a chinese opera star when he met frenchman bernard boursicot in 1964. He became a spy who obtained secrets from bernard boursicot, an employee in the french embassy. They always made love in the dark, which boursicot attributed to chinese modesty. Bruce and vinny sometimes asked specific questions about his relationship with shi pei pu the reallife song liling which revealed littlealthough he jokingly referred to shi pei pu as his majesty. Former french embassy employee bernard boursicot, 41, left and shi pei pu, 47, a singer in chinese traditional opera face the judge as their trial began in paris, may 5, 1986. Boursicot was 20 when he arrived in beijing in 1964, and the opera performer shi pei pu boursicots mata hari was evidently a man when they first cast eyes upon each other at a party. But in the thirty years since the original production, a wealth of new information has been discovered about the lives of bernard boursicot and shi pei pu, the reallife french diplomat and chinese spy whose affair.
The chinese secret service recruited shi pei pu, a native of kunming in yunnan and a singer with the beijing opera. The story made headline news in the 80s when the men were on. Shi pei pu shi pei pu, who died in paris on june 30 aged 70, was a chinese opera singer whose name would have remained obscure to the world were it. Washington shi pei pu, a chinese operatic soprano who along with his french lover was convicted of espionage and whose complicated affair inspired the tony awardwinning broadway play m. He became a spy who obtained secrets from bernard boursicot, an employee in the french embassy, during a 20yearlong sexual affair in which the performer convinced the man that he was a woman. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. An irish military surgeon in the british army, as james barry. Two weeks later, i had a phone interview with him and one of his colleagues. The lion kings julie taymor opens up about her success, her mistakes, and being a. Pei meis chinese cookbook volume i pei mei shi pu 1 book. Who was shi peipu, a chinese spy and opera star who.
However, when bernard boursicot, shis former lover, was asked about shis death in a telephone interview, he showed no sympathy. He even convinced the diplomat that he had given birth to a child, whom he had purchased. Shi and his lover revisits the strangerthanfiction story of the 20year affair between french embassy employee bertrand boursicot david kwan and pekinese opera singer shi pei pu jordan cheng, who boursicot believed was a woman posing as a man. Everything he did for her was to get her out of china, because he felt she wasnt. He grew up in kunming, yunnan province, which is where he learned to. E ach and every performance rendered by the actor portraying mr shi in the musical mr shi and his lover, now playing at the macau cultural center, is. Shi pei pu began an affair with bernard boursicot, telling boursicot that he was a woman pretending to be a man. Join facebook to connect with shi pei pu and others you may know. July 1, 2009 shi pei pu, a beijing opera singer and spy whose sexually convoluted love affair with a french embassy worker created one of the strangest cases in international espionage and was the inspiration for the broadway show m. Julie taymor interview the lion kings 20th broadway.