Changing China
Giant on the move
Olympics has an Audrey Hepburn moment
First it was the fireworks (see below). Now it turns out the opening ceremony to the Beijing Games had its very own Audrey Hepburn moment.
Nine-year-old Lin Miaoke, who was celebrated across China as the angelic voice with the adorable face who sang “Ode to the Motherland” at Friday’s ceremony, was merely a photogenic stand-in for the real singer, who was rejected because of her appearance.
A director of the opening ceremony, Chen Qigang, said Lin’s voice was overdubbed by the singing of the real child singer Yang Peiyi.
This is nothing new in the world of showbiz, of course. Marni Nixon provided the singing voice for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Deborah Kerr in The King and I. (Would you call her an unsung hero?)
