(b Lhasa, 1927). Tibetan lha-mo (musical theatre) actor and teacher. He was born to a family of performers of the sKyor-mo-lung troupe and enrolled for performance at the age of eight. He was nicknamed La-pa-lags, the one who sings la-la-la. His acting, especially of the female roles, made him a national celebrity in pre-communist Tibet. He could have become the next teacher of the sKyor-mo-lung troupe at a young age if the political situation had not forced him into exile in India in 1960. After the hardships of life in exile, he was appointed lha-mo master of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts of Dharamsala in 1979. He is the main source for the reconstitution of lha-mo in India, where he has taught the song texts for six plays from memory and has performed in all the lha-mo recordings made in exile. His brother, Tseten Dorje, remained in the Lhasa official troupe and became a stage director.
D. Schuh: Der Schauspieler des tibetischen Lha-mo Theaters, Zentralasiatische Studien, x (1976), 33984
Profile: Norbu Tsering, Opera Master, Tibetan Institute of the Performing Arts Newsletter (1995), 1213
N. Tsering: Ache Lhamo is my Life (Turin, 1999)
ISABELLE HENRION-DOURCY