Opera festival set to open in May

The fifth China Opera Festival will kick off on May 9 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, said the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Twenty-four Chinese operas will be staged with 48 performances, including 19 new, original Chinese operatic productions.

Master classes and training programs for Chinese opera talents will also be held during the festival.

Launched in 2011, China Opera Festival is held every three years and has taken place at Fujian, Hubei, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces, bringing a number of Chinese operas and opera talents.

This year, the festival is co-organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the government of Zhejiang province.

According to Huang Xiaoju, deputy director-general of the ministry's art department, the festival gathers Chinese musicians and artists who present original Chinese operas, making the event a great enjoyment for opera lovers in the country.

He also said the ministry launched a project of promoting and producing original Chinese operas in 2017, which gave birth to lots of award-winning Chinese operatic productions.

This year, the festival will feature Chinese operas, such as The White-Haired Girl by China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater, The Love Ballad of Kangding by Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Li Qingzhao by Zhejiang Song & Dance Theater.

Western operas will also be staged, including Wagner's Der fliegende Hollander by Shanghai Opera House and Verdi's La traviata co-produced by Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Theatre Kiel, a theater company from Germany.

The festival will also be streamed online, allowing more audience to enjoy the operatic productions.