Performance series hopes to stoke greater youth interest

The annual Classic Chinese Opera Series will be held at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center from March 11 to April 20. The center will stage 13 programs comprising 16 shows and will feature dozens of well-known actors.

To showcase the Shanghai Oriental Art Center's bid to encourage younger audiences to appreciate traditional art forms, the monthlong opera event will open with the screening of the 3D Peking Opera movie, Cao Cao and Yang Xiu.

Crossover performances during the event will include the modern one-man Kunqu Opera, I, Hamlet (pictured), which is adapted from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Created by famous Kunqu Opera actor Zhang Jun, the production had previously won praise from overseas audiences following its debuts in London and New York.