Listings: Beijing

STAGE

BeijingQuju OperaBeijingers is adapted from the modern drama of the same title. Written by the great playwright Cao Yu, the play is set in the 1930s

inside the home of a big family. The focus is on the lives of brothers and how they suffer from similar marriage and life troubles and reveals how each finds a different way out. Quju Opera has been a popular art form in Beijing and was developed into an opera genre in the 1950s.

7:30 pm, Sept 15, 16

Grand Chang'an Theater, Jianguomenwai Dajie

400-818-3333

The Peony Pavilion, the classicKunqu Opera, is on at the Imperial Granary, a perfect venue. The Imperial Granary was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, 600 years ago, at exactly the same time the Kunqu Opera was written.

6409-6477/6499

22 Dongsi Shitiao, Dongcheng district

380-1,980 yuan, including Peking Roast Duck buffet

TheChinese Acrobatics Grouphas toured more than 80 countries and helped foster friendships with them. Its performance includes traditional acrobatics, a circus show, magic and old Beijing folk plays. The show blends music, dance, local opera and martial arts.

7:30 pm, daily

Tiandi Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, Chaoyang district

6416-9893

CONCERTS

Held three times every year since 1938, the Lucerne Music Festival is popular not just in Switzerland but also around the world. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra, founded in 2003, will make its Beijing debut, led by maestroClaudio Abbado. It will present a program that includes Mozart's Oboe Quartet in F Major K370 and Flute Quartet No 1 in D Major K285, Widmann's Quartet for Strings No 3 Jagdquartett and Mendelssohn's String Quartet in A Minor Op 13.

7:30 pm, Sept 24, 25

National Center for the Performing Arts, west of Tian'anmen Square

6655-0000

Thechamber concertcomprises clarinet player Liu Shu, cellist Zhang Yunxin and pianist Han Bing. They will present romantic music, including compositions by Beethoven, Glinka, Brahms and young Chinese musician Qu Chao. A graduate of the Xi'an Conservatory of Music in 1999, Qu has composed the theme music for many movies.

7 pm, Sept 19

Peking University Hall, inside Peking University, Haidian district

6275-2279

Exhibition

The Second Touch Africa Tourism and Culture Festival opens a window into mysteriousAfrican culturewith various events. The carnival features a display of antiques, musical instruments, wood carvings and hand-weaving pieces; an exhibition of photos of Egypt and Zimbabwe; and two painting shows of Seychelles artist Nigel Henry and several budding African artists in China. Merchants from Ethiopia and Ghana will showcase the making of coffee and chocolates. Several award-winning African films, touching on a broad range of topics, will also be shown.

10 am-6:45 pm, until Sept 13

SOLANA Lifestyle Shopping Park, 6 Chaoyang Park Road