Exhibition invites audience to a cinematic feast of opera

The curtains are rising, but this time, there are no seats to fill.

With the 9th edition of the National Center for the Performing Arts International Opera Film Exhibition kicking off on Sunday in Beijing, productions from international opera houses take to the silver screen, inviting audiences to experience the grandeur of the stage through the lens of cinema.

According to Ma Rongguo, vice-president of the NCPA, a total of 16 stage art films, both Chinese and international, will be screened to Nov 30 at nearly 100 cinemas, theaters, and over 20 universities in more than 30 cities in China.

"For those who've never set foot in a gilded opera house and those who are loyal patrons of the art form, this cinematic journey promises to bridge centuries of tradition with the cutting edge of visual storytelling," says Ma.

This year's selection spans different genres, including opera, musical theater, dance drama, and traditional Chinese opera.

Seventeen arts institutions from seven countries are participating, including seven from China, such as the NCPA and Jiangsu Performing Arts Group, and 10 internationally renowned institutions, such as the Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain, and the Royal Opera House in the United Kingdom, deepening cross-cultural artistic dialogue.

Opera productions featured in the event include the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Georges Bizet's Carmen, which features Italian conductor Daniele Rustioni and mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina starring as the beguiling Carmen, and Alice's Adventures Under Ground, a 2016 one-act opera by Irish composer Gerald Barry, with a libretto of his own, featuring 54 roles sung by a cast of just seven.

The NCPA's production of Tosca, offering a contemporary interpretation of Puccini's classic, will also be screened during the event

The Eternal Wave, a Chinese dance drama choreographed by Zhou Liya and Han Zhen, is adapted from a classic 1950s Chinese film. It follows an underground Communist telegrapher working undercover to fight against the enemy. The Kunqu Opera production The Peony Pavilion, written by Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) playwright Tang Xianzu, and featuring actor Shi Xiaming and actress Shan Wen, will bring Chinese stories from theater to screen.