Opera festival starts with tragic love story

According to the show's producer, Xiao Nairong, who is also a student of the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, the creative team members are students of the university who, during the past, were supported by their teachers, to create the Yueju Opera Ruan Lingyu.

"Chinese operas, which have hundreds of years of history, have gained a large fan base among young audiences. We want to showcase the beauty of Chinese operas with creative ideas, such as staging the shows at smaller theaters," says Xiao, 24, a student of the department of International Cultural Communication of the university.

Yueju Opera actress Hu Jieting plays the role of Ruan. An actress with Shaoxing Xiaobaihua Yueju Opera Troupe, one of the most well-known in China, Hu, 36, was busy touring with her troupe when director Du called her to join in the Ruan Lingyu production. They were classmates at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts from 2015 to 2019.

"I am very interested in the story of Ruan. Performing Yuejue Opera in a small theater is also a big draw for me," says Hu, who was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang province and fell in love with Yueju Opera as a teenager. She trained to become a Yueju Opera actress at 15.

"Small theater offers a kind of intimacy between the actors, actresses and the audiences. The atmosphere is quite different from performing in bigger venues where I usually perform," Hu says.