Seasons to relish

"We need to train our team and strive for excellence, in order to serve bigger and finer theater spaces," he adds.

A brand new grand opera house is under construction in Pudong New Area and is expected to be completed next year. As the leading opera house in the city, the Shanghai Opera House shoulders the responsibility of promoting opera art to the public, Xu says.

The new spring-summer season consists of six opera productions, alongside a series of concerts of opera galas, orchestra music and dance shows.

Apart from the opening productions, the Shanghai Opera House will present La Boheme at Shangyin Opera House in April, Der Fliegende Hollander at the Shanghai Grand Theater in May, followed by three Chinese opera productions with revolutionary themes: Jiang Jie, Long March Song Cycle, which will be performed in Shanghai in July and August, and Morning Bell, which will go on tour in the Yangtze River Delta region in March.

The two opening operas tell stories about China and the new Chinese productions "show the Chinese people's participation and understanding of globally renowned operas", Xu says.

The Shanghai Opera House made its first production of Turandot, starring soprano He Hui in 2019.She again took up the role of the Chinese princess in the new production, which featured new costumes and spectacular stage designs.