His world's a stage

"There are 17 major roles and some minor ones in the opera show. For Peking Opera performers, especially young actors, it is important to land a major role where they can sing onstage. Being heard by audiences is a matter of great pride," Tian says.

He says young Peking Opera performers usually get "walk-on parts without names" and it takes them years to land an opportunity to actually act onstage. Working together helped him share his own experiences with them, about how he went from being a little-known performer to an award-winning actor.

Peking Opera was born in 1790, when four Huiju Opera troupes visited Beijing as part of the 80th birthday celebrations of Emperor Qianlong (1711-99). Huiju opera was one of the traditional operas based on which Peking Opera was formed.

In 1840, Peking Opera formally began taking shape under the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908), an enthusiast of the art form. The opera genre gained wide popularity with its blend of stylized action, singing, dialogue, mime, acrobatic fighting and dancing, with troupes being formed in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.