National arts centre to promote traditional Yue Opera

China's leading Yue Opera troupes are to stage their renowned pieces at the National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) in a special promotional campaign running from Feb. 22 to March 16. Leading Yue Opera troupes from Zhejiang, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wenzhou will stage a number of operas including the "butterfly lovers," China's answer to Romeo and Juliet and "A Dream in Red Mansions", which is one of China's four great classic novels, according to a Wednesday press briefing held by the NCPA. The move aims to promote artistic inheritance and introduce the status quo of traditional Yue Opera, which is an 800-year-old art form noted for its lyricism and sweet tunes. This is not the first time for the NCPA to promote traditional Chinese opera arts. In 2013, the center promoted Huangmei Opera, one of the most famous traditional operas in China. Originated as a rural folk song and dance existent for the last two centuries, it has its roots in the tea-harvest songs of Huangmei in China's central Hubei Province, but did not gain popularity until it was blended with folk songs in neighboring Anhui Province. Meng Xin, vice head of the performing department of the NCPA, said that 2013's promotion of Huangmei Opera has received sound feedbacks. "The National Center for Performing Arts not only provides platform for the exhibition of national quintessence such as Peking and Kunqu opera, but also for local arts like Yue Opera," Meng added. Kunqu is also one of the oldest forms of Chinese opera with a history of more than 600 years. Started during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), it is considered the "mother" of many Chinese operas. Meng said that the NCPA has arranged various local operas since the establishment of the center six years ago.