Young actors play musical "The Sound of Music" on Dec 10, 2014 in Beijing.[Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

One of the most popular musicals in the world, The Sound of Music, came in Beijing on Dec 10, stirring a warm response from nostalgic audiences.

Adapted from the original musical composed by Richard Rodgers, this version was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which opened in November 2006 at the London Palladium.

The musical was adapted from a book, The Trapp Family Singers, which was written by Maria Von Trapp about her real-life experiences and published in 1949. The show was a big success, running for more than 1,000 performances and winning six Tony Awards.

According to the musical's director, Anton Luitingh, the London production of The Sound of Music has toured around the world since 2006, and on its first visit to China it is staging 60 shows in five cities: Qingdao, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou.

Luitingh also introduced that this version of The Sound of Music kept the main story and songs while adding some changes to cater to modern audiences, such as the stage set and multimedia technology.

The Sound of Music film was screened in China in the 1970s and was enthusiastically received by Chinese audiences, especially the songs, such as Do-Re-Mi and Edelweiss.

"We have brought the musical to different continents, which proved its lasting popularity," says the director. "Since each one has a family, the emotion is shared. The single father situation is also widely seen around the world, which crossing cultural boundaries. It's no surprise that the musical is still warmly received."

According to Luitingh, six of the child actors were chosen from students at international schools in Beijing. During the China tour, three groups of children are in the cast, playing in the musical in alternate shows.

"The children are good at dancing, singing and acting individually. The most challenging part was to bring those children together in a show," says the director.

He also said that at the opening night of The Sound of Music's Beijing stop, he was glad to see the audience members were quiet, thought half of them were children.

"It means that they focused on listening to the music and following the story," he says. "The more we do it, the more musicals we want to bring to China."