A scene from Han Su Wu. Provided to China Daily

New repertoires and innovative interpretations of old works have helped revive the traditional art form and reached a wider audience in recent years, says Song Guanlin, director of CNPOC.

The company brings together three generations of Peking Opera singers to present classic and modern pieces for the month-long season.

Han Su Wu, the latest production of director Gao Mukun and Peking Opera artist Zhang Jianguo, will take the stage for the first time. The piece is adapted from the ancient story of Su Wu, an official of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), who is exiled to the border to tend sheep.

Director Gao, a Peking Opera singer, had the first draft ready in early 2010. "It's not a replay of the classic story," he says. "We explore the inner world of each character, including the hero Su Wu, and villain, Li Ling."

The new adaptation focuses on Su's loyalty and emotional side, according to Zhang, who plays Su.

Twilight of the Forbidden City, a new Peking Opera production by playwright He Jiping, revolves around the despotic Empress Dowager Cixi, the inept Emperor Guangxu, the flattering eunuch Li Lianying and the treacherous minister Rong Lu.

It is based on the playwright's earlier play, Deling and Cixi, which she wrote in the early 1990s after moving from Beijing to Hong Kong. It was a big hit when it premiered in Hong Kong in 1998.

Twilight of the Forbidden City presents a fresh look at these familiar figures of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the latest production also adds English subtitling of the dialogues to cater to foreign audiences.

Song says the CNPOC's three performing seasons - the May Holiday, the National Holiday and Spring Festival break - is aimed at meeting the growing interest in Peking Opera.

Besides Beijing, CNPOC will also tour other 23 cities in Fujian, Guangdong and Shandong provinces.

China Daily