A scene of a Yueju Opera play presented by Shaoxing Xiaobaihua Troupe [Photo/IC]

The fourth China Yueju Opera Art Festival, a quadrennial national event, will take place in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, one of the cradles of the popular opera, from Oct 12 to 30, according to a news conference on Sept 6.

Co-hosted by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Zhejiang Provincial People's Government, the art festival has been successfully held three times in Shaoxing, the permanent host city of the event, since 2006.

This year, the organizing team of the festival has planned a host of opera-related activities amid efforts to build it into an influential cultural feast.

Officials have said that the festival will open with the performances of Zhejiang's most popular Yueju Opera plays and the closing ceremony is designed to be a special show presented by some of the province's most promising young performers.

During the event, 24 Yueju Opera plays, including eight from Shanghai, Jiangsu and Fujian, and 16 from Zhejiang province will be staged. Meanwhile, there will be shows of some distinctive operas in Zhejiang such as Yongju Opera from Ningbo.

The organizers will also invite artists, critics and scholars from the opera industry as well as the internet and tourism sectors to discuss ways of integrating Yueju Opera into modern life and the development prospects of the opera.

To increase the influence of the fourth China Yueju Opera Art Festival, activities relating to opera performances and expo will be arranged throughout the whole year.

Two women performers from Shaoxing, Zhejiang province present the Yueju Opera. [Photo/IC]