ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing Chinese Opera Festival in St. Petersburg has enchanted local audience with graphic performance, exhibition and educational program.
Thursday's opening event featured graphic performance "The Birth of a Flower" by artist Pan Jianfeng and the musical performance "Rencontre between Debussy and Du Liniang" by pianist Gu Jieting.
The festival, which runs through Saturday, is under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.
The Baltic House Theater, the event site, has become a stage for demonstrating Kunqu Opera aesthetics, as an exhibition of three Shanghai artists inspired by Kunqu art is presented there.
"Rencontre between Debussy and Du Liniang" is the fusion of "The Peony Pavilion," a play written by Tang Xianzu of China's Ming Dynasty, and Claude Debussy, the late French composer.
Gu said it was inspired by her personal experience. Her family introduced her to Kunqu Opera, and after receiving education in France she discovered parallels between Kunqu aesthetics and the music of Debussy. The performance was well perceived by the Russian audience.
