(Yicai) July 7 -- The Shanghai Grand Opera House has announced that its opening season, themed Born to Sing, will run from Oct. 17 this year to Feb. 20 next year.

The opening season will feature 47 productions and 82 high-quality performances, along with over 100 art education activities, covering a diverse range of genres, including opera, concerts, dance, and traditional Chinese opera, the Shanghai Grand Opera House said yesterday at a press conference.

The Shanghai Grand Opera House is a major cultural facility project planned during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), with construction completed last month. Its architectural structure has received multiple prestigious international awards, and its stage facilities are among the top in Asia.

The venue features a 2,000-seat Harmony Hall, a 1,200-seat Soar Theatre, a 1,000-seat multi-functional Open Stage, and a Grand Atelier. Together, they support a comprehensive performing arts ecosystem that spans from classic resident performances to cutting-edge experimental works, and from professional productions to artistic activities.

The Shanghai Grand Opera House is a global destination for opera, the premiere stage for new Chinese works, and the city's cultural gathering hub, General Manager Zhang Xiaoding said at the press conference. The opera house aims to become a new cultural landmark along the banks of the Huangpu River, she added.

Young baritone Ren Ting was the first to take the stage at the Shanghai Grand Opera House Open Stage during the press conference, singing the classic aria Largo al Factotum from Gioachino Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville, accompanied by pianist Shen Ye from the Shanghai Opera House.

As representatives of the artistic community, theater director Chen Xinyi, conductors Zhang Guoyong, Yu Long, and Xu Zhong, vocalist Shi Yijie, Peking Opera master Shi Yihong, and dancer Zhu Jiejing take the stage to share their expectations for the Shanghai Grand Opera House ahead of its opening.

At the end of the press conference, musicians Jin Kai, Zhao Zhen, Lu Shasha, and Li Chenxiao from the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra perform a quartet titled 'Echoes in the Empty Mountains,' playing the shakuhachi, sheng, guzheng, and ruan instruments.

The exterior of the Shanghai Grand Opera house features a sweeping, helical platform that resembles a Chinese Fan, covering an area of 10,000 square meters.

Editor: Futura Costaglione