Chinese opera star Zhang Huoding closes Meeting in Beijing arts festival

Zhang Huoding delivers a speech at the Meeting in Beijing arts festival closing ceremony press release. [Photo by Zhang Xingjian/chinadaily.com.cn]

Also, it is worthwhile to notice that Zhang Huoding has made her dreams come true by asking Chinese Peking Opera artist Ye Shaolan to join in the performance.

Meanwhile, Zhang Huoding will act the female character Bai Suzhen, also known as the White Snake, in the show while Xu Xian, the male lead and husband of the White Snake, will be played by four artists, namely, Ye Shaolan, Song Xiaochuan, Zhao Rao and Zhang Bing.

It is the first time in Peking Opera history that this style of performance is taking place.

After graduating from an opera school in Tianjin in 1989, Zhang Huoding began training under a Peking Opera master who studied the works of Cheng Yanqiu, the founder of the style she adopted.

Being a professor of the National Academy of Chinese Theater since 2008, 45-year-old Zhang Huoding is very soft-spoken, rarely granting interviews, keeping a low profile.

As an international arts festival held yearly in Beijing, the festival aims at promoting cultural exchange by presenting Chinese culture while introducing international arts.