(Source: CGTN)

Art has no nationality and that’s especially true in China today. Donizetti's dramatic opera 'Lucia di Lammermoor' has come to Beijing's Tianqiao Performing Arts Center. The co-production of the National Center for the Performing Arts and Russia's Marinsky Theater has seen a full-house.

Hailed as the Scottish version of Romeo and Juliet, Donizetti's dramatic opera "Lucia Di Lammermoor" ignites around of opera frenzy in China.

The story tells of a blood feud and arranged marriage gone horribly awry; the mad scene, with the hallucinating bride in the bloodstained nightgown, is one of the most powerful moments in opera.

The performance marks the opening of the 9th Opera Festival organized by the National Center for the Performing Arts with more opera classics to follow.

"We noticed that ten years ago, before the establishment of the NCPA, very few people would go to see an opera. So when we organize the programs, we would start with popular titles like...and gradually we noticed that the Chinese audience began to understand more about opera. We've done 45 operas starting from nine years ago, and the audience are growing up with the program. They are more used to enjoy the beauty of operas," Wei Lanfang, head of Opera Production Dept, NCPA, said.

Apart from the growing popularity of western operas, the growing interests for western art forms, especially from younger audience is also something to notice.

For opera lovers, their enthusiasm for the art form helps bring in more quality productions to China.

"Now we're really seeing a variety of operas in China, like Elisir d'Amore (The Elixir of Love). You can tell people's cultural life has really lit up."

"I remember seeing Camille years back in Beijing, and I was very impressed by lead soprano Sun Xiuwei. She was singing Italian while everybody else is singing Chinese. But now I'm glad to see there's more quality productions, all top-notch, international caliber."

"I think it's a good thing that people are beginning to appreciate western art forms like opera, and that in turn attracts more world-renowned artists and troupes to perform China."

It’s hard to tell since when that all these opera houses and opera performances started to appear in China. But more telling than ever is that the fast expansion of the western music and performing art style mirrors the development of modern China, rapid and ambitious.