Pianists to set the tune

The Jingju Theater Company of Beijing will perform a concert featuring the company's star performers, such as Zhang Huifang, Chi Xiaoqiu and Du Zhenjie. Peking Opera, known as jingju in Chinese, combines several art forms, including singing, dancing, martial arts and acrobatics. UNESCO declared it an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2010.

According to Liu Tong, president of the company, this year, the company is staging more than 100 Peking Opera shows across the country. Modern Peking Opera, known as yang ban xi, as Liu says, is an important part of reviving the 200-year-old art form, which was popular among audiences during the 1970s and 1980s. Classic modern Peking Opera works will be staged during a concert at the Forbidden City Concert Hall on May 1, including Raid on the White Tiger Regiment and The Red Lantern, to appeal to nostalgic fans.