Artists of China's five local operas, namely Peking , Shaanxi, Sichuan, Shaoxing and Kunqu, will stage five experimental operas at the House of World Cultures in Berlin, Germany, from March to April.

The arrangement will be part of a month-long cultural exchange event due to start on March 23 in Berlin.

Named "China: between past and future", the cultural event will cover China's dramas, literature, movies and photography. It will be the greatest cultural exchange between China and Germany in the last 20 years.

Sponsors of the event include the Shanghai Drama Art Center, the Shanghai Drama Institute and the House of World Cultures in Berlin.

Dr. Bernd M. Scherer, Director of the House of World Cultures, said," Chinese operas are both extensive and profound. Some German dramatists, including Bertolt Brecht, were influenced by the Peking opera master, Mei Lanfang."

During the one-month event, Chinese artists are expected to perform five newly-written operas, including those adapted from Chinese classic A Dream of Red Mansions and the prestigious British dramatist William Shakespeare's classic King Lear.

According to Yang Shaolin, general manager of the Shanghai Drama Art Center, after making their debut in Berlin, the five new operas will be staged back in Shanghai from May 16 to 21.
 
(Xinhua News Agency March 15, 2006)