The 7th China Kunqu Opera Festival Pre-Stage Meeting was hosted in Suzhou on September 11 by the Art Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which confirmed that the 7th China Kunqu Opera Festival will be held in Suzhou from October 13 to 19.
It is reported that during the 7th China Kunqu Opera Festival, 22 professional troupes and 3 private performance groups will put on 25 performances. To improve the performance effect of the Kunqu Festival, the committee has arranged ten well-equipped and easily accessible venues. The venues include Suzhou City Conference Center City Hall, Suzhou Culture and Arts Center Grand Theatre, Suzhou Poly Theater, Suzhou Dushu Lake Theatre, Suzhou Kaiming Grand Theatre, Suzhou Kunshan Poly Theatre, and Wujiang Grand Theatre, etc.
ThisKunqu Opera Festival will focus on eight characteristics:
1. Creating and reorganizing the large-scale plays, meanwhileKunqu masters and their students giving performances together;
2.To hold the 2018Tiger Hill Concert simultaneously.The 2018 Tiger Hill Opera Festival will be accompanied by a special performance for young fans, and experts will be invited to give instructions;
3. To hold the 8th China Kunqu Academic Symposium. About 40 scholars will be invited to hold academic discussions on Kunqu Opera and to observe the performance of Kunqu Opera Festival, carry out academic exchanges and comments, and revise relevant essays after the Festival;
4. Enrich the inheritance practice of Kunqu Opera art. The "Kunqu Opera Inheritance Plan", jointly promoted by Suzhou Kunqu Theatre and Peking University, combines the traditional Chinese Kunqu Opera art and campus opera education organically. At this year's Kunqu Festival, Peking University students will bring the youth version of the Peony Pavilion;
5. Strengthen the integration of culture and tourism. CombineKunqu art withtypical localSuzhou culture represented by the gardens. Therefore, Huajian Hall, Cang Lang Ting and other places with original Suzhou charm will also be venues to promote the deep integration of World Heritage and Cultural Tourism;
6. The Kunqu Museum of China will launch a series of activities as an important part of the festival. The Kunqu Museum of China is to hold a series of special exhibitions and symposiums, expert lectures and classical opera performances;
7. To enhance the openness of activities and encourage private groups to participate in the exhibition. The Kunqu Opera Festival will be attended by a number of private academic groups. Special performances will be arranged at the Shantang Street and other venues;
8. Adhere to the principle of "low fares" and share the fruits of cultural development. To let more people appreciate the art of Kunqu Opera and enjoy the splendid art feast, the committee sets the ticket price from the lowest 10 yuan to the highest 80 yuan, with10 yuan-tickets accounting for at least 30% of the total amount of tickets.
（source:ourjiangsu.com）
