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Revolutionary ballet opens Chinese national theatre
2007-09-26
The China National Grand Theatre staged its opening performance, with workers and evicted residents treated to one of the nation's most celebrated revolutionary ballets, state press said Wednesday. Some 2,000 construction workers and people relocated to make way for the controversial theatre watched a performance of "The Red Detachment of Women" in Tuesday night's soft opening, the Beijing Youth Daily said. The "tear drop" shaped theatre made of titanium and glass and designed by French architect Paul Andreu is slated to become China's top arts performance venue. The construction of the ultra-modern theatre was approved in 1998, but has been dogged by controversy over its design, cost and central location next to such landmarks as Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Theatre operators will stage seven different "test" performances of operas, dramas and ballets in the coming months for invited guests only, ahead of an opening to the general public slated for around January 1. The "Red Detachment of Women" was one of the few revolutionary operas allowed to be performed in China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. The soft opening of the theatre coincides with the October 15 Communist Party Congress, an event that sets the nation's political course for the coming five years. Many senior party leaders are expected to attend theatre performances during the congress.
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