Chinese Consulate General in New York unveils online opera program for Lunar New Year

NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Consulate General in New York on Tuesday launched a Chinese opera program at its official WeChat account to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Chinese opera excerpts and relevant documentaries will be rolled out from Jan. 25 to Feb. 5.

The public would be able to have a taste of Peking Opera, Shaoxing Opera, Sichuan Opera, Huangmei Opera, Cantonese Opera and Kunqu Opera, according to Chen Chunmei, cultural counselor at the Chinese Consulate General in New York.

The first part of the program readied on Tuesday includes an excerpt of Peking Opera "Prosperity Brought by the Dragon and the Phoenix" and a mini documentary on Peking Opera trainee Nadim Diab who started learning the opera from scratch.

Another mini documentary on practitioners of rolling light, face-changing and fire-breathing in Sichuan Opera is scheduled to have its premiere on Friday as part of the program.

Excerpts of The Butterfly Lovers, The Peony Pavilion, The Fairy Couple and The Legend of Lady White Snake would be presented later together with multiple documentaries.

The Chinese Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is the most important holiday for Chinese around the world. Celebrations for the Lunar New Year usually last for weeks and the start of the Year of the Tiger falls on Feb. 1.