Festival gives voice to promotion of Chinese opera

China has more than 300 local operas, almost all unique.

"The opera tones and melodies have developed from the dialects," says Luo. So, to write a play for a particular local opera, one has to "think in the dialect".

"You don't have to be fluent in speaking the dialect, but you need to be capable of using it in the writing," he says.

Luo, whose family originated from Henan province, spent much of his childhood in the northern part of Jiangsu province. He then lived and worked in Shanghai for decades.

These experiences have enabled him to write for the Yueju Opera, whose Shanghai dialect is similar to that used in Huaiju in northern Jiangsu.

He also finds writing for the Peking and Kunqu operas easier because they are both based on Putonghua, China's standardized Mandarin.

But beyond the dialects, he says local culture and heritage defines an opera's style and narrative.

One of his best-received plays was Dian Qi (The Sold Wife), adapted from a novel written by Rou Shi (1902-31) in 1930.

The novel is about a woman sold by her husband to another man, and the author is indignant and blames society for the heroine's misfortune.

Luo, however, chose to portray the woman as a mother torn between two families and two children.

"I think we should step back from the stereotypical hatred for the wealthy class and look at the human side of each character."

The play was staged as a Yongju Opera, an opera variety from Zhejiang province. Rou Shi hailed from the same place.

Since it was written in 2002, the play has not only gained recognition in China but also had a successful tour of Europe.

An agency from Broadway took Dian Qi to 40 cities in 2011.

Recently, a series of new policies have been launched to encourage theater and other original stage creations.

Luo is much inspired by this and believes that this will be a turning point for Chinese opera.

"We have to count on the young people to create art for this generation," he says.

Be it a scene from the opera in a feature film, or movements inspired by Chinese opera in modern theater, or the fusion of Peking Opera with jazz and electronic music - Luo welcomes all attempts to integrate Chinese opera with other art forms.