Tibetan Opera Troupe marks 60th anniversary with innovative performance

The Tibetan Opera Troupe on Wednesday invited artists of the China National Peking Opera Company to jointly perform an innovative version of the Tibetan opera Princess Wencheng as part of the celebration of its 60th anniversary.

With traditional Peking opera music, costumes and moves, the performers carried out an innovative play of the traditional Tibetan opera piece, based on the life of a Tang Dynasty (618-907) princess in Lhasa, Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region.

The Tibetan Opera Troupe was formally established in 1960. Today, it has become a modern provincial-level professional troupe, which integrates multiple functions such as creating, directing, performing, and researching Tibetan operas.

"The troupe had few instruments and performance opportunities initially, but today it has better conditions and has developed into many forms," said Phurjung, an actor of the troupe.

Tibetan opera combines talking, singing, acting, dancing, and literature and has a history of over 600 years. It is regarded as a "living fossil" of Tibetan culture and was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.

In the past 60 years, the Tibetan Opera Troupe has an average annual audience of over 200,000 people. The troupe has also performed in over 30 countries and regions.