An artist with North Korea's Sea of Blood Opera Troupe performs in "The Flower Girl," a classical North Korean opera, at Beijing's National Grand Theater on Tuesday, April 15, 2008. [Photo: cnsphoto]

Middle-aged and senior Beijing citizens on Tuesday night jam-packed the opera house at the National Grand Theater for the North Korean classical opera "The Flower Girl," which just kicked off its China tour.

The 2,079-seat opera house thundered with applauses during the three-hour show. Over 180 artists from North Korea's Sea of Blood Opera Troupe brought an operatic feast that was both refreshing and nostalgic, reported China News Service.

"The Flower Girl" is among North Korea's best known revolutionary plays. The plot follows a peasant family on their road to join the revolution as they struggle for better lives.

The opera is familiar to the Chinese audience thanks to a film adaptation that enjoyed overwhelming success in China in the 1970s.

But the opera itself was no stranger to China. The songs in the opera were hand-picked by the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung in 1930 when he was in northeastern China. Two follow-up renditions greeted different generations of Chinese audience in 1973 and 1998.

The ongoing play keeps the original music and the plot structure of the 1973 version, except it is interpreted by younger thespians, said China News Service.

Among the audience on Tuesday was Liu Yunshan, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. When he met with the crew members prior to the show, Liu Yunshan said he believed such a classical play could enhance Chinese people's understanding of North Korean culture.

Wu Minwen, a 57-year-old viewer, told China News Service that the '70s film adaptation was so powerful that she bought the ticket to Tuesday's show as soon as she could.

"The Flower Girl" will run in Beijing through to April 19. It will also visit a dozen other Chinese cities, including Tianjin, Shanghai and Qingdao.

(CRI April 17,2008)