The famous opera "Turandot" is to be staged at the National Stadium, or Bird's Nest on October 6, to celebrate the nation's 60th founding anniversary, under the direction of Zhang Yimou, the director of Beijing's Olympic Games opening ceremony.

From left: Soprano Song Zuying, award-winning director Zhang Yimou and action star Jackie Chan at a press conference yesterday afternoon to promote Zhang's adaptation of the opera "Turandot", which will run during the National Day holiday at the Bird's Nest where Zhang directed the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Zhang will also direct the fireworks celebration on National Day.

On Sunday afternoon, Zhang, together with nationally-famed singers and actors such as Jacky Chen and Song Zuying, a well known singer of folk Chinese songs, attended a press conference one month away from the show's opening, reported the Beijing Daily Monday.

But Zhang did not reveal any details of the show at the conference. He only said this "Turandot" would make use of ideas not used at last year's Olympic ceremonies.

"I worked for three years at the Bird's Nest to prepare for the opening and closing ceremonies of Beijing Olympics and Paralympics. The venue is forever a precious memory to me," the director said.

"For me, presenting 'Turandot' at the Bird's Nest is the continuation of my dream and passion for the Beijing Olympics," Zhang said.

It is not the first time Zhang has directed the opera, which was composed by Italian Giacomo Puccini. He first staged the opera at the Forbidden City in 1998.

To make clear a different style for the same opera, Zhang said the 1998 Turandot was antique, and the new edition would be more modern, using many up-to-date multimedia and images.

"Turandot", an ancient fable that originated in Persia but set in China, tells of a princess so desirable that men came in their hundreds, from all over the world, and queued to vie for her love. A suitor had to answer three vexing riddles -- and anyone who failed to do so was decapitated and his head wound up on a stake, as a warning to those still in line.

Puccini said the melody of Chinese folk song would be one of the important musical themes of "Turandot", which was left unfinished in the second scene of the third act when Puccini died in 1924.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2009)