London has its reconstructed Globe Theater, where audiences can watch Shakespeare plays in an Elizabethan setting-and Beijing has its Imperial Granary, an original Ming Dynasty building, where traditional Kunqu Opera is performed nightly.

Renowned theater director Lin Zhaohua says his revival of the classic play The Peony Pavilion (Mudan Ting) combines traditional elegance with an intimate and historic setting - the granary seats audiences of no more than 60 people. This means visitors are close enough to the stage to appreciate the subtleties of the actors' expression and the musical accompaniment.

The construction of the Imperial Granary started in 1409, 10 years before the Forbidden City. The opera performance is staged without the aid of microphones, just as it would have been in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

'We hope this work will bring the audience an aesthetic that is both old and fresh,' says Lin.

Developed in the late Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and early Ming Dynasty, Kunqu Opera is one of the most ancient Chinese operas still practiced. An integration of literature, drama, performance, music, dance, and art, Kunqu Opera is considered a national treasure and the wellspring of all Chinese opera styles.

Written by Tang Xianzu (1550-1616), The Peony Pavilion is the most popular play from the Ming Dynasty and a masterpiece of Kunqu Opera. Set in Lin'an, now Hangzhou of East China's Zhejiang province, it tells the story of two lovers.

Du Liniang, the daughter of an important official, falls asleep in a garden and dreams of her lover Liu Mengmei, whom in real life she has never met. She awakes to the touch of falling flower petals, but she is unable to recover the enchantment of her dream. After she dies in mourning, a judge in the underworld determines that her union with Liu was predestined, and she is sent to haunt his dreams .

A complete production of The Peony Pavilion lasts more than 20 hours, but the show at the Imperial Granary is a condensed version of the highlights.

Address: 22 Dongsi Shitiao, Dongcheng district 东城区东四十条22号皇家粮仓

Open: 7:30 pm, daily (Individual reservations are accepted on Friday and Saturday; group reservations are available Sunday to Thursday.)

Tel: 6409-6477

(China Daily August 22, 2008)