The year Western opera got a local touch

Reunion performance 41 years on by the first Central Conservatory of Music graduates demonstrates reach of Chinese-language adaptations, Chen Nan reports.

The year 1977 was key to the development of classical music in China, as it was the first time students could take part in the national college entrance exams and enroll at universities following the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

The next year, some of today's best-known composers, including Tan Dun, Chen Qigang and Guo Wenjing, became part of the first group of students to major in composition at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

It was also in 1977 that the prestigious institution launched a five-year program in its opera department, training the first group of opera singers after the Reform and Opening-up began.