Shanghai Grand Opera House will open on Oct 17 on the east bank of the Huangpu River, launching its inaugural performance season, themed "Born to Sing." The new cultural landmark will invite audiences worldwide to experience world-class performances.

A poster for the Shanghai Grand Opera House Opening Season. [Photo/WeChat ID: pdnews]

The opening season runs from Oct 17 to Feb 20, 2027. Opening day also coincides with the 25th China Shanghai International Arts Festival. The season will feature 47 productions and 82 performances, along with more than 100 arts education programs covering opera, concerts, dance, and traditional Chinese opera.

Designed as a major cultural project in Shanghai, the opera house was completed in June 2026 after six years of construction. Its "Chinese fan" design features a 10,000-square-meter public landscape platform and three performance spaces — the 2,000-seat Harmony Hall, the 1,200-seat Soar Theatre, and the 1,000-seat Open Stage — for a total of 4,200 seats, plus the Grand Atelier, an arts education space.

The opening concert, "Shanghai Grand Opera House and Friends," will bring together leading artists and ensembles, including conductors Yu Long, Zhang Guoyong, and Xu Zhong, as well as the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Opera House Orchestra.

The season will include performances from three celebrated international opera houses: Teatro La Fenice's new "Tosca," Mariinsky Theatre's "Aida," and Staatsoper Unter den Linden's "Der Rosenkavalier," making it the first opening season in China.

With the vision of becoming an opera palace for the world, a stage for Chinese originals, and a cultural living room for the people, Shanghai Grand Opera House will also launch arts education programs to bring the performing arts closer to the public.