The first lecturer of the Culture Celebrities Visit Taicang activity held at Taicang Grand Theatre will be Zhao Zhigang, the king of Shaoxing Opera, whose plays He Wenxiu and Amorous Monk will be put on from January 19 to 20.

Zhao Zhigang was educated by Yin Guifang, a performing artist of Shaoxing Opera and the major successor of the Yin School of Shaoxing Opera. Zhao has been praised as the leader of double-role in Shaoxing Opera. He has won several awards including the 21st China Plum Blossom Prize and the Wenhua Award at the seventh China Art Festival.

One common problem opera amateurs face is that they lack affection in their performance. During Zhao's interactive session with the audience, he showed on site how to sing out “sadness” with emotion using his unique method of singing that arouses cheers and applause.

In addition to sharing his thoughts on Shaoxing Opera, Zhao Zhigang also took the chance to promote his two upcoming plays. The stage play He Wenxiu is jointly organized by three parties. Zhao Zhigang will cooperate with his old partners Sun Hongjiang and Chen Jun to create an original performance.

The Culture Celebrities Visit Taicang activity at the Taicang Grand Theatre is a public welfare project launched in 2014. Theatrical performances will be given at the theatre every month.