Music: Jessye Norman in China

World-class soprano Jessye Norman recently gave her first concert in China at the Shanghai Grand Stage. Norman, a premier artist in the world of opera, follows to China the Three Tenors, Domingo, Pavarotti, and Car-reras. Her charming stage presence and powerful voice drew wild applause from her Shanghai audience.

World-class soprano Jessye Norman gives her first concert in China at the Shanghai Grand Stage. CFP

TV: Marriage at the Faint Princess

The love story of Dong Yong and the seventh fairy maiden is known to virtually every household in China, and has many times been depicted in film and TV. Production of a new TV series, Marriage of the Fairy Princess, is underway, with shooting in Anqing, Anhui Province, hometown of the Huangmei Opera. The hero and heroine are portrayed by Yang Zi and Huang Shengyi, respectively, with the other six fairy maidens portrayed by popular actresses from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The series is expected to begin airing on CCTV 8 next year.

Yang Zi and Huang Shengyi, portraying the hero and heroine in the new series, Marriage of the Fairy Princess. IC

A Battle of Wits. CFP

Film: A Battle at Wits

A Battle of Wits, produced with a US$16-million joint investment provided by four companies on the Chinese mainland, in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, has hit the cinemas. The plot depicts the world of 2,300 years ago, during China's Warring States period (475-221B. C). The Kingdom of Zhao, with 100,000 men at arms, launches an attack on the Kingdom of Liang, mostly holding 4,000 enfeebled women and children. Leaping to the defense of the cowed people of Liang is Ge Li, a warrior of the Mo-Tsu tribe, a people renowned for their fighting skills. Depicting the tale of "a lonely knight-errant battling 100,000 enemies," the film boasts a strong cast drawn from around Asia. Headliners include Hong Kong actor Andy Lau, Taiwan actor Nicholas Wu, South Korean actor Choi Si Won, and Wang Zhiwen and Fan Bingbing of the Chinese mainland.