Conductor Jaap van Zweden and the Hong Kong Philharmonic will perform Wagner's Die Walkure in Beijing. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

"You are not a complete musician if you don't play Wagner. An orchestra is not a complete orchestra if they don't play Wagner," Van Zweden says.

Van Zweden says Wagner's music is timeless. "It's the conductor that combines the performances of the singers and the orchestra from the contemporary world with Wagner's music."

He also calls Karajan "an inspirational figure", who taught him to interpret music by Wagner.

Yu Long, the artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival, says: "Marking the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Music Festival, we are thrilled to bring back the historical Karajan creation with Van Zweden. We look forward to seeing how the play is reinterpreted for our time."

The BMF has staged Wagner's Tannhauser, Tristan and Isolde and The Master-Singers of Nuremberg and Parsifal.

In 2005, it took 15 hours over four nights for The Ring Cycle premiere in China.

This production of Die Walkure will feature an international cast, including the Bulgarian director Vera Nemirova and Australian operatic tenor Stuart Skelton.

If you go

6:30 pm, Tuesday; 6:30 pm, Friday. Poly Theater, 14 Dongzhimen Nandajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010--6506-5343.