The creation of The Ballad of Canal takes two years. NCPA manages to develop a Chinese opera style different from the Western opera through the sincere and pragmatic artistic practices. The opera has gathered the top creation team in China including: director Liao Xianghong; writers Huang Weiruo and Dong Ni, jointly wrote a touching tearjerker story about Shui Honglian, Qin Xiaosheng and Guan Yanyan; the composer Yin Qing, once Sky Road and Entering a New Era, this time composed the beautiful melodies for the opera; the stage designer Liu Xinglin, presents a wonderful scroll of canal through his creative design. The opera is conducted by Lv Jia, the Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of NCPA. Excellent singers like Wang Lida and Wang Hongwei are ready to offer you an opera feast with national aesthetic charms through their amazing performances.

Presenter

NCPA Chorus

NCPA Chorus was established on December 8, 2009, whose members were carefully selected from famous music schools in and out of China. Now the Chorus has Wu Lingfen as the conductor, with many artists well-known in China and abroad giving instructions. Affiliated to NCPA, the highest palace of performing arts in China, the Chorus adheres to NCPA's guiding principles of 'for the people, for the arts, and for the world'. The Chorus mainly stages operas and concerts, and also takes part in kinds of cultural communication events.

The Chorus presented its debut performance in NCPA Opera Festival 2010, and has taken part in and gained critical acclaim from the performances of NCPA's Xi Shi, Carmen, La Traviata, L'elisir d'amore, Turandot, A Village Teacher, Tosca, Die Fledermaus, and The Chinese Orphan. As NCPA's resident chorus, it took part in Turandot (NCPA version) on the tour to Seoul Arts Center in January 2011 and gained high praise.

The Chorus has offered a great number of performances including Road to Revive, To the Music (debut), Roam About the Classics, To Our Motherland-- NCPA Chorus Concert for the Army Day, Arias of Love, Beethoven's ninth symphony, and Mahler's second symphony.

The Chorus has cooperated with top artists like directors Francesca Zambello and Giancarlo del Monaco; conductors Lorin Maazel, Lu Jia, and Li Xincao; singers Inva Mula, Juan Pons,Brandon Jovanovich, Dai Yuqiang, Warren Mok, Zhang Yalun, Zhang Liping, Sun Xiuwei, and Liang Ning. Its over-one-hundred performances have taken an active role in the further development of NCPA.

NCPA Orchestra

China NCPA Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the National Centre for the Performing Arts of China (NCPA), balancing a busy and distinguished performance schedule with a reputation as one of China's most adventurous and dynamic orchestras. Established in March 2010, the orchestra is composed of distinguished musicians from around the world, performing more than a dozen operas, ballets and regular symphonic seasons every year. Maestro Lu Jia took up the post of Principal Conductor in February 2011, succeeding Chen Zuohuang, the current Laureate Conductor, NCPA's Music Artistic Director and also one of the founders of the orchestra.

The NCPA Orchestra demonstrates an abiding commitment to high levels of artistic excellence and prides itself on its long-term collaborations with the finest musicians of our day. Artists associated with the orchestra in the past two years include Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Gunter Herbig, Gilbert Varga, Lang Lang, Stephen Kovacevich, Leo Nucci, Wang Yuja and Han-Na Chang. Maestro Lorin Maazel praised the orchestra as "a hard-working excellence with great passion" after a series of concerts and the NCPA's new La Traviata in June 2010.　

In its first season of 2011, China NCPA Orchestra gained critical acclaim for its performances in NCPA's new productions of Tosca (Directed by Giancarlo Del Monaco), Il Barbiere di Siviglia (co-produced with Castleton Festival), Die Fledermaus, and a new composed opera The Chinese Orphan. Apart from that, the orchestra was also deeply involved in NCPA's 2011 Gustav Mahler Project. Under the batons of maestros including Christoph Eschenbach, Yoel Levi, Jun Maerkl and Chen Zuohuang, the orchestra completed Mahler's Symphonies No. 1, 2, 3, 8 and 10.

In the season of 2012, China NCPA Orchestra won a highly successful acclaim for two NCPA's new productions: Der Fliegende Hollander and Lohengrin, both Wagner’s operas were Chinese premiere. It continually collaborates with prominent musicians around the world for concert programs, including Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yan Pascal Tortelier and the legendary pianist Rudolf Buchbinder.

In addition to its extensive domestic performances, the NCPA Orchestra also received a widespread international praise in 2012. The orchestra was invited by Kissingen Summer Music Festival and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in July 2012, and kicked off his first German tour in Nürnberg, Hamburg and Berlin under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach and Chen Zuohuang. This was followed by a successful concert at the Sydney Opera House with Maestro Chen Zuohuang in November.