In a video address, he adds that the next collaborative opera production between the NCPA and the Omani institution will be Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, directed by Hugo de Ana, which will premiere in October 2024.

David Livermore will be director of the opera, as well as choreographer.

"It's a very important moment for me, because this production was created to be able to have many coproducers. It's a practically global cooperation. Lakme is an extraordinary work in the French opera repertoire. I am sure that the audience will be enthralled with the beautiful music. It speaks of an impossible love, but it speaks also of the beauty of the encounter between such distant and different cultures as those of India and Britain, and how love can be greater than cultural differences," says the director, adding that the stage set will have moving LED walls that will try to represent both exotic scenes of Indian culture, and the emotion of the music. Giant screens will show beautiful flowers, which symbolize pure love.

International cast members will join in the performances of the opera along with the China NCPA Chorus and China NCPA Orchestra, under the baton of French conductor Jean-Luc Tingaud. Sopranos Hasmik Torosyan and Beate Ritter will play the role of Lakme, and tenors Marco Ciaponi and Zhang Long will play the role of Gerald.

"The Flower Duet can also be heard in TV shows, video games and films. But to me, the opera is more than just that one song. The young woman falls in love, which makes her life colorful. She has no idea what's going to happen and her love is pure. She feels happy, even in her most tragic moment," says soprano Torosyan, who was born in Yerevan, Armenia. It will be her debut performance at the NCPA.