"It's a challenge for us to tell a romantic story with Yuju Opera, and it's also very hard for me to play the role," says Zhang, adding that Yuju Opera performers emphasize physical expression and movement, using gestures, facial expressions, and body language to convey narrative. "I used two different singing styles to interpret the role. Huadan is a specific role reserved for lively and youthful women characters. The vocal style used for singing this role is also bright and lively and requires a clear, high-pitched voice. I used it to portray Qiu as she falls in love. When her life becomes miserable after she is abandoned, I turned to the qingyi role, which is usually used to depict mature, elegant and reserved women, and sang with a more controlled voice to express deeper emotion.

"Although we only had six performers and four band members onstage, far less compared to bigger stage productions that involve nearly 100 people, we got warm feedback from the audience, especially young people," she says.

Over the course of the next three months, the 11th edition of Xiqu Opera Black Box Festival will present 18 productions of traditional Chinese operas by 15 troupes at Star Theatres.