They brought the house down in Beijing, and they were cheering in Italy too. Beijing's Poly Theater could have been Rome's La Scala when Teatro La Fenice from Italy presented a night of opera to enthusiastic Beijing opera buffs on the night of October 30. But it was a far from ordinary concert. It included a performance from Venice, and the Beijing concert was broadcast live in Italy.

Teatro La Fenice has dominated the opera scene, for two and half centuries in Venice. Giuseppe Verdi dedicated his two best known masterpieces, La Traviata and Rigoletto, to Teatro La Fenice, and over the years they have staged many more of the opera classics of Italy. But for their performance on the night of October 30, the theater picked some of the best loved arias from the two Verdi classics.

Teatro La Fenice sent an all－star cast for its Beijing performance, including soprano Inva Mula, tenor Massimiliano Pisapia, and baritone Stefano Antonucci. Their spectacular performances were met by waves of thunderous applause.

At 10:09 a.m, the Beijing Poly Theater was connected up to Venice where the Italian soprano Sara Alegretta sang a heart－rending aria from the scenic Italian city, accompanied by the Orchestra of Teatro La Fenice conducted by Paolo Olmi here in Beijing.

Meanwhile the show was also broadcast live across Italy.
 
(CCTV.com November 3, 2003)