Lucia di Lammermoor is directed and designed by Yannis Kokkos. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhao also notes that 2017 marks the 220th anniversary of the birth of Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, who wrote Lucia di Lammermoor.

The NCPA has produced two of Donizetti's comedies－L'elisir d'Amore (The Elixir of Love) and Don Pasquale.

In 2018, the NCPA will produce the composer's comedy La Fille du Regiment (The Daughter of the Regiment), says Zhao.

Based on Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott's novel, The Bride of Lammermoor, the opera tells the story of two young lovers－Lucia and Edgardo－and two feuding families, which is similar to Romeo and Juliet.

"I am thrilled that the Mariinsky Theatre and NCPA team will introduce this masterpiece to Chinese audiences," director Kokkos says in Beijing.