NCPA opera production, The Dawns Here Are Quiet, will tour Russia from Sept 11 to 15.[Photo provided to China Daily]

A Chinese opera inspired by Russian author Boris Vasilyev's tale of wartime heroism is set to make its St. Petersburg debut, Chen Nan reports.

The Dawns Here Are Quiet, an original opera production by the National Center for the Performing Arts, will make its debut at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, one of Russia's premier venues for performing arts, over Sept 11-12.

The production will also see artists from the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra and the Western Military District Ensemble perform together with Chinese singers of the NCPA for the first time.

The opera, composed by Tang Jianping with libretto by Wan Fang, is inspired by Russian writer Boris Vasilyev's novel of the same title. It tells the story of a senior sergeant in the Soviet Red Army and five female anti-aircraft gunners, who courageously fight off invading German troops in 1942.