A new version of Giacomo Puccini's last masterpiece "Turandot" has made its debut in Beijing. Director Zhang Yimou has given it a modern look. The project marks a return to the Bird's Nest for Zhang, one year after he staged the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics.

An oil painting by late artist Chen Yifei features a woman playing bamboo flute.

The last masterpiece written, but not finished, by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini before his death, "Turandot" tells the story of a tyrannical Chinese princess who has suitors beheaded when they fail to answer her three riddles. Italian Soprano Raffaella Angeletti plays the merciless Princess Turandot, against the protagonist Prince Calaf played by Chinese tenor Dai Yuqiang. Italian conductor Janos Acs held the baton for the orchestra from China's National Opera House.