The academy will work closely with regional opera troupes, as most applicants will come with recommendations from their troupes. Once admitted, the students will be instructed in Beijing for two or three years, and spend several semesters in their native province or region to put their new skills into practice, Zhou said. All candidates are expected to have received training since their youth, either at school, in a troupe, or as an apprentice to a master. After they graduate, most will return to their troupe and serve local communities, he said.The academy is obliged to help revive marginalized operas that used to have great popular appeal. Students will improve their performance skills and understanding of the opera's history and artistic features, Zhou said.
Gesang Choegyal, deputy director of the folk arts institute in the Tibet autonomous region, said he hoped more artists, not merely actors and actresses, will graduate from the academy's program.
Colleges in Tibet, such as the school of arts at Tibet University, have granted undergraduate degrees in Tibetan Opera. Students usually learn by repeating every line sung by the teacher.
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