Tickets for shows at the new egg-shaped National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing have been a hot commodity of late.
Tickets for shows in January and February are almost sold out and only a few are left for a music concert and several Peking Opera shows, the theater's marketing department told Xinhua on Saturday.
Tickets have been in demand as people were attracted to not only the events but also the building itself. The controversial structure, built at a cost of 2.69 billion yuan (about 336 million U.S. dollars), has been the topic of great debate nationwide.
Some criticized its style, designed by French architect Paul Andreu, as out of place because it sits near the Forbidden City. Others favored its futuristic style.
The theater is also not open to sightseers.
"I want to see the building inside. That's why I am here to watch a show," a lady surnamed Wang was quoted in Friday's Guangming Daily.
The theater, which opened on Dec. 24, is currently staging its opening performance season through April 6. About 6,000 Chinese and overseas artists will give 180 performances. These include such operas as Othello and the Swan Lake, Jewels and Le Corsaire ballets.
Spanish tenor Jose Carreras held a solo concert in its 2,017 seat concert hall on Friday evening.
Tickets for the first performance season cost between 30 yuan and 2,008 yuan. About 44 percent are less than 300 yuan, according to an official with the theater's marketing department.
He said the theater will sell standing-room tickets, some as cheap as 30 yuan, when all seats are sold.
It will also depend on what shows are on. "It would not feel good to stand and watch a show such as Prince Igor for four hours."
Tickets can be purchased through the theater's official website,www.chncpa.org, or by calling (8610) 6655-0000.
Source:Xinhua
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