A troupe of Chinese Kunqu Opera arrived on Monday to present Austrians with one of China's finest art genres.

The troupe from the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou is expected to stage six classic pieces of Kunqu opera during their week-long stay.

In a congratulatory message, Austrian President Heinz Fischer called Kunqu Opera "one of the oldest theaters of the world," saying Austrians will have the opportunity to appreciate its unique beauty.

The Austrian Academy of Sciences, which invited the Chinese troupe, hopes to have the shows recorded and enable more Austrians to know about the art.

A very ancient type of drama, Kunqu Opera is full of unique aesthetic values in its character, costume, singing and music, Rudolf M. Brandl, chief of the academy's audio-visual archive, told a press conference.

Cai Shaohua, director of the troupe, said lectures on Kunqu Opera and costume display will also be organized along with the stage shows.

With a history of 600 years, Kunqu Opera was named a UNESCO oral and intangible heritage in 2001.

A unique synthesis of singing, dancing and acting, the art form has profound influence on hundreds of musical theaters in China, including Peking Opera, its most prominent descendant.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2010)