We use song-dance theatre to refer to the traditional/indigenous theatre in China (that has often been referred to as “Chinese opera”), because there is indeed the performing genre “opera” in the country. The emergence of opera in China was inspired by the introduction of Western opera during the New Culture Movement (1916-1920s). Its musical composition typically follows Western musical structure and harmonic principles while the melodies are strongly influenced by traditional theatre and folk music.
Chinese composers started working on operas as early as the 1920s, among the first pieces were children’s song and dance dramas including Sparrows and Children (Maque yu xiaohai) and others composed by Li Jinhui (1891-1967).
Chinese opera houses also produce Western operatic repertoire.
国际研究互联网项目“舞台中国”从不使用“Chinese opera”这个英文词来表达中国戏曲，因为在中国戏剧的大家庭里，确实存在歌剧（opera）这个形式。受到1916-1920年代新文化运动的影响，西洋歌剧进入了中国，中国音乐实践者也开始创作自己的歌剧。歌剧的作曲严格按照西洋歌剧以及和声的各种规则，同时，在旋律方面也吸取中国戏曲、民歌和小调的养分。
早在20世纪20年代，中国作曲家就开始写作中国歌剧，早期作品包括为儿童写的歌舞剧，如黎锦晖（1891-1967）创作的《麻雀与小孩》就是非常成功的作品。
中国各地歌剧院也都演出西洋经典歌剧作品。