Verismo (music) of the poor, that had not generally been seen as a fit subject for literature. A short story by Verga called "Cavalleria rusticana" (), then developed into a play by the same author, became the source for what is usually considered to be the first "verismo" opera: "Cavalleria rusticana" by Mascagni, which premiered on 17 May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Thus begun, the operatic genre of "verismo" produced a handful of notable works such as "Pagliacci", which premiered at Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on 21 May 1892, and Puccini's "Tosca" (premiering at the Teatro Costanzi in
China National Opera Butterfly, Verdi's Requiem as well as Chinese-language opera. In 2008 CNOH toured America with 10 performances of the original creation Farewell My Concubine (modern opera). In the same year CNOH performed Puccini’s Turandot in Cairo Opera House. The repertoire of the company has now expanded to "Madame Butterfly, Eugene Onegin (opera), Carmen (opera), La Traviata, Gianni Schicchi, Turandot, Aida, La Boheme, Rigoletto, The Marriage of Figaro, Otello Cavalleria Rusticana, The Barber of Seville Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Le Roi d'Ys, as well as Chinese-language western-style operas, such as Liu Hulan (opera), Song of the Grasslands, Ayiguli, The Hundredth Bride, Marco Polo