Yangbanxi takes the piercing vocal style, stylised poses and percussion of Peking opera and boldly layers a Western symphony orchestra on top. Workers, peasants and soldiers are depicted as heroes, while villains are drawn as exaggerated evil, accompanied by symphonic weight and ballet-like choreography. The result is an unmistakable style, neither traditional Peking opera nor Western opera.

In the 1960s Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's wife, drove the creation of 'model' stage works on revolutionary themes to replace traditional scholar-and-beauty plays. During the Cultural Revolution that began in 1966, eight works such as 'The Red Lantern' and 'Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy' were officially sanctioned, and almost all other traditional opera was banned. For roughly ten years, China's stages were nearly monopolised by these few pieces.

Listen for the moment when Western strings and horns enter over the sharp rhythms of Peking-opera percussion (gongs and drums). The contrast between the heroic melody given to the protagonist and the dissonant, sinister music given to villains is easy to hear. The coexistence of the shrill jinghu fiddle with a full symphony orchestra is the genre's defining feature.

The famous aria 'Welcoming Spring to Change the World' from 'Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy' (Tong Xiangling, 1970) is an accessible entry point that lets you hear the fusion of heroic vocals and orchestral backing.

Because only about eight model operas were sanctioned, and they were performed and broadcast endlessly, many Chinese who lived through that era can still recite their lines and tunes by heart. Critics mocked the period as 'eight shows for one billion people for ten years'.