Maestro Zubin Mehta (above) rehearses with the National Center for the Performing Arts Orchestra and Chinese soprano He Hui (below). Photos by Jiang Dong/China Daily

Conductor Zubin Mehta returns to the Beijing stage with a new production of a Verdi classic, Chen Jie reports.

'If this is the first production of the opera you've seen," boasts maestro Zubin Mehta of his imminent staging of Aida, "you will be disappointed when you see any other productions anywhere in the future."

Mehta, an impresario who exudes confidence, can't wait to bring Verdi's masterpiece to the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing this weekend. The opera will run from Jan 24 to Feb 1.

"The (NCPA) orchestra plays the opera for the first time, the (NCPA) chorus sings the opera for the first time, and 95 percent of the audience will listen to it for the first time. As one who has worked in the opera world for 50 years, I'm really enthusiastic to have all the virgins. Something exciting will come out of it," Mehta tells China Daily just before Wednesday afternoon's rehearsal.

It's taken three years to put the production together: The maestro has had a hand in everything from the singers and the director to the stage design.

The 78-year-old conductor's schedule runs 10 am to 10 pm every day: rehearsing with the orchestra for three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, then with the singers from 4 to 10 pm. The Chinese cast and the international cast rehearse on alternate days, but Mehta is there for every session.