China's first group of 26 graduate students majoring in Peking Opera performance will make their debut tomorrow at Beijing's Chang'an Theater.They will perform there from March 24 to 30, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

During their three-year campus life at Chinese Opera Institute, these actors were trained theoretically and practically, the newspaper said.

While studying at the institute, the 26 opera singers also joined their colleagues to perform eight months a year.

Their mentors said the graduates' artistic level was greatly raised after their graduate school education, the newspaper said.

Peking Opera had long pursued the tradition of one-to-one teaching, which limited the number of skilled trainees.

The institute plans to train more graduates of performers in Peking Opera in the coming years, the newspaper said.