Both feature opera singer/performer male leads. Chinese Opera is a primary focus with the turbulent times as a backdrop for both dramas. They're both also based in a similar era, although Gladiator in the Theater starts in the Late Qing before entering the Chinese Republic Era, which is where Winter Begonia starts.
They both feature a young person training to become an opera giant (over time, of course). An amusing aside is that they're both helped by a trickster elder to get started through sometimes nefarious means. But that doesn't mean they're not willing to learn their lessons (sometimes the hard way) and prove their talent. Basically, both HUGE OPERA DRAMAS ABOUT A SINGULAR TALENT. But slightly different time periods.
