The First Emperor

Martial arts films and opera might not appear to have much in common, but two Chinese artists have managed to bridge the gap with what is being billed as the most elaborate production at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in years.

After a decade in the works, "The First Emperor" by Chinese composer Tan Dun hit the stage in December, in a production directed by Zhang Yimou and starring legendary Spanish tenor Placido Domingo in the title role.

Zhang, whose credits include the martial arts films "House of Flying Daggers" and "Raise the Red Lantern," previously worked with Tan on "Hero," an epic film that won critical acclaim for its lush cinematography.

Tan spent his time between Shanghai and New York while working on the project. The result borrows from Beijing opera while marrying Western orchestration with innovative and traditional Chinese instruments.

Tan, who won an Oscar for his score for Ang Lee’s 2000 box office hit "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," describes the process as "a wonderful spiritual journey."

"Five hundred years ago, Marco Polo brought lots of ideas to the East. It’s wonderful to experience that again from the East to the West," the composer said between rehearsals.

The libretto, which Tan co-wrote with Boston-based Chinese writer Ha Jin, is described as a "tale of friendship, love and betrayal" and recounts the life of Qin Shi Huang, who unified China and began to build the Great Wall.

Qin’s quest to find a national anthem is studded with tales of love, betrayal, infidelity, jealousy and, perhaps inevitably, ritualistic death.

The nine-performance run of "The First Emperor" is something of a gamble for the Met, more normally associated with safe set-piece productions of well-known repertoire, despite using big-name stars to pull in the crowds.

With his enigmatic maxim that "one plus one equals one," Tan describes himself as a "spiritual mathematician" and is known for his creative scoring.

His previous works include concertos for pieces of paper and bowls of water, and in "The First Emperor," the composer uses stones to strike drums and ceramic jars for on-stage percussion.

Born in 1957 in Hunan province, Tan was sent to work in rice paddies during the Cultural Revolution, using the time to collect traditional folk songs. He discovered Western classical music while at Beijing’s Central Conservatory.

"I have seen almost every production of Western opera and also every production of Beijing opera. So for me, the Eastern opera tradition and the Western opera tradition now have been melded chemically together," he says.

He says writing a role for Domingo had long been a dream of his. The Spanish tenor and conductor was involved with the project from the outset, at times even singing suggestions over the telephone to Tan.

Domingo, 65, who cuts an imposing figure in his emperor’s military outfit–created by Oscar-winning Japanese costume designer Emi Wada–said he hoped audiences would be touched by the work.

"The libretto is very moving, we’re having a wonderful time rehearsing, and there is the togetherness of theater and cinema."

The Met’s new director, Peter Gelb, said he was hoping the production would be an "enduring artistic and popular success."

Since his arrival, Gelb has set himself the task of shaking off the house’s stuffy image and opening the rarefied world of opera to a broader audience and a younger generation of music lovers.

Recent efforts have included televising a production of Puccini’s "Madama Butterfly" in New York’s Times Square and live webcasts of the shows.

For Zhang, directing "The First Emperor" is all about "communication between the two cultures."

"Being an opera director is very straightforward; your first goal is to pay service to the music," he says. – AFP