A Chinese opera that tells the story of Emperor Qin Shi Huang,
the first emperor of Qin Dynasty (BC 221-206), is due to premiere
in December this year at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York
City.
The opera, which is now being created, will be jointly directed
by Zhang Yimou, Wang Chaoge and Fan Yue. Tan Dun, one of the most
influential Chinese musicians, will compose the music.
The great Spanish tenor Placido Domingo will play the role of
Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the opera, the newspaper said.
Domingo said he was very excited that he would star as China's
first emperor on stage. Over the past two years he has been
collecting information about the man known as the first emperor of
China, the newspaper added.
Zhang Yimou, one of China's ace film directors, also directed
the opera Turandot at Beijing's Forbidden City in 1998. Zhang said
Domingo hopes someday to play in the Qin Shi Huang opera on China's
Great Wall.
Zhang comes from the city of Xi'an where Qin Shi Huang ruled 200
years before Christ. The capital of Shaanxi Province in northwest
China was thought to be the largest city in the world at that
time.
The director said the opera will feature sets made with the
world famous Terracotta Warriors. The 5,000 life-sized statues
still stand in formation at Qin Shi Huang's tomb which is a world
heritage site and a major tourist destination in China. The
warriors like the imposing Great Wall are well known in foreign
countries and have become symbols of China to many Westerners.
It will be the first China-made opera to be presented at the
prestigious Metropolitan Opera House.
(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2006)
