The First Emperor
Encyclopedia
The First Emperor is an opera
in two acts with a libretto
written in English
by Tan Dun and Ha Jin
, and music by Tan Dun
. The opera received its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera
at the Lincoln Center in New York City
on 21 December 2006, conducted by the composer and with Plácido Domingo
in the title role. It was broadcast live to hundreds of cinemas around the world on 13 January 2007 as part of the Met live at the opera season. The opera is a co-production between the Metropolitan Opera
and the Los Angeles Opera
, and was described to be the most elaborate Metropolitan opera since War and Peace
.
, who unified China
with force, erected part of the Great Wall, and was buried with his terracotta army
. The story of the opera is based on the Records of the Grand Historian
by Sima Qian
(c.145 – 90 BCE) and the screenplay of The Emperor’s Shadow by Wei Lu.
Tan Dun was first approached by the Met in 1996 to write an opera. After seeing the film The Emperor's Shadow
, he settled on the theme of the First Emperor. Zhang Yimou
, the production's stage director, had worked with Tan Dun on the movie Hero
that also deals with emperor Qin, albeit at an earlier time. The world premiere production was estimated to cost in excess of US$2 million. In preparation, Met staff was instructed in Chinese, and workshops in the development of the opera were held in Shanghai
, in part as a cost-saving measure. Eagerly anticipated, the opera has been described as "a high-stakes, cross-cultural gamble". Tan Dun noted in regard to working in the operatic form:
The traditional music at the court displeases the Emperor; he envisions a new anthem that glorifies his rule. He believes that his childhood friend, the composer Gao Jianli, should be the person to compose the anthem. Jianli lives in Yan, a state that he has not yet conquered, and he orders his General to subjugate Yan and to get Jianli. As a reward for a victory, the Emperor promises his crippled daughter, Princess Yueyang, to the General.
Scene 2
The General is successful, and Jianli is brought before the Emperor. Although the Emperor greets Jianli with friendship, Jianli is enraged and rejects him: his village was destroyed, and his mother was killed. He would rather die than compose an anthem for the emperor. Princess Yueyang admires his bravery.
Scene 3
The Princess convinces the Emperor to hand Jianli over to her if she is able to convince him to live on and write the anthem. Jianli refuses to eat, but when the Princess feeds him from her own mouth, his resistance is broken. They make love and she loses her virginity. The Princess cries he is hurting her legs and she realises she is no longer paralysed and can walk normally. The Emperor, who is overjoyed to see her cured and calls Jianli a miracle worker, soon recognizes the cause. He wants to kill Jianli for violating his daughter, but hesitates at this point to get his anthem.
As Jianli instructs Princess Yueyang in music, he hears the slaves sing while they build the Great Wall. The Emperor appears and demands that his daughter honor his promise of marriage to General Wang Bi
. Yueyang refuses; she would rather kill herself. The Emperor schemes asking Jianli to give her up temporarily. He expects the General to be killed in battle, and Jianli would be free afterwards to have his daughter. Jianli agrees and will complete the anthem.
Scene 2
At the imperial inauguration the Emperor encounters the ghost of Yueyang: she had committed suicide as she could not sacrifice her love for the benefit of the country. Next he meets the ghost of General Wang Bi telling him that he was poisoned by Jianli and warning him of Jianli’s vengeance. As the Emperor ascends towards his throne, Jianli emerges. Insane with grief about his lover’s death, he bites off his tongue and spits it out at the Emperor. The Emperor strikes him down to spare him a slow death. He moves on to his throne and now hears the anthem for the first time. It is the slaves’ song. He realizes that this is Jianli's revenge.
Instrumentation
Note: "Cat:" is short for catalogue number by the label company.
Zhang Yimou
. The sets were designed by Fan Yue, with choreography devised by Dou Dou Huang and costumes created by Emi Wada
.
Upon its premiere, the opera has received mixed reviews with some reviewers praising it for its lavish production design and performances, while others criticized it for its dullness and sheer length. The Guardian
wrote "everything is excellent apart from the music and the words...". Despite the mixed critical reception, all of the subsequent performances through the 23 January 2007 remained sold out. One article has suggested revisions to the opera.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in two acts with a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
written in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Tan Dun and Ha Jin
Ha Jin
Jīn Xuěfēi is a contemporary Chinese-American writer and novelist using the pen name Ha Jin . Ha comes from his favorite city, Harbin.-Early life:...
, and music by Tan Dun
Tan Dun
Tan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.-Early life in China:...
. The opera received its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
at the Lincoln Center in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 21 December 2006, conducted by the composer and with Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
in the title role. It was broadcast live to hundreds of cinemas around the world on 13 January 2007 as part of the Met live at the opera season. The opera is a co-production between the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
and the Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
, and was described to be the most elaborate Metropolitan opera since War and Peace
War and Peace (Prokofiev)
War and Peace is an opera in two parts , sometimes arranged as five acts, by Sergei Prokofiev to a Russian libretto by the composer and Mira Mendelson, based on the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy...
.
Background
The protagonist is the real-life emperor Qin Shi HuangQin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...
, who unified China
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
with force, erected part of the Great Wall, and was buried with his terracotta army
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army or the "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China...
. The story of the opera is based on the Records of the Grand Historian
Records of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
by Sima Qian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
(c.145 – 90 BCE) and the screenplay of The Emperor’s Shadow by Wei Lu.
Tan Dun was first approached by the Met in 1996 to write an opera. After seeing the film The Emperor's Shadow
The Emperor's Shadow
The Emperor's Shadow is a 1996 Chinese historical film directed by Zhou Xiaowen and starring Jiang Wen, Ge You, Xu Qing and Ge Zhijun. It was the most expensive Chinese film produced at the time of its release.-Plot:...
, he settled on the theme of the First Emperor. Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
, the production's stage director, had worked with Tan Dun on the movie Hero
Hero (2002 film)
Hero is a 2002 wuxia film directed by Zhang Yimou. Starring Jet Li as the nameless protagonist, the film is based on the story of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin in 227 BC....
that also deals with emperor Qin, albeit at an earlier time. The world premiere production was estimated to cost in excess of US$2 million. In preparation, Met staff was instructed in Chinese, and workshops in the development of the opera were held in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, in part as a cost-saving measure. Eagerly anticipated, the opera has been described as "a high-stakes, cross-cultural gamble". Tan Dun noted in regard to working in the operatic form:
- “Opera will no longer be a Western form, as it is no longer an Italian form.”
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, December 21, 2006 (Conductor: Tan Dun Tan Dun Tan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.-Early life in China:... ) |
European Premiere Cast, September 6, 2008, Staatstheater Saarbrücken Saarbrücken Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live.... "Der erste Kaiser" (Conductor: Constantin Trinks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor Qin | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Plácido Domingo Plácido Domingo Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range... |
Jevgenij Taruntsov |
| Princess Yueyang, Emperor Qin's daughter | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Elizabeth Futral Elizabeth Futral Elizabeth Futral is an American coloratura soprano who has won acclaim throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Japan.... |
Alexandra Lubchansky |
| Gao Jianli Gao Jianli Gao Jianli was a citizen of Yan, a Chinese state during the Warring States Period, and a player of the zhu . After Jing Ke was killed in his assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang, Gao changed his name and became an assistant in a wine shop as Qin Shi Huang retaliated against all friends of Jing Ke... , musician |
lyric tenor | Paul Groves | Dong Won Kim |
| General Wang Bi | bass | Hao Jiang Tian | Hiroshi Matsui |
| Shaman | mezzo soprano | Michelle DeYoung Michelle DeYoung Michelle DeYoung is an American classical vocalist who has an active international career performing in operas and concerts. Raised in Colorado and California, DeYoung is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artists Development Program... |
Yanyu Guo |
| Chief Minister | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Haijing Fu | Olafur Sigurdarson |
| Yin-Yang Master, official geomancer | Beijing opera Beijing opera Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court... singer |
Wu Hsing-Kuo | Xiquan Jin |
| Mother of Yueyang | mezzo soprano | Susanne Mentzer Susanne Mentzer Susanne Mentzer is an operatic mezzo-soprano. She is best known for singing trouser roles, such as Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo, Octavian in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier and the composer in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, as well as other music of... |
Maria Pawlus |
| Soldiers, guards, slaves, etc | |||
Act 1
Scene 1The traditional music at the court displeases the Emperor; he envisions a new anthem that glorifies his rule. He believes that his childhood friend, the composer Gao Jianli, should be the person to compose the anthem. Jianli lives in Yan, a state that he has not yet conquered, and he orders his General to subjugate Yan and to get Jianli. As a reward for a victory, the Emperor promises his crippled daughter, Princess Yueyang, to the General.
Scene 2
The General is successful, and Jianli is brought before the Emperor. Although the Emperor greets Jianli with friendship, Jianli is enraged and rejects him: his village was destroyed, and his mother was killed. He would rather die than compose an anthem for the emperor. Princess Yueyang admires his bravery.
Scene 3
The Princess convinces the Emperor to hand Jianli over to her if she is able to convince him to live on and write the anthem. Jianli refuses to eat, but when the Princess feeds him from her own mouth, his resistance is broken. They make love and she loses her virginity. The Princess cries he is hurting her legs and she realises she is no longer paralysed and can walk normally. The Emperor, who is overjoyed to see her cured and calls Jianli a miracle worker, soon recognizes the cause. He wants to kill Jianli for violating his daughter, but hesitates at this point to get his anthem.
Act 2
Scene 1As Jianli instructs Princess Yueyang in music, he hears the slaves sing while they build the Great Wall. The Emperor appears and demands that his daughter honor his promise of marriage to General Wang Bi
Wang Bi
Wang Bi , style name Fusi , was a Chinese neotaoist philosopher.-Biography:Wang Bi's most important works are commentaries on Laozi's Dao De Jing and the I Ching. The text of the Dao De Jing that appeared with his commentary was widely considered as the best copy of this work until the discovery of...
. Yueyang refuses; she would rather kill herself. The Emperor schemes asking Jianli to give her up temporarily. He expects the General to be killed in battle, and Jianli would be free afterwards to have his daughter. Jianli agrees and will complete the anthem.
Scene 2
At the imperial inauguration the Emperor encounters the ghost of Yueyang: she had committed suicide as she could not sacrifice her love for the benefit of the country. Next he meets the ghost of General Wang Bi telling him that he was poisoned by Jianli and warning him of Jianli’s vengeance. As the Emperor ascends towards his throne, Jianli emerges. Insane with grief about his lover’s death, he bites off his tongue and spits it out at the Emperor. The Emperor strikes him down to spare him a slow death. He moves on to his throne and now hears the anthem for the first time. It is the slaves’ song. He realizes that this is Jianli's revenge.
InstrumentationInstrumentation (music)In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
- Woodwinds: 2 fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s (one doubling on an amplified bass fluteBass fluteThe bass flute is the bass member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Because of the length of its tube , it is usually made with a "J" shaped head joint, which brings the embouchure hole within reach of the player...
), 2 oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 2 clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, 2 bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s - Brass: 3 horns, 3 trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, C trumpet, 2 tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the... - Percussion (4 percussionist + timpanist): timpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an singing bowl - 2 harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s, stringsString sectionThe string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
, ancient music instruments (minimum 7 players): large Chinese drums, pairs of stones, 15-string zhengZhengZheng may refer to:*Zheng , an ancient state in China*Zheng , 鄭 or 郑, a Chinese surname*Zheng County, former name of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, China*Guzheng , a Chinese zither with bridges...
(Chinese luteLuteLute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
or Japanese kotoKoto (musical instrument)The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
), pitched ceramic chimes (pitched ceramic flower pots), waterphoneWaterphoneA waterphone is a type of atonal acoustic musical instrument constructed largely of a stainless steel resonator "bowl" with a cylindrical "neck", which may or may not contain a small amount of water, and with brass rods around the rim of the bowl. The waterphone produces a vibrant ethereal type of...
s, giant bell onstage
Selected recordings
| Year | Cast (Emperor Qin, Princess Yueyang, Shaman) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Plácido Domingo Plácido Domingo Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range... , Elizabeth Futral Elizabeth Futral Elizabeth Futral is an American coloratura soprano who has won acclaim throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Japan.... , Michelle DeYoung |
Tan Dun, Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus |
DVD: EMI Classics Cat:5 09921 512995 (The Met HD Live Series) |
Note: "Cat:" is short for catalogue number by the label company.
First performances and reviews
The stage director of the first production was Chinese film directorFilm director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
. The sets were designed by Fan Yue, with choreography devised by Dou Dou Huang and costumes created by Emi Wada
Emi Wada
is a renowned Japanese costume designer.She has created costumes for the Akira Kurosawa film Ran, which earned her an Academy Award for costume design, the Peter Greenaway film Prospero's Books, and the Zhang Yimou films Hero and House of Flying Daggers...
.
Upon its premiere, the opera has received mixed reviews with some reviewers praising it for its lavish production design and performances, while others criticized it for its dullness and sheer length. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote "everything is excellent apart from the music and the words...". Despite the mixed critical reception, all of the subsequent performances through the 23 January 2007 remained sold out. One article has suggested revisions to the opera.