The First Emperor (opera)

E175136
musical work opera

The First Emperor is a contemporary opera by Chinese composer Tan Dun that blends Western orchestral traditions with Chinese musical elements to dramatize the life and legacy of Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor.

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All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
The First Emperor (Metropolitan Opera commission) 1
The First Emperor (opera) canonical 1

Statements (43)

Predicate Object
instanceOf musical work ⓘ
opera ⓘ
basedOn life of Qin Shi Huang ⓘ
commissionedBy Metropolitan Opera ⓘ
composer Tan Dun ⓘ
conductorAtPremiere Tan Dun ⓘ
countryOfOrigin China ⓘ
firstPerformanceOrganization Metropolitan Opera ⓘ
genre Chinese-influenced Western opera ⓘ
contemporary opera ⓘ
hasComposerRole Tan Dun ⓘ
hasCulturalContext Chinese history ⓘ
Qin dynasty ⓘ
hasLibrettistRole Ha Jin ⓘ
Tan Dun ⓘ
hasTitleRole Qin Shi Huang ⓘ
surface form: The First Emperor
hasWorldPremiereSeason 2006–2007 Metropolitan Opera season ⓘ
language English ⓘ
librettist Ha Jin ⓘ
Tan Dun ⓘ
mainCharacter Qin Shi Huang ⓘ
musicalStyle blend of Western and Chinese musical elements ⓘ
notableFor Metropolitan Opera world premiere ⓘ
integration of Chinese instruments into Western operatic form ⓘ
numberOfActs 2 ⓘ
orchestrationFeatures Chinese traditional instruments ⓘ
Western symphony orchestra ⓘ
originalLanguageOfLibretto English ⓘ
originalNetworkOrVenue Metropolitan Opera ⓘ
portrays construction of the Great Wall (legendary context) ⓘ
founding of the Qin dynasty ⓘ
premiereCity New York City ⓘ
premieredAt Metropolitan Opera ⓘ
premiereDate 2006-12-21 ⓘ
premiereLocation Metropolitan Opera House ⓘ
productionDesigner Zhang Yimou ⓘ
setting Qin dynasty ⓘ
surface form: Qin dynasty China
subject Qin Shi Huang ⓘ
theme power and legacy ⓘ
sacrifice for art ⓘ
unification of China ⓘ
timePeriodDepicted 3rd century BCE ⓘ
workChronology early 21st-century opera ⓘ

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Tan Dun → notableWork → The First Emperor (opera) ⓘ
Tan Dun → composed → The First Emperor (opera) ⓘ
this entity surface form: The First Emperor (Metropolitan Opera commission)