A Contemporary Opera Based in China Comes to Philadelphia

by KYW's Lynne Adkins

The Opera Company of Philadelphia will perform "Tea: A Mirror of Soul," by Grammy and Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun (right).

Opera company artistic director Robert Driver calls it a story of royalty, monks... and beverages:

"It's a story of the search for the original Book of Tea.  But that's just an excuse for a love triangle and fights and battles in ancient China."

And the perfomance, he says, is like nothing you've ever seen:

"The show begins with people playing in huge bowls of water which is magnified, and you get this whooshing sound going through the entire theatre, and the rattling of paper, and boom! -- the opera starts.  It's a real visual splendor of exotic costumes and the like."

Tan won an Oscar and a Grammy for his score to the 2000 movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Performances of "Tea: A Mirror of Soul" run February 19th through 28th at the Academy of Music. You can find out more at operaphila.org.