The earliest classical opera concerts were free. Even so, Martha Liao had to resort to gimmicks to attract an audience when she founded the Asian Performing Arts of Colorado 20 years ago to promote Chinese classical singers. 'I even cooked Chinese food for them,' says Liao, then an assistant professor in the University of Colorado's medical school. 'Americans just didn't believe Chinese people could sing aria.'
How times have changed. Last month, when Poet Li Bai, an opera written and performed by Chinese artists, had its world premiere at the Central City Opera in Colorado, Liao had to buy tickets in advance for her friends and family. 'I was worried there wouldn't be any left if they weren't quick enough,' she says.
It turned out to be a smart move: the show at the 550-seat opera house in Central City, a town nestled in the mountains, was sold out. Opera fans flew in from around the country although few had heard of the poet the work is based on.
Poet Li Bai is just one of several operas written and produced by Chinese artists that have recently caught the attention of American classical music lovers. In New Mexico, the Santa Fe Opera staged the US premiere of Tea: A Mirror of Soul, a 2002 work by composer Tan Dun, with performances running through to the end of the month.
Last December, the Metropolitan Opera in New York held the premiere of The First Emperor, a Tan composition based on emperor Qin Shi Huang. Directed by filmmaker Zhang Yimou, it became the most important opera event of the year in the US and all nine performances at the 3,800-seat house quickly sold out. The opera will be restaged at the Met next year.
The invasion is expected to continue. Next year, the San Francisco Opera is scheduled to host the world premiere of The Bonesetter's Daughter, based on Chinese-American writer Amy Tan's novel, with music by composer Stewart Wallace and Chen Shizheng as director.
