As a Shaanxi native, Zhang is a descendent of Qin's empire. He jokes his relationship with Tan is "a tug of war." "Tan is from Hunan, so he's a member of ancient Chu. Our ancestors were fighting all the time."

But in real life, the duo have been friends of more than 20 years, and Tan has written many film scores for Zhang's works including his martial arts blockbuster Hero, which also probes into the life of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang.  "This time, it's the other way round. Tan Dun is the boss and I'm here to do everything I could to serve his music," he says.

Luke warm reception
Met's new general manager Peter Gelb emphasizes the need to replenish the opera tradition with new works.

"We hope every opera we commission to be an enduring artistic and popular success. Significant new works can't be rushed," he says.

Met's attempt may be noble, but the opera only received lukewarm reception in New York when it premiered on December 21. Like the Emperor, Tan is perhaps still in search of the music that could tug the heartstrings of all.

The author is a New York-based writer.