But, to his foreign partners, these sentiments have little to do with market demand as their concern is more about how long the show will run.

"I think the music is more fit for an opera, and the lines of the actors are not simple enough for a mass audience," said General Director Maheau.

"For me, a musical should have more popular songs and dances, and the plot should be very simple," he added. He sees his Chinese colleagues, however, as making things too complicated.

According to Director Fowkes, the stage design is visually stunning. "The stage keeps changing and it is three-dimensional to the audience," he said. But he is quick to add that the smooth and romantic music might be more suitable to Chinese audiences. "I think it would be better if the music has more speed change in its rhythm."

However, San Bao wants to bring more depth in his music and has applied some traditional elements to the modern musical. "It contains many classical music elements. I prefer a combination of classical music and pop music," he said.

Pioneering work

No matter how the creative team thinks, to Guo Jianxiong, Executive President of the Songlei Group, the investor of Butterflies, the foremost thing in his mind is how to first recoup the capital outlay and then make a profit. "We would like to be the pioneers of the musical industry in China," he added.

Butterflies is one of the trailblazers in the development of the made-in-China musical, said Producer Li Dun, adding that all the signs are there to begin developing China's own musicals.

"Broadway musicals entertain audiences. West London's are more dramatic. Chinese musicals will find their own footing in the international arena, somewhere in between," Li explained.

He is very confident about the market potential of Butterflies and feels audiences from different cultural backgrounds will have no difficulty in understanding it.

"I have no doubt that audiences will like this musical. I believe they can be touched in a way that they haven't been for a long time," Li said. "Actually love is a universal feeling. Foreign audiences will also be moved because music has no boundaries."

Li also hopes that the musical could create a domino effect: spawning a chain of merchandise such as clothing, souvenirs and even drink products.

But Li is under no illusion that to recover the huge investment, Butterflies needs more performances either at home or abroad, while the latter would evidently further add to the cost.

General Director Maheau also expresses his concern about the market prospect of Butterflies. "Is there a market for musicals in China? I don't know. But what I know is that Notre Dame Cathedral has only been performed in Beijing and Shanghai," he said.

Maheau said that the investor of Butterflies has a long-term plan focusing on producing musicals. "Maybe Butterflies will go big, maybe not. But there will be a second and third musical, and anyway the maturity of the market needs a starting point," he said.

One thing is agreed on by both domestic and foreign artists. If a musical is to have legs and be around a long time, both the script and the music have to be excellent. And for audiences, there couldn't be a better starting point than that.