Editing Tan Dun (section)

===Opera===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Ceramic musical instruments by Ragnar Naess for Tan Dun.jpg|thumb|right|Ceramic string instruments used in ''Nine Songs'']] -->
During his time at Columbia University, Tan Dun composed his first opera, a setting of nature poems by [[Qu Yuan]] called ''Nine Songs'' (1989). The poems are sung in both [[Classical Chinese]] and contemporary English alongside a small ensemble of Western and Chinese instruments. Among these are a specially built set of 50 ceramic percussion, string, and wind instruments, designed in collaboration with potter Ragnar Naess.<ref>Nicole V. Gagné, ''Historical Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Classical Music'' (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2012), 139.</ref> To emphasize the shamanistic nature of Qu Yuan's poetry, the actors dance and move in a ritualized manner.<ref>Music Sales Group. "Nine Songs (1989)." Accessed 1 November 2013. http://www.schirmer.com/composer/work/1561/33568.</ref>

Tan Dun's second work in the genre, ''[[Marco Polo (opera)|Marco Polo]]'' (1996), set to a libretto by [[Paul Griffiths (writer)|Paul Griffiths]], is an [[Story within a story|opera within an opera]]. It begins with the spiritual journey of two characters, Marco and Polo, and their encounters with various historic figures of literature and music, including [[Dante Alighieri]], [[William Shakespeare]], [[Scheherazade]], [[Sigmund Freud]], [[John Cage]], [[Gustav Mahler]], [[Li Po]], and [[Kublai Khan]]. These sections are presented in an abstract, [[Peking opera]] style. Interwoven with these sections are the travels of the real-life [[Marco Polo]], presented in a Western operatic style.<ref>Music Sales Group. "Marco Polo (1995)." Accessed 1 November 2013. http://www.schirmer.com/composer/work/1561/33573.</ref> Though the score calls for traditional Western orchestral instrumentation, additional instruments are used to indicate the location of the characters, including [[recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]], [[rebec]], [[sitar]], [[tabla]], [[singing bowls]], [[Tibetan horn]], [[Sheng (instrument)|sheng]], and [[pipa]].<ref>Tan Dun, ''Marco Polo'' (New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 1995).</ref> The opera won the [[Grawemeyer Award (Music Composition)|Grawemeyer Award]] for Music Composition in 1998.<ref name="grawemeyer">The Grawemeyer Awards. "Previous Winners." Accessed 1 November 2013. {{cite web |url=http://grawemeyer.org/music/previous-winners/ |title=Previous Winners — University of Louisville |access-date=8 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528221354/http://grawemeyer.org/music/previous-winners |archive-date=28 May 2013  }}.</ref>

That same year, Tan Dun premiered his next opera, ''[[The Peony Pavilion (opera)|The Peony Pavilion]]'', an adaptation of [[Tang Xianzu]]'s 1598 [[Kunqu]] [[The Peony Pavilion|play of the same name]]. Directed by [[Peter Sellars]] in its original production, Tan Dun's work is performed entirely in English, though one of the characters must be trained in Peking or Kunqu style. The small ensemble of six musicians performs electronics and Chinese instruments onstage with the actors. Stylistically, the music is a blend of [[Experimental music|Western avant-garde]] and [[Chinese opera]].<ref>Music Sales Group. "Peony Pavilion (1998)." Accessed 1 November 2013. http://www.schirmer.com/composer/work/1561/33582.</ref>

At this point in his career, Tan Dun had created many works for "organic instruments," i.e. instruments constructed from materials such as paper, water, ceramic, and stone. For his fourth opera, ''[[Tea (opera)|Tea: A Mirror of Soul]]'' (2002), co-authored by librettist [[Xu Ying (librettist)|Xu Ying]], organic instruments factor prominently into the structure of the opera itself. The title of each act corresponds to the materials of the instruments being used, as well as the opera's plot. The first act, entitled "Water, Fire", opens with a [[tea ceremony]] onstage while percussionists manipulate glass bowls of water. The second act, "Paper", features music on rice paper drums and depicts the characters' search for ''[[The Classic of Tea]]'', the first book to codify tea production and preparation in China. The third and final act, "Ceramic, Stones", depicts the death of the protagonist's love. Percussionists play on pitched flowerpots, referred to as "Ceramic chimes" in the score.<ref>Music Sales Group. "Tea: A Mirror of Soul (2002)." Accessed 1 November 2013. http://www.schirmer.com/composer/work/1561/33592.</ref><ref>Tan Dun, Tea: A Mirror of Soul (New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 2002).</ref>

Tan Dun's most recent opera, ''[[The First Emperor]]'' (2006), was commissioned by the [[Metropolitan Opera]] with the title role created for [[Plácido Domingo]]. Co-authored by Tan Dun and Chinese novelist [[Ha Jin]], the opera focuses on the [[Qin's wars of unification|unification of China]] under [[Qin Shi Huang]], first emperor of the [[Qin dynasty]], and his relationship with the musician [[Gao Jianli]]. Like Tan Dun's previous operas, ''The First Emperor'' calls for Chinese instruments in addition to a full orchestra, including [[guzheng]] and [[bianzhong]]. The original Met production was directed by [[Zhang Yimou]], with whom Tan Dun had collaborated on the film ''[[Hero (2002 film)|Hero]]''.<ref>Music Sales Group. "The First Emperor (2006)." Accessed 1 November 2013. http://www.schirmer.com/composer/work/1561/35240.</ref>