Prologue: Shadow A ritual is being performed in the Ancestral Shrine of Chin, which lies at the foot of the Great Wall. Large bronze vessels, incense burning and the ancient Chinese bells adorn the altar. The Shaman is singing praise to the ancestors and gods and presiding over the ceremony, masked dancers representing spirits surround her. The Emperor Chin is watching with his beautiful daughter Princess Yue-yang is at his side, carried in a sedan chair. Also by his side is his faithful general, Wang. Suddenly, Chin interrupts the Shaman’s invocation. He finds the music devoid of soul and heavenly spirit and claims it will weaken his kingdom. The General reminds him that the Chin kingdom is feared by all. The Emperor replies that ruling the whole kingdom requires divine spirit. What he needs is an anthem full of soul that will glorify the expanding empire of Chin. He declares that he will change his war strategy and conquer the Kingdom of Yan before the Kingdom of Chu, so that he can find the elusive Gao Jianli, known as the Maestro. Princess Yue-yang asks if Gao Jianli is the shadow her father has often told her about. He confirms this and tells her about his tender feelings for the childhood friend and musician, who he is determined to find. Gao’s mother raised them as brothers while the Emperor, still a child, was a hostage in the state of Zhao. As a child, Gao promised Chin that he would compose an anthem for Chin when he became emperor. He orders General Wang to conquer Yan and reconfirms for the General the pledge of his favourite daughter, the beautiful but crippled Princess Yue-yang. The General takes his order and vows to return triumphant. A chorus of war cries and bells fade away. Act One: Love Scene 1: Long, white-silk banners with assorted calligraphy adorn a grand hall in the Chin Palace. China has been unified, but the country is still in chaos. The Emperor discusses measures to strengthen central rule with the High Priest. General Wang enters to announce the successful capture of Gao Jianli, he is followed by Princess Yue-yang in her sedan chair. The Emperor asks that Gao Jianli be brought in and dismisses every one except the Princess. Gao Jianli is brought in and has the word “slave” branded on his forehead. The Emperor is upset at the branding of his friend, but is glad to see him. The princess looks down at Gao and is dismayed at the sight of the man in tatters, she cannot believe that her father could love such a man. The Emperor welcomes Jianli as his brother and regrets that it has taken eighteen years for this reunion. Jianli responds with hatred and blames the Emperor for the destruction of his village and the painful death of his mother. He would rather cut off his tongue than call Chin his brother. Emperor Chin regrets the death of the woman he loved as a mother and tries to explain that his deeds are the price of enduring peace in the kingdom. He reminds Gao Jianli of the childhood promise to compose an anthem for Chin. Gao Jianli, refusing to listen, declares that he would rather die than compose the national anthem for the Chin Empire.

Scene 2:
In a chamber in the Chin Palace, Gao Jianli is lying on his death bed with the Princess attending him. Since being captured he has refused to eat, drink, speak or open his eyes. The Priest asks the Emperor to relieve the Princess of this burdensome duty. She begs that her father give her one more chance and promise her that, if she can convince Jianli to live and compose the anthem, she can own Jianli. Her father does not understand but in desperation, agrees to the promise and leaves the room with the Priest. Having tried different methods, including seduction, and failed, Yue-yang tries to feed him from her own mouth. Gao Jianli is startled and accepts the food from her mouth. He takes more and more food from her. He has opened his mouth, eyes and heart. Gao Jianli takes her in his arms and they passionately make love. She complains that Jianli has hurt her legs. Miraculously, she gets up and walks, then runs. Hearing the shouts, the Emperor enters the room followed by General Wang, the High Priest and the Shaman. The Emperor is ecstatic to see his daughter walk again. The General is distressed that his betrothed has given herself to Gao Jianli. The High Priest realizes that his position of power is threatened by Gao Jianli. Yue-yang and Gao Jianli sing of the miracle of true and eternal love. The act closes with the Shaman singing of impending doom.

INTERMISSION

Act Two: 
Anthem At a construction site of the Great Wall, slaves are laboring under the threat of whips. They are carting bricks, working at the kiln, and carrying bags of sand. The Great Wall winds endlessly into the background. In the foreground, Gao Jianli, looking healthy and blissfully in love, is giving a music lesson to Princess Yue-Yang. She sings a composition to him as he plays the zhu. Gao Jianli stops the lesson to listen to the Shaman and the slaves. The Shaman is lamenting the price of the empire: the rivers of blood, the mountains of bones and the cries of widows and orphans. The slave chorus sings a haunting song of the burden of the imperial dream. Gao Jianli is clearly touched by their music. Guards come in to drive away the Shaman and the slaves and make way for the Emperor and his Queen. Emperor Chin has come to remind the Princess of her filial and royal duties, and insists that she honor his pledge and marry General Wang. She refuses and threatens to commit suicide if forced to marry the General. Tearfully the Queen tries to reconcile father and daughter, but fails. Yue-yang storms out followed by her mother. Emperor Chin turns to Gao Jianli and asks him to give up the Princess, temporarily, for the good of the nation. He promises Jianli that the General will die in battle soon and then Yue-yang will be his. Jianli reluctantly agrees to wait. The Emperor reminds his friend to compose the sublime anthem. From the distance the slave chorus song returns, Gao Jianli is deeply moved and tells the Emperor that this beautiful song should be a part of the anthem. The Emperor replies that the laments of slaves cannot be part of an anthem that praises the Chin Empire.

Act Three: 
Accession On the banks of the rushing Yellow River the ceremony for the imperial inauguration is set. The Emperor and his large entourage are present. The throne is at the top of a pyramid of steps. The Shaman is in a trance. She and the Eunuch are exchanging riddles. Gao Jianli, the newly-appointed High Priest, begins the official ceremony. He orders the burial of the terracotta army so that they may guard the royal ancestors. The Emperor begins to climb the pyramid. As he reaches the fifth step, the Shaman has a vision and announces that Princess Yue-yang has been strangled to death by General Wang for refusing to enter the wedding chamber. The Queen collapses and cries out for her daughter. Princess Yue-yang’s ghost appears and tells her father that in truth she killed herself as she was unable to sacrifice her love for Jianli for her country. She begs her father to protect her loved one. As the Emperor reaches the tenth step the Shaman announces General Wang’s suicide. His ghost appears and declares that his unwavering loyalty to the Emperor would never allow him to commit suicide. Gao Jianli has had him poisoned and Wang warns the Emperor that Gao still seeks revenge from the Emperor. The Emperor continues his lonely ascent with a very heavy heart. As he reaches the fifteenth step, Gao Jianli rushes up with his zhu, he is crazed and grief-stricken by the death of his beloved. He cannot continue to live with out Yue-yang and admits his guilt. The Emperor asks Gao Jianli to support him as a brother. Gao Jianli laughs madly and smashes his zhu. He regrets having composed the anthem and refuses to ever compose again. He bites off his tongue and spits it out at the feet of the Emperor. Realizing that it will be a slow and painful death, and out of his deep sense of love and pity for his shadow, the Emperor stabs Gao Jianli. He reaches his throne and finds that it is lonely and cold. The price of reaching the top has been too high. The soldiers hail the First Emperor. The glorious National Anthem of Chin begins, interwoven with echoes of the slave song and Shaman laments.