A Chinese opera that tells the story of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), is due to premiere in December this year at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

The opera, which is now being created, will be jointly directed by Zhang Yimou, Wang Chaoge and Fan Yue. Tan Dun, one of the most influential Chinese musicians, will compose the music.

The great Spanish tenor Placido Domingo will play the role of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the opera, the newspaper said.

Domingo said he was very excited that he would star as China's first emperor on stage. Over the past two years he has been collecting information about the man known as the first emperor of China, the newspaper added.

Zhang Yimou, one of China's ace film directors, also directed the opera Turandot at Beijing's Forbidden City in 1998. Zhang said Domingo hopes someday to play in the Qin Shi Huang opera on China's Great Wall.

Zhang comes from the city of Xi'an where Qin Shi Huang ruled 200 years before Christ. The capital of Shaanxi Province in northwest China was thought to be the largest city in the world at that time.

The director said the opera will feature sets made with the world famous Terracotta Warriors. The 5,000 life-sized statues still stand in formation at Qin Shi Huang's tomb which is a world heritage site and a major tourist destination in China. The warriors like the imposing Great Wall are well known in foreign countries and have become symbols of China to many Westerners.

It will be the first China-made opera to be presented at the prestigious Metropolitan Opera House.

(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2006)