The tale of Madame White Snake has been told countless times in China. Now, a Boston production company has turned the story into an opera with a libretto in English. An ancient story is to be on stage beginning this weekend.

The opera, conceived and written by Jacobs and composed by Zhou Long, is conducted by Opera Boston music director Gil Rose. The ancient Chinese myth tells the story of a snake that wishes to experience human love turns itself into a beautiful woman and marries – only to eventually be found out. As usual, when humans hook up with snakes, there’s trouble.

"Madame White Snake" stars soprano Ying Huang and male soprano Michael Maniaci. It's directed by Robert Woodruff, an artistic director of the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge.