Inspired by Chinese ink

Ma Wen, who divides her time between Beijing and New York. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The opera was composed by New York-based musician Huang Ruo, while the libretto was by Beijing-based playwright Ji Chao.

The story is about a woman seeking for an unattainable ideal in a world activated by her singing voice as she attempts to return to the Garden.

Explaining how she came up with the production, Ma points to a Kunqu Opera, The Peony Pavilion by Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) playwright Tang Xianzu, which was staged at UCCA in 2012 as part of her exhibition.

"The dream sequence (in the performance) showed the main character, Du Liniang, dreaming of her fantasy lover. I thought a dream gar-den could be black and white, and it could be upside down too, very surreal. So from there I had this idea of creating a paradise, a mystical garden," Ma says.

Later, she was introduced to Qian Yi, a Kunqu Opera actress, who plays the leading role in Ma's opera.

They met in a noodle restaurant in New York in 2013 and to Ma's surprise, they had much in common.

Like Ma, who received training in traditional Chinese culture, Qian was trained as a Kunqu Opera performer from the age of 10. And, as a member of the Shanghai Opera Company, she became known for her leading roles in The Legend of the White Snake, The Water Margin and other classical Chinese Kunqu Opera repertoires.

In 1998, Qian was cast in the lead role of the Lincoln Center Festival's epic 19-hour production of The Peony Pavilion. The production toured internationally.