Paradise Interrupted

 An Installation Opera in one act
Direction and visual design by Jennifer Wen Ma
Music composition by Huang Ruo
Libretto by Ji Chao, Jennifer Wen Ma, Huang Ruo and Qian Yi

Featuring Qian Yi in the lead role


Metropolitan Museum of Art – Preview March 21, 2015
Spoleto Festival USA – World Premiere May 22, 2015
Lincoln Center Festival 2016 - July 13-16, 2016
Singapore International Festival of the Arts August 31 -September 3, 2016
National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) - December 8-9, 2018
National Performing Art Center, National Theater and Concert Hall - December 15-16, 2018
Hua Yuan Exhibition MGM Theater at MGM Cotai, Macau - August 29-31, 2019

Paradise Interrupted Official Website

Paradise Interrupted is co-commissioned and co-produced by Spoleto Festival USA and Lincoln Center Festival.

An Opera That Springs From China but Laps Distant Shores
The New York Times preview of Paradise Interrupted by James R. Oestreich

The New York Times
" Review: A Powerful Opera of Eastern and Western Allure", Anthony Tommasini
“Ms. Qian enriched her portrayal of the Woman with elegant gestures that subtly combined stylized Chinese movements with naturalistic acting. And vocally, she was superb.”

Opera News
“ IN REVIEW: Paradise Interrupted - NEW YORK CITY” , Arlo McKinnon
”Qian Yi gave a magnificent and varied performance as the Woman, a demanding role that kept her singing, acting and dancing for most of the opera’s ninety minutes.”

New York Classical Review
" Huang Ruo’s “Paradise, Interrupted” proves compelling at Lincoln Center", Eric. C. Simpson
“her gestures, presence, and characterization were mesmerizing”

WQXR - Operavore
" Review: ‘Paradise Interrupted’ Fuses Eastern Manners with Western Narrative", David Patrick Steams
"I found Qian Yi ... to be a charismatic marvel. ... In later scenes, she had a much wider vocal and expressive range that revealed the operatic scope of her artistry."

ARTNews
" 'Paradise Interrupted': A Chamber Installation by Jennifer Wen Ma at Lincoln Center ", Lily Wei
"Qian’s exquisite voice activated the projections, underscoring the notion that she herself is responsible for the world she exists in, the life she lives."

The Wall Street Journal
" ‘Paradise Interrupted’ and ‘Veremonda, I’amazzone de Aragona’ Reviews", Heidi Waleson
"(The piece) is sung in Mandarin, and is a showcase for the electrifying kunqu performer Qian Yi."

Charleston City Paper
" Spoleto Overview: confetti cannons and an evening in Paradise ", Elizabeth Pandolfi
"She is truly one of those legendary opera divas – the kind you just want to adore and fling roses and pretty gifts to at the close of the performance."

The Post and Courier
" Review: ‘Paradise Interrupted’ a visual and aural display", Adam Parker
"Qian Yi, a superstar of Kunqu opera, was altogether riveting. Everything she did, whether vocal or sinuously mechanical, was nimble, breezy, and elegant."

The Wall Street Journal
" ‘Paradise Interrupted’ and ‘Veremonda, I’amazzone de Aragona’ Reviews", Heidi Waleson
"Magnetic."

Winston-Salem Journal
"Humor, drama abound on opening of Spoleto Festival", Lynn Felder
"The Woman in ‘Paradise Interrupted’ searches for an unattainable ideal in a world created by her voice. And what a voice it is. Sung by the sublime Qian Yi."

Charleston City Paper
" 'Paradise Interrupted' brings East and West together in a mythical operatic garden", Elizabeth Pandolfi
"The singing and music, however, were both perfectly delivered… together Qian and the four male singers…. created a surreal, otherworldly sound that completely embodied the dream."

Opera Lively
”Huang Ruo's Paradise Interrupted at the Spoleto Festival USA,” Luiz Gazzola Almaviva
”Ms. Qian Yi's singing is out of this world, with a crystalline quality that is very pleasing to the ear.”

Spoleto Festival USA 2015 Season
Friday, May 22 - 7:00PM - World premiere
Sunday, May 24 - 8:00PM
Wednesday, May 27 - 8:00PM
Friday, May 29 - 8:00PM
Sunday, May 31 - 1:00PM

Qian Yi stars in Paradise Interrupted an arresting new installation opera that centers on a woman in search of an unattainable ideal in a world activated by her lone voice. The story is inspired by the Garden of Eden and Peony Pavilion and the composition merges 600-year-old Kun opera with contemporary Western music. Interactive technology enables a vast garden and a host of digital characters to interact with the protagonist and respond to her voice. Visual artist Jennifer Wen Ma directs and designs this exquisite opera. Huang Ruo writes a composition that is at once a continuation of tradition and entirely new. The quest-seeking soprano is Qian Yi, who has been lauded by The New York Times as “ China’s reigning opera princess”

For more information, please visit:
Spoleto USA

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Preview presentation

The Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing 
Saturday March 21, 2015

In celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Asian Art Department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents excerpts from the new installation opera by visual artist Jennifer Wen Ma and composer Huang Ruo with vocalist Qian Yi. The Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing is the setting for a preview of Paradise Interrupted, an eagerly awaited opera that poetically weaves the Western myth of the Garden of Eden and the Chinese myth of the Peony Pavilion. The narrative follows a woman in search of an unattainable ideal, exploring a world that is activated by her singing voice as she attempts to return to the garden.

This program is presented in conjunction with China: Through the Looking Glass, on view May 7-August 16, 2015.
For more information, please visit: metmuseum.org.

Lincoln Center Festival 2016
July 13-16, 2016

For more information, please visit: lincolncenterfestival.org.

In this arresting new opera by acclaimed composer Huang Ruo (Dr. Sun Yat-sen), traditional Chinese and contemporary Western idioms intertwine within an exquisite setting by visual artist Jennifer Wen Ma, known for her Emmy Award–winning work on the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Reimagining and fusing the biblical story of Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the vivid dream of Du Liniang in The Peony Pavilion, Paradise Interrupted opens with a woman alone onstage, dreaming of an erotic encounter with her ideal lover. This dream triggers a psychological journey through a surreal, interactive garden made from dynamic paper sculptures. The woman is portrayed by Qian Yi, “China’s reigning opera princess” (New York Times), whose performance in Lincoln Center Festival’s famous 20-hour production of The Peony Pavilion in 1999 introduced New Yorkers to the 600-year-old Kun opera tradition.

Taiwanese conductor Wen-Pin Chien leads a chamber orchestra of both Western and Chinese instruments in Huang Ruo’s haunting, sensual score that weaves the melismatic vocal style of kunqu with Western tonality.

Singapore International Festival of the Arts
August 31 -September 3, 2016
For more information, please visit: www.sifa.sg.

National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)
December 8-9, 2018
For more information, please visit: www.npac-weiwuying.org.

National Performing Art Center, National Theater and Concert Hall
December 15-16, 2018
For more information, please visit: www.npac-ntch.org.

Hua Yuan Exhibition Grand Finale
MGM Theater at MGM Cotai, Macau
August 29-31, 2019
For more information, please visit: www.huayuan.mgm.mo