Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion

A  larger-than-life concert experience featuring over 200 artists on the Orpheum stage.

Oscar® and Grammy® Award-winning composer Tan Dun takes to the Orpheum podium to conduct the Canadian premiere of his epic choral work of love and compassion, Buddha Passion, inspired by Chinese and Sanskrit texts. Set at the foot of the Himalayas, witness the journey of a prince on the path of enlightenment and experience six stories from the life of the Buddha. Featuring orchestra, six percussionists, five vocal soloists, and a dancing pipa player — this promises to be a once in a lifetime musical event of overwhelming power and beauty.

Buddha Passion is the very first “passion” story written about the lessons of Buddha, with music inspired by the awe-inspiring Mogao Caves and the city of Dunhuang, an important outpost of the ancient Silk road. There lies the greatest collection of Buddhist paintings, sculpture, and architecture in the world — a sacred place where monks and pilgrims carved shrines out of the rock cliffs for generations. In keeping with centuries of this spiritual exploration and cultural exchange, Tan Dun himself spent two years immersed in the musical history of the area, even recreating some of the instruments depicted in the Mogao murals. His fascination and countless hours of research culminate in this ambitious work, weaving chants, stories and sounds of Dunhuang into an opera of six individual short stories that capture the ancient narratives of the Buddha’s teachings: timeless, universal concepts of love, forgiveness, sacrifice, and salvation.

★★★★
“A striking fusion of Chinese and western music”
—Financial Times

“How impressive that Vancouver’s classical enthusiasts will be the first in Canada to hear a major work by one of the international composition stars of our age: a fall season highlight, and a commendably brave and timely bit of VSO programming.”
—Vancouver Sun   Read Article Here