21), is an opera in three acts by Alexander von Zemlinsky to a libretto by the composer after the play Der Kreidekreis [de] by Klabund – a telling of the Chalk Circle story.

Nevertheless, the work was performed in January 1934 in Stettin, Coburg, Berlin and Nuremberg, and in Graz in February due to the temporary lifting of certain restrictions.

[9] A new production was staged at the Opera de Lyon in January 2018 directed by Richard Brunel and conducted by Lothar Koenigs.

Ma's head unexpectedly bursts through the paper circle: he desires Haitang for himself and purchases her from Tong for a price with which Pao is unable to compete.

The destitute Chang-Ling reappears at the garden gate: he has joined a revolutionary group which has decreed that the villainous Ma must die.

Haitang gives Chang-Ling her coat, observed by Yü-Pei who promptly informs Ma, accusing Haiting of consorting with beggars.

News arrives that Prince Pao has been crowned Emperor and, as an act of goodwill, has declared an amnesty for all condemned prisoners.