[1] The protagonist is the real-life emperor Qin Shi Huang, who unified China with force, erected part of the Great Wall, and was buried with his Terracotta Army.

The story of the opera is based on the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (c.145 – 90 BC) and the screenplay of The Emperor’s Shadow by Wei Lu.

Zhang Yimou, the production's stage director, had worked with Tan Dun on the movie Hero that also deals with emperor Qin, albeit at an earlier time.

[2] In preparation, Met staff was instructed in Chinese, and workshops in the development of the opera were held in Shanghai, in part as a cost-saving measure.

[2] Tan Dun noted in regard to working in the operatic form: Scene 1 The traditional music at the court displeases the Emperor; he envisions a new anthem that glorifies his rule.

As a reward for a victory, the Emperor promises his crippled daughter, Princess Yueyang, to the General.

Scene 1 As Jianli instructs Princess Yueyang in music, he hears the slaves sing while they build the Great Wall.

The Emperor appears and demands that his daughter honor his promise of marriage to General Wang Bi.

Scene 2 At the imperial inauguration the Emperor encounters the ghost of Yueyang: she had committed suicide as she could not sacrifice her love for the benefit of the country.