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.

8:00 p.m. November 8 and November 9, Orpheum Theatre
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For the full concert listings for 2024 and 2025 visit: https://www.vancouversymphony.ca/concerts/full-calendar/

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