Chinese-language opera blends East and West(2)

Egoyan also maintains other quintessential aspects of classic Chinese opera, such as the use of gestures.

"You don't show horses, you show the gesture of a whip. Everyone knows what it means," he said, "So what I was excited by was then how do you preserve that idea through the new media, through Western symbols, Western theatrical devices?"

Shen Tiemei, an experienced Chinese Sichuan opera singer, portrays Diao Chan and she says she had to work closely with Egoyan in order to find a balance between the two sides.

"When we rehearsed, I just didn't feel quite comfortable with the director's way of thinking," she said, "The traditional Chinese opera is symbolic and abstract, like when we say he or she, you and I, they're not referring to a specific person."

"The director asked us to tell the story to the Western audience with great patience, just like a kindergartener," she added.

Many of the visual aspects are infused with Western elements. The opera is sung in Mandarin and there are English subtitles on a screen. There's also a sharp contrast in costuming, as Shen dons a western dress, while Beijing opera singer Jiang Qihu, who plays Lu Bu, wears traditional garb.

It's not what Shen is accustomed to, but she thinks it's a change that'll help bring classic Chinese opera to the global stage.

Egoyan may be new to the art form, but Shen says he's shown great respect for both the singing and acting styles of Sichuan opera.

Shen believes Egoyan's modern take will help pique the interest of Western audiences and move them to learn more about classic Chinese opera.

"I think when using this approach we have managed to keep the features of Sichuan opera, instead of destroying this traditional opera," she said.

Feng Yi Ting, the first Chinese performance invited into the 7th annual Luminato, received rave reviews when it premiered at the Spoleto festival, and then again at the Lincoln Center Festival last year. It will be playing in Toronto from June 20th to the 22nd.