In The Gate, Tan Dun has taken doomed romantic heroines from Chinese, Japanese, and English literary theatre and musical classics, placing them all within the same piece. In narrating their stories, each is represented by the musical and theatrical traditions unique to those of the heroines culture of origin; Koharu, 18th century Japanese theatre; Juliet, 16th century European theatre; and Yu Ji, 19th century Peking Opera.

Tan Dun further developed the ties between multimedia and multiculturalism in his work Orchestral Theatre IV: The Gate (1999). In this work, distinct musical and cultural traditions are integrated through the involvement of a female Peking Opera singer, a Western operatic soprano and a Japanese puppeteer. In contrast to the pre-edited video element in Orchestral Theatre III: Red Forecast, The Gate features live video images abstracted from the stage action as the performance is in progress. An improvisational element is added by allowing the conductor and soloists to control the images appearing on the screen. The Gate is a multidimensional work that combines new media and ancient theatrical tradition with music in a contemporary, performance-art setting. It represents a further evolution in the orchestral experience by establishing new links between the audience, performers, video and conductor, thereby intensifying the live experience and creating new, non-traditional roles for the orchestra and everyone involved.

At the gate through which souls must pass to reborn, three women who committed suicide for love await judgment in Tan Dun's fourth installment in the Orchestral Theatre series. Alongside Yu Ji, heroine of Farewell My Concubine (19th century Peking Opera), and William Shakespeare's Juliet from Romeo and Juliet (16th century England), Tan Dun has placed Koharu-san from The Love Suicides at Amijima by Chikamatsu (18th century Japan). The composer further elaborates: "There is such a terrible lack of love today; resurrection for these three women seemed a very important symbolic task."

Remarks: Tickets for Tan Dun's Orchestral Theatre IV: The Gate are available now!