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UK Premiere of Huang Ruo's Book of Mountains and Seas at the Edinburgh International Festival

Aug. 28, 2025

The Edinburgh International Festival presented the UK premiere of Huang Ruo's Book of Mountains and Seas on August 14-16. Miles Lallemant conducted and Basil Twist directed the Ars Nova Copenhagen and an outstanding ensemble of puppeteers and percussionists as they illuminated ancient Chinese myths reimagined for modern times.

Book of Mountains and Seas「山海經」is a vocal theater work for twelve singers, six puppeteers, and two percussionists. It is inspired by the ancient Chinese compilation of early myths of the same title, which was first transcribed in 4th century B.C. Over the years, these mythological stories have become part of Chinese written and oral history, shifted and reshaped to match our contemporary times. Book of Mountains and Seas is a 21st-century adaptation and expansion of four of these tales. Its lyrics are based on the original Chinese texts from the book, with additional newly created words to complete the soundscape and symbolic drama. As the four tales are ancient, they are abstract and timeless. Book of Mountains and Seas contains timeless codes about the universe, creation, planet, nature, life, human ambition and fate, the relationship and interaction between mankind and the planet.

Listen to this episode of "The Warm Up" as Huang Ruo and Basil Twist explore how epic stories are created.

Notably, an excellent recording of Book of Mountains and Seas was released on Naxos on April 25. The album features Gert Mortensen, Hsiao-Tung Yuan, and Michael Murphy, and Ars Nova Copenhagen, conducted by Paul Hillier. Stream/purchase the album here.


Huang Ruo/Book of Mountains and Seas, Scene 1: The Legend of Pangu

To learn more about Huang Ruo, visit schott-music.com.

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