My chamber opera Heart Sutra is based on the short story of the same name by the legendary author Eileen Chang, a mysterious tale of love set in Shanghai during the 1930s. I must confess to becoming addicted to Chang, who is surely the most significant author of the twentieth century in the Chinese-speaking world. Her stories often centre around fascinating female protagonists, and the background to these stories – mainly set in Shanghai or Hong Kong during the 1930s to 1940s – provides plenty of scope for the creation of a suspension-packed musical work for the stage. I am overjoyed to be able to premiere Heart Sutra in Taipei, especially since – though the chamber opera is a self-contained work – it is the prelude to a future large-scale opera based on another of Chang’s stories. Christian Jost