Long ago, perhaps as early as the seventh century, the citizens of Hangzhou told the story of a beautiful white snake spirit. In Chinese she is called Bai Su, or Lady White Snake. She descended from the sacred peaks of Mount Emi to walk among mortals along the shores of the beautiful West Lake. There she met a young scholar and fell in love. They were happy for a time, but a powerful Taoist monk from a nearby monastery objected to the union of a man and a snake spirit. Suspecting that Lady White was evil, the Taoist took steps to imprison her under the Leifeng Pagoda, which still stands in Hangzhou today, although it has been rebuilt from the original structure that once held Lady White captive.

While you experience our performance, here are some programme notes about things that feature prominently in the opera.

Realgar Wine: This is the tonic that the Taoist monk tells Xu Xian to have his wife drink, in order to see her true form. The chemical name for realgar is arsenic sulfide. During the Dragon Boat festival in June, in olden days, people mixed the realgar with wine and drank the foul smelling concoction to ward off snakes and other dangerous pests that were common in the hot summers. Nowadays, because of the known toxicity of arsenic, realgar is seldom taken internally, but instead is rubbed on the skin.

Lingzhi Mushroom: Its scientific name is ganoderma lucidum; it is a large woody mushroom that grows on fallen decaying logs along the coasts of China. It is a staple of Chinese herbal medicine; it is said to cure all manner of ills and ameliorate the effects of chemotherapy. Legend tells us that it has the power to bring the dead back to life.

The Old Man of the South: Closely associated with the lingzhi mushroom is the Old Man of the South. He is also known as the God of Longevity and lives with other immortal deities on Mount Kunlun. He is in charge of the Star of Longevity – called Canopus in the Occident – which is located in China's southern sky. In the Taoist pantheon, he is responsible for determining how long a person will live and is often depicted with the lingzhi mushroom at his feet.

Leifeng Pagoda: It was constructed in 975 by Qian Hongchu, the King of Wuyue Kingdom, to celebrate the birth of one of his sons. By the time of the Yunan, it was a resplendent jewel overlooking the West Lake. It is an octagonal structure that rises to a height of five stories. Built from stone and bricks, at the time it was erected, verses from the Huayan Scriptures were inscribed on the inner walls. As time passed, the pagoda fell into disrepair; it was the custom of locals to steal bricks from the foundation, believing that they were lucky. In 1924, the structure collapsed entirely. It was rebuilt in the year 2000, and if you visit the Leifeng today, you will find an elaborate hand carved diorama depicting the Legend of Lady White Snake and her escape from beneath the pagoda.