Last week, a well-publicized event occurred at the Metropolitan Opera: the premiere of a new work, commissioned by the company in 1996. That was “The First Emperor” by Tan Dun, a Chinese composer, almost 50, who has lived in America since the mid-1980s. He is a smart and gifted composer, as this and other scores show. But, in my view, “The First Emperor” suffers from a dullness that is nearly crippling.

Tan Dun has composed several other operas, and has made a name for himself in two films: “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) and “Hero” (2002). He is co-librettist of “The First Emperor,” along with Ha Jin, the noted poet and novelist. That libretto is in English, with some Chinese interspersed.

And the story, of course, concerns China’s founding emperor, Qin — an early monster, a precursor to that 20th-century triumvirate of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. Qin is admired by many today (as are the others), mainly as a “uniter” of China.

Years ago, on “Firing Line,” William F. Buckley Jr. was talking to a little dictator, Marcos of the Philippines. Marcos was expressing his admiration for a big dictator: Mao. Mr. Buckley asked what he liked about him. Marcos said, “He united his country.” Mr. Buckley responded, “He united his country by killing all those who didn’t want to be united.” Marcos, with a smile, conceded the point.

“The First Emperor” is an adventurous piece, and it came out of the “Old Met” — a place now thought to have been immune to adventure. In a program note, the new general manager, Peter Gelb, weighs in with several points.

He says, “I believe composers of new operas should not simply be hired and given a due date; they must have the opportunity to develop their musical ideas in an organic way.” He further says, “‘The First Emperor’ has taken ten years to arrive on the Met stage. Significant new works can’t be rushed.”

Very generous sentiments. But Rossini, Donizetti, and Mozart — to name three — often wrote on deadline, and they often took weeks, not months or years. They managed okay.

Tan Dun’s score for “The First Emperor” is like others he has written: a mixture of the Chinese and the Western, of ancient and modern, of folk and classical. The work has a long “Chinese” introduction — chanting, droning, drumming. There is a great deal of percussion in this opera, and percussion is a Tan Dun hallmark. It is also a mark of today’s music generally.

As he goes along, Tan Dun gives us a lot of music that, if penned by a Western composer, would be labeled “chinoiserie.” It might even be blasted as stereotypical. At intermission, one wag was heard to say, “When it comes to Chinese composers, I prefer Puccini.” (The allusion was to “Turandot.”)

Tan Dun includes much dreamy Romanticism, and music that might remind you of Broadway. Elsewhere, you might think of the French Impressionists — I have often described Tan Dun as a Chinese Impressionist, particularly in his works for the piano. “The First Emperor” has, at times, the lulling quality of Debussy’s Symbolist masterpiece, “Pelléas et Mélisande.” At other times, it is merely static.

Undoubtedly, there are impressive moments in “The First Emperor”: a touching mother-daughter duet, for example; and some genuine tension in the opera’s dénouement. But I have spoken of a fatal dullness, or a near-fatal one. That is a hard thing to overcome.

Every now and then, the libretto causes chuckles or smirks that cannot be intended: That’s because it is a tad corny and stagy. Also, there is a kind of women’s-lib theme that strikes me as grossly anachronistic: a princess who just has to follow her heart, no matter what her emperor dad says. But I should leave that to the historians.

The production is by Zhang Yimou, the film director, and it is stunning: beautiful, interesting, and wise. Sets are designed by Fan Yue, and costumes by Emi Wada (who did the Kurosawa film “Ran”). What more you could ask from costumes, I don’t know. And Duane Schuler’s lighting is strikingly apt.

When viewing this production, I thought, “You might call this Chinese Zeffirelli” — and that is no putdown, from me.

The premiere Thursday night featured some excellent singing — led by Plácido Domingo in the title role. He was a Chinese emperor singing in English with a Spanish accent. Welcome to multiculturalism. And the old lion was in splendid form, in control of himself vocally and theatrically.

As was Elizabeth Futral, the soprano singing Princess Yueyang. It would be hard to imagine a more compelling portrayal in this role. (Same with the emperor.) The tenor Paul Groves acquitted himself well, and so did two mezzo-sopranos: Susanne Mentzer and Michelle DeYoung. Ms. Mentzer was the mother of Yueyang, and she expressed the right warmth and worry. A bass, Hao Jiang Tian, did not have his best night, but did not fail.

Conducting was the composer himself, Tan Dun. He did an alert and involving job. And if he disliked the way his opera went, well … he knows whom to blame.

When a premiere occurs, one finds oneself asking whether the work will last. But that is a tough question. I believe that opera houses will want “The First Emperor,” particularly because of the appeal of the non-Western. But will the work endure beyond the initial interest and excitement? I’m afraid I can’t be confident.

Until January 25 (Lincoln Center, 212-721-6500).