Overture to The Siege reflects and anticipates the events in the opera and depicts the restraint, frustration, and confused feelings people might experience when besieged. In fact, as the novel Fortress Besieged and the opera The Siege imply, maybe all of us are besieged in some way. Even if some people can break the restraint, they eventually will find that the so-called ‘new free world’ is just a more extensive siege that embraces the previous small world. Living a life sometimes equals dealing with all kinds of troubles. And absolute freedom is just a beautiful dream.

The opening of the Overture sets an evocative mood with free rhythms and breathy sound effects. One instrumental color that stands out is the baritone saxophone, exploited here for the biting snarl of its low range in a lively Allegretto section.