Kuo has a special love of opera, and in 1975 he again embarked on a collaboration with screenwriter Chan Yi-chuan--this time to write the grand opera Legend of the White Snake Lady. In 1984 they finished the opera and changed its name to Xuxian and the White Lady. It was Taiwan's first grand opera, but it would take another 15 years before it would be performed.
郭芝苑對歌劇情有獨鍾，1975 年再度和編劇家詹益川合作，將《白蛇傳》譜寫成正歌劇，1984 年完成，並定名為〈許仙與白娘娘〉，成為台灣第一位創作正歌劇的作曲家，但該劇直到 15 年後才得以完整首演。