An early rehearsal for Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang's "The Monkey King," with the monkey puppet. Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera
Composer Huang Ruo long dreamed of adapting the classic Chinese tale “Journey to the West” and its mythical character the Monkey King into an opera, but thought that ambition was a pipe dream.
“I grew up in China with that story — the Monkey King is equivalent to Mickey Mouse for us — and since I've become a composer it has been in my heart that it would be great if this intriguing, magical story could be shown on the operatic stage,” Huang said. “When librettist David Henry Hwang and I went to Matthew Shilvock of San Francisco Opera right before the pandemic, we were delightfully surprised that he accepted our proposal.”
Commissioned by San Francisco Opera in partnership with the Chinese Heritage Foundation of Minnesota, “The Monkey King” will make its world premiere Nov. 14-30 at the War Memorial Opera House. The opus, a fusion of opera, dance and puppetry, is in English and Mandarin and follows the fabled figure known in China as Sun Wukong, who is born from stone and challenges the gods of the seas and heavens in a bid for immortality.
Proficient in martial arts, the Monkey King has an action-hero quality that has been cherished in China for centuries and has gained popularity elsewhere. Indeed, his superhero story has appeared in film, television, animation and in the blockbuster video game “Black Myth: Wukong.”
Huang’s desire to compose an opera about the Monkey King was reinforced in the wake of Halloween in 2020.
“My son was dressed as Spider-Man and my daughter as Elsa from ‘Frozen,’” he recounted. “I was thinking, wouldn't it be nice to have a superhero from Asia for young kids to look up to? Also, to have a costume to dress up in, particularly for the Asian-American kids so they have someone from their culture they could be proud of?”