The Monkey King 美猴王 World premiere at SF Opera

The Monkey King 美猴王
World premiere at SF Opera in 2025, SF Opera commission
Composed by Huang Rho, libretto by David Henry Hwang, based on Journey to the West

Journey to the West is the second of the great Chinese literary classics commissioned to be adapted into a World Premiere opera. The first being Dream of the Red Chamber, which premiered in 2016. The Monkey King 美猴王 represents an episode for Journey to the West, wherein Sun Wukong (the monkey king of the title) wreaks havoc on the heavens in a bid for immortality. 

The Monkey King character and his supernatural abilities have influenced pop culture for generations. There are countless iterations of the Monkey King story and figure, but American audiences may be most familiar with Goku in Dragon Ball whose monkey tail and staff are a direct reference to the wily hero. 

Set to premiere at San Francisco Opera in the fall of 2025, The Monkey King 美猴王 will feature music by Huang Ruo and a libretto by David Henry Wang. Award-winning Director Diane Paulus will collaborate with scenic designer and puppeteer Basil twist in bringing the world of The Monkey King from page to stage.

Read more about The Monkey King at San Francisco Opera

Ainadamar at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 2025

Libretto by David Henry Hwang            
Music by Osvaldo Golijov

Ainadamar tells the story of playwright Federico García Lorca and his producer and muse, Catalan actress Margarita Xirgu, including Lorca’s murder by the Falange. The male Lorca is played by a woman as a “trousers role,” adding another dimension to the exploration of sexuality and gender.

Ainadamar premiered at Tanglewood Music Center in 2003, directed by Chay Yew. A revised version was later presented at the Santa Fe Opera in 2005, directed by Peter Sellars, and has been performed extensively throughout the world. Its recording on Deutsche Grammophone won two 2006 Grammy Awards, for Best Opera Recording and Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

A new production of Ainadamar opened in April, 2023, which ran at the Metropolitan Opera during their 2024-25 season.

Next Production:

April 26 - May 18, 2025

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

For more information on Ainadamar in Los Angeles

Yellow Face on PBS Great Performances

Great Performances Records Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway Production of “Yellow Face” Starring Daniel Dae Kim to Premiere on PBS

Tony Award® winner and three-time Pulitzer finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) made his Roundabout debut with the Broadway premiere of Yellow Face, his hilarious is-he-or-isn’t-he comedy of identity, show business, and (perhaps) autobiography. Starring Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) and directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman (Violet). 

Inspired by real events, the playwright’s fictionalized doppelgänger protests yellowface casting in Miss Saigon, only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play. This Obie Award-winning and Pulitzer finalist play is a laugh-out-loud farce about the complexities of race.

Great Performances: Yellow Face was recorded live from Broadway during the final week of performances November 21-23. The Great Performances premiere on PBS will be announced at a later date.

For more information about Yellow Face on PBS Great Performances