Please join a lively, behind-the-scenes discussion moderated online by Ken Smith (Opera/Opera News), with composer Huang Ruo, librettist and Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, and Chinese Heritage Foundation’s Pearl Lam Bergad, to dig deeper into the multiple layers of translation that bring The Monkey King (猴王悟空) to vibrant, revelatory life in this pulse-of-the-moment contemporary adaptation.

This San Francisco Opera world-premiere commission is drawn from the opening episodes in Journey to the West (16th c.), a Ming dynasty novel widely considered one of China’s greatest literary classics. The Monkey King follows the ambition of its title character, who wreaks havoc in the heavens in a bid for justice and equality, as well as belonging and freedom of expression. Join this preview of the production’s world premiere as part of San Francisco Opera’s fall 2025 season.

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