The San Francisco Opera is set to present the world premiere of The Monkey King by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang.

The opera will be performed on Nov. 14 through 30 at the War Memorial Opera House. The opera centers around the mythical Monkey King, a perennial favorite in Chinese culture for over four hundred years, whose popularity has expanded through film, television, animation, and, most recently, the 2024 blockbuster video game Black Myth: Wukong, which sold 18 million copies in its first two months.

The opera was commissioned by San Francisco Opera in partnership with the Chinese Heritage Foundation of Minnesota, will star Kang Wang, Konu Kim, Mei Gui Zhang, Peixin Chen, Joo Won Kang, Hongni Wu, Jusung Gabriel Park, Huiwang Zhang, Marcos Vedovetto, Christopher Jackson, Chester Pidduck, Jonathan Smucker,  and William O’Neill. Carolyn Kuan conducts the production by Diane Paulus.

In a statement, Composer Ruo said: “If dreams do come true, creating The Monkey King with my long-time collaborator David Henry Hwang for San Francisco Opera is one of those dreams. The world is full of superheroes—Superwoman, Spider-Man, Batman—and like those we know from American comic books and movies, the Monkey King is every bit an inspirational figure known for his wit, humor, righteousness and power. He is Asia’s supreme superhero, loved and adored not only by Chinese people throughout the centuries but increasingly by people throughout the world. The Monkey King’s adventures awaken in him an understanding of true power which leads to his self-enlightenment. In our new opera, which blends cultural traditions with a spectacular multidisciplinary production, I hope to bring this Eastern superhero to life and shine a positive light that will always appear in any turbulent time.”

For those not in San Francisco, the Nov. 18 performance of “The Monkey King” will be livestreamed at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time (PT). Livestream tickets include a 48-hour on-demand viewing window, beginning at 10 a.m. PT on Nov. 23 and ending at 10 a.m. PT on Nov. 25.

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