The Monkey King, beloved figure from Chinese mythology, swings onto the stage in San Francisco скачать в хорошем качестве

The Monkey King, beloved figure from Chinese mythology, swings onto the stage in San Francisco

(14 Nov 2025) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS San Francisco - 12 November 2025 1. SF Opera House exterior 2. World Premiere sign +++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED+++ 3. SOUNDBITE (English) David Henry Hwang, Libretto, The Monkey King: "The story is based on kind of an allegory of an actual Tang priest who brought the Buddhist sutras from India to China. About 400 years ago, the novel Journey to the West was written and all these fantastic creatures like Monkey were added. But it's essentially the story of how Buddhism came to China." 4. Monkey King with Emperor during performance 5. Monkey King born from stone during performance 6. Monkey King meets with monkey nation +++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED+++ 7. SOUNDBITE (English) David Henry Hwang, Libretto, The Monkey King: "He is born from a stone, he comes to lead his monkey nation, he wants to save them from death, and eventually seeks higher position with the gods. To translate the story to the stage, we're using lots of different theatrical techniques. We're using martial arts, Chinese opera, puppetry. Monkey is portrayed by a singer and a dancer slash opera actor and a puppet. And they interchange quite seamlessly. So it's really a spectacular theatrical event. And happens to be an opera." 8. Monkey dancer flips on stage 9. The Monkey King sings in front of performer's tai chi style dance 10. The Monkey King enters the underwater world 11. The Monkey King clones do flips 12. Dancer and puppet take turns portraying The Monkey King +++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED+++ 13. SOUNDBITE (English) Huang Ruo, Composer, The Monkey King: "The Monkey King is a magical kung fu opera with a heart. It's a long way to define it, but it is an opera, so it has fine singing and fine playing with the orchestra, and we also have a Chinese instrument called pipa. So it is a opera that integrates different cultures, Eastern and Western cultures, into one. The crucial central message in our opera, also inspired by the original story, is what does it mean to have power?" 14. The Monkey King is made fun of by the Emperor's court 15. The Monkey King tests out a new weapon 16. The Monkey King flies away 17. The Monkey King looks at golden pillar weapon +++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED+++ 18. SOUNDBITE (English) David Henry Hwang, Libretto, The Monkey King: "When you create a show, you want it to have greater life. And yes, there are certainly discussions about taking this show to different cities, including maybe the country where the story came from. But none of that is finalized yet." 19. Cloth drops as curtains close STORYLINE: A mischievous hero from Chinese legend is taking center stage in a brand-new opera.  He’s been a comic-book star, an animated hero, and even the subject of poetry by Mao Zedong.  Now, the Monkey King, born from a stone egg and famous for his rebellious spirit, is making his operatic debut. “The Monkey King,” with music by composer Huang Ruo and a libretto by David Henry Hwang, has its world premiere at the San Francisco Opera.  Based on the 16th-century epic Journey to the West, the opera explores Monkey’s birth, his wild adventures, and his downfall, punished for arrogance and pride before finally finding humility and redemption. Bringing this fantastical world to the stage was no small feat.  To capture Monkey’s energy, three performers share the role, a singer, a puppet, and a dancer.  Tenor Kang Wang, who provides the voice, calls them “the Holy Trinity of Monkey King.” He hopes audiences from all backgrounds will connect to the story, whether through nostalgia or discovery. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...