I Love You, Monkey King! San Francisco Opera Premiere's Huang Ruo's New Opera

The earth is enormous. The earth is tiny. Depending upon the context in which they're used, both statements are true, and the longer I live the more true each seems to become. Therefore, I was (though shouldn't have been) surprised to learn of  Sun Wukong - aka The Monkey King - beloved 16th Century Chinese superhero whose history actually goes back even further - to the 7th Century.  There wasn't time to brush up much before watching the live stream of the opera which had it's world premiere days before (on my birthday no less), and which I've been anticipating since first hearing about it.  

I purposefully avoided reviews, wanting to experience it (even from home) without prejudice expectations.  What happened when I  hit play - was practically transformative in that way unique to opera. The enthusiastic response from the house gave a strong indication of what it must have been like experiencing it in person.  Thousands of miles away on a large screen TV with good sound was not a bad alternative. Not at all.

From its opening image, Diane Paulus' visually stunning production transports us to another time and place and in scene-after-scene, the spectacle factor found me gasping in awe or proclaiming "this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."  In reality, it may be only ONE of the most beautiful, but in the moment - which is all that matters - it blocked out any other possible competition. 

The opera opens with the Nirvana-seeking Bodhisattvas quietly chanting Buddhist sutras. They are joined by Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin, the lovely soprano Mei Gui Zhang. Guanyin, who, throughout the opera, floats high above and moves across the vast stage in a tear shaped vessel. Each appearance is simply breathtaking.  Jusung Gabriel Park - who sings the dual roles of Subhuti and Buddha, moves, as the latter throughout the story in a similar, circular vessel, adding even more of a transcendent spiritual quality to the often raucous, and comical goings on with Sun Wukong beneath them.

We quickly meet Sun Wukong, who has been imprisoned for 500 years, and whose story we will soon discover through a series of dazzling flashbacks.

So spectacular is the character of Sun Wukong, it takes three "performers" to tell his story: First is the tenor inhabiting The Monkey King, then a dancer/acrobat, and a puppet, each identically made up and costumed. The effect is seamless and magical in itself. In this role, tenor Kang Wang is never less than the ideal. Indeed, this is one of those performances that afterwards I found myself wondering, "who else can do this?"  Sun Wukong, always full of himself, speaks frequently of his handsomeness, and indeed, even through the wild make-up, loud costume, crazy monkey beard, Mr. Wang is able to project "handsome" and make an entire audience fall in love with this often reviled creature. Tour-de-force seems almost an inadequate description of Mr. Wang's remarkable performance.  He IS The Monkey King. 

As spectacular as he was, Mr. Wang was not alone in shining as the entire cast was both inspired and inspiring, with no weak links anywhere. As both Subhuti and Buddha, baritone Jusung Gabriel Park was warm of voice and created two distinct characters. As the former, his scenes with Sun Wukong found me "feeling" the similar dynamic between Gurnemanz and Parsifal, so that element hit me both in head and heart. Kuno Kim was a hilariously haughty Jade Emperor, ruler and of an elite population of immortals (which easily translates to The One Percenters  of today) as they proudly - and loudly - sing:

We're the smartest and most powerful - the wisest most deserving, which we remind each other whenever we get the chance!

Peixin Chen as Supreme Lord Laozi, Joo Wan Kang, as Lord Erlang and Ao Guang, and Hongni Wu, as the Crab General and Venus Star, round out a perfect cast with tremendous acting and song. 

Sets and puppets are by the always amazing Basil Twist (so thrilled to see his name on this project) and Anita Yavich must have had what must be a customers dream - or nightmare  in creating the challenging, explosions of colors and materials in creating the opulent, stunning costumes.  The lighting design by Ayumu "Poe" Saegusa created a magical fantasy world of movement and light that frequently took my breath away.

From first note to last, it was clear Huang Ruo was creating something special here. A uniquely Asian story, its score influenced by the musical landscapes of ancient China, other Far-Near Eastern sounds, Western classical music, jazz and theatre. In addition to traditional orchestral sounds, there were traditional Chinese elements including percussion, gongs, cymbals and more.  A few moments in the choral sections felt (to me) sounded "too casual" both in writing and delivery - but they made an effect, so perhaps I just don't understand something. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.

Completing Sun Wukong's character were the Puppet and Dancer. puppet Sun Wukong was brilliantly handled and manipulated by - by my count - nine masterful puppeteers. Dancing SunWukong was in In dancer/acrobat Huiwang Zhang, Dancing Sun Wukong was in everyway the dopplganger of tenor Wang. His athletic prowess, flying, sommersaulting, and kicking his way through dimensions and space were never less than dazzling. 

Through all of this, Maestro Carolyn Kuan propelled the score exuberantly forward with love, combining Ruo's elements of nuance, cariciature, spirituality, comedy, along with an abundance of heart and humanity in one of the most beautiful new operas I have been fortunate to experience. 

I love you Monkey King!