Classical Ming Chinese Literature as Opera

Yesterday afternoon I visited the War Memorial Opera House to see the second of the eight San Francisco Opera (SFO) performances of the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s opera The Monkey King. The libretto by David Henry Hwang alternated between English and Mandarin, and supertitles were projected in both English and Chinese. The opera was composed on a commission by SFO in partnership with the Chinese Heritage Foundation of Minnesota. The title character has been a favorite figure in the mythology of Chinese culture for roughly 400 years.

Kang Wang as the Monkey King with members of the SFO Chorus as his subjects (photograph by Cory Weaver, courtesy of SFO)

The title character was sung by Australian-Chinese tenor Kang Wang, making his SFO debut; but he was also depicted by dancer Huiwang Zhang, also making his SFO debut. The staging of the narrative also involved puppetry designed and directed by Basil Twist (another SFO debut). In other words, this was a “media-rich” production, reinforced by a large orchestral ensemble, which included a pipa, which, sadly, was seen more than heard. The conductor was Carolyn Kuan, making her SFO debut.

The narrative of the libretto is basically a didactic account of the journey of Monkey from birth to enlightenment. Somewhat in the spirit of Voltaire’s Candide, the plot is episodic; and the episodes unfold in the seven scenes of the opera, five in the first act and three in the second. I must confess that, on the basis of a single viewing, I have not yet fully grasped those episodes with the same clarity that came with my reading Voltaire! This may have been due, at least in part, to the extended emphasis on the visual, which included both the sets designed by Twist and the projections of Hana S. Kim (also an SFO debut). While all those visual cues decidedly provided a grasp on the overall narrative, I found it far easier to follow Candide’s journey than the episodes of Monkey’s history!

Many readers probably know that, where opera is involved, I often find it helpful to take the journey through the synthesis of narrative and music more than once. Sadly, neither of those two elements left enough of an impression to encourage me to revisit the setting. Indeed, I fear that I found the synopsis of Hwang’s narrative in the program book more compelling than the unfolding of its staging by Director Diane Paulus. Perhaps this is a tale better told by a narrator with pipa interludes between the episodes!