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Critical Acclaim for Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang's The Monkey King

Nov. 26, 2025

The world premiere performances of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang's opera, The Monkey King, at the San Francisco Opera have sold out, and audiences and critics alike are enthusiastic about this exciting new work. The San Francisco Chronicle hails this production as "among the San Francisco Opera’s most thrillingly inventive offerings in decades," noting, "You’ll have to experience it for yourself." The New York Times calls The Monkey King "a shape-shifting hero for a third culture opera" while OperaNow proclaims, "San Francisco Opera crowns Huang Ruo as one of the most theatrically fluent and imaginative composers working today." KQED concurs, "I cannot say enough good things about it. If you want just the three-word summary, it’s this: go, go, go."


San Francisco Opera Presents "The Monkey King" | World Premiere


Kang Wang 王亢 as the Monkey King in "The Monkey King" (Act II Scene III)


Huiwang Zhang 張慧望 as the Monkey King Dancer in "The Monkey King" (Act I Scene II)

Based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, The Monkey King made its world premiere at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House. This new, action-packed opera combines high-energy music and text with puppetry, dance, Peking opera, and Buddhist sutras to elucidate the origin story of the fearless mythological adventurer, Sun Wukong – famously known as the Monkey King. 

While the final performances (November 28 and November 30) of The Monkey King have sold out, the San Francisco Opera is offering Standing Room tickets in the rear Orchestra or the rear Balcony. Tickets are $10 each and they are cash only at the Box Office. Standing Room tickets go on sale the day of each performance and are limited to two per person. Click here for more information.

To learn more about Huang Ruo, visit schott-music.com.

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