The Opera Tattler

* Notes *

The Monkey King (Act I pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) had a world premiere last night at San Francisco Opera. Composed by Huang Ruo and with a libretto by David Henry Hwang, this new opera is a spectacular piece of theater.

Director Diane Paulus’ production features puppetry, projections, and dancing. Basil Twist’s set design has many layers to it and employs a lot of cloth, either draped or as curtains.There was always something to look at, and there were many bright colors.

It was disorienting to hear the San Francisco Opera Orchestra play Wagner the night before to this contemporary work by Huang Ruo. Maestra Carolyn Kuan kept the orchestra moving, but the sound was more diffuse than with Music Director Kim.

The orchestra included a pipa, a four-stringed Chinese lute played by Shenshen Zhang. Huang Ruo’s music at times has lots of repeated arpeggios and novel percussion such as Indonesian button gongs, a Chinese opera gong, and Chinese crash symbols. The textured, atmospheric sounds were enjoyable to listen to and sustained the drama.

Commissioned by San Francisco Opera in partnership with the Chinese Heritage Foundation of Minnesota, the story is based on the beginning of the classic novel Journey to the West from the Ming Dynasty. David Henry Hwang’s libretto is mostly in English with some Mandarin sprinkled in, which somehow works fine. Hwang is very funny, and it is suitable for the adventures of the Monkey King. Some choice lines included “Awesome” and “This Buddha is so dumb,” which are less amusing in isolation but in context engaged the audience.

The chorus sounded great, it’s so impressive that these singers went from entirely different music in a heartbeat and are so cohesive. The principals are also strong. Tenor Kang Wang had a very fine Company debut in the title role of this opera. He’s very appealing, both in his pretty voice and his physical presence. Tenor Konu Kim sounded bright and blustery as the Jade Emperor. Best of all was perhaps soprano Mei Gui Zhang as the goddess of mercy Guanyin. Her voice is so clear and smooth, she truly embodied this part.

Another stand out is bass Peixin Chen, as Supreme Sage Laojun. The depths of his sound are commanding. Baritone Jusung Gabriel Park sang Master Subhuti very beautifully, with humor and graveness in turns as appropriate.

I also enjoyed hearing former Adler Fellow baritone Joo Won Kang as both Dragon King Ao Guang and Lord Erlang. Mezzo-soprano Hongni Wu made her own notable contributions as the Crab General and Venus Star, and it was nice to hear another vocal type amid so many tenors, baritones, and other male voices.

* Tattling *

The audience was very excited for this performance, and seemed to rapt by the action. I heard some light talking but not much electronic noise, but perhaps that is a function of how loud much of the instrumentation was.

Many fancy people were celebrating the work on the box level of the opera house, including former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.