Huang Ruo watched his kids on Halloween during the coronavirus pandemic his son dressed as Spider-Man and Batman, his daughter as Elsa from “Frozen.”
“I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be nice to have a superhero figure from Asia so all these kids could have something from that part of the world to wear, to look up to?” the composer said.
He decided to write “The Monkey King,” based on an episode from the 16th century Chinese novel “Journey to the West” in which a primate born from stone acquires supernatural powers and seeks immortality. The work, with singing in English and Mandarin, will be given its world premiere by the San Francisco Opera on Nov. 14, the company announced Tuesday.
San Francisco Opera general director Matthew Shilvock issued the commission following the success of Bright Sheng’s “Dream of the Red Chamber,” which the company premiered in 2016. Librettos of both were written by David Henry Hwang, whose “M Butterfly” won the 1988 Tony Award for best play.
“We were looking at how do we continue building this repertoire of pieces that really resonate with an Asian American audience here in San Francisco but have the potential to cross the Pacific and find resonance in Asia, as well,” Shilvock said.
Ruo’s compositions include “Bound,” which premiered at the Houston Grand Opera in 2014, and “An American Soldier,” first seen at the Washington National Opera later that year. He is composing “The Wedding Banquet,” based on Ang Lee’s 1993 movie, to appear at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 2027-28 following its premiere at the Seattle Opera.
Ruo wrote “The Monkey Key” in part as a response to discrimination during the pandemic.
“That was during the time that Asians and Asian Americans were being harassed,” he said. “I thought it would be good to have some positive energy.”
There will be eight performances through Nov. 30, including a livestream on Nov. 18. Diane Paulus directs a production with scenic design and puppetry by Basil Twist. The title character is presented in three ways: by a singer, a dancer and a puppet. Tenor Kang Wang makes his company debut in the title role.
San Francisco’s season opens Sept. 5 with a revival of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” in a production originally by Mark Lamos from 1997, led by music director Eun Sun Kim and starring Amartuvshin Enkhbat, Adela Zaharia and Giovanni Sala.
Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking” opens Sept. 14 in new-to-San Francisco Leonard Foglia staging from 2002 to mark the 25th anniversary of its world premiere in San Francisco. Jamie Barton is featured as Sister Helen, and Susan Graham, who sang Helen in the premiere, is Mrs. Patrick De Rocher.
A new production of Wagner’s “Parsifal” directed by Matthew Ozawa opens Oct. 25 with a cast that includes Brandon Jovanovich, Kwangchul Youn and Brian Mulligan.
Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)” starts the spring season on May 28, 2025, in an Emilio Sagi production from 2013 and will be followed by Strauss’ “Elektra” starting June 7 in a Keith Warner production originally seen at the Prague National Theatre in 2016 and San Francisco the following year.
The six productions match 2024-25 and are down from eight in 2023-24. Shilvock anticipates a $15 million structural imbalance in this season’s budget that projects $87 million in expenses, a difference that will be covered by a greater reliance on endowment. San Francisco sold 79% of tickets for its fall season, 3% above goal, and its average audience age has dropped.
“I do take a huge amount of optimism and encouragement,” Shilvock said. “The core relationship of audiences to the artistic product is the strongest I’ve ever seen it.”
