Following up on our decision at our Second Introduction to Monkey King last September, we invited our community to join us for a free livestreaming of the SFO world premiere production.  On November 23, more than 130 attendees poured into the basement Friendship Hall of the Judson Baptist Church in Minneapolis.  These attendees included many community leaders, our loyal donors and volunteers, Judson church members, and many  young individuals and families who were new to us. 

Everyone sat in rapt attention as the livestreaming began.  Even for those of us who had already attended two premiere performances during the preceding two weeks, the livestreaming was in some ways a revelation. Seeing the facial expressions of the singers up close led to a stronger connection between the audience and singers.  As music critic Michael Anthony mentioned, “In the streaming, the story and characters took on a human dimension, especially that of the Monkey. I began to connect with his travails and actually feel sorry for him and his plight.”

Immediately following the livestreaming, composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang joined via zoom for a lively Q & A session.  Everyone was in a celebratory mood, but there were also serious questions related to how to turn a famous novel into an opera.  But the overriding question was: this opera ended with an open question: after five hundred of imprisonment has the Monkey really learned his lesson? Will there be one or more sequels?  Mum is the word!