Monkey King Press Notices Home Page: In addition to reaching out to the Asian communities around the Bay Area, SF Opera was also working to bring worldwide awareness to this spectacular undertaking.  On Opening Night many music critics were in the audience and they wrote rave reviews afterwards.  On the pages below are quotations from some of them. There is also a compilation of all reviews prepared by SF Opera further below.

Amidst all these positive reviews coming in the day after the premiere, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, announced that he and his wife have decided on a multiyear grant of $5 million every year to SF Opera.  What an affirmation! Cory Weaver, SFO photographer, says it all:  “Coming in at #1 of our Top 10 most memorable moments of 2025 🐒 The world premiere of The Monkey King did not just arrive, it took over. This was the gravitational center of the season, where bold artistic ambition, cultural resonance, and real community excitement collided and ignited.

More than a production, The Monkey King became a landmark, for the Company and for our audiences. A reminder of what opera can be when storytelling is fearless, world building is expansive, and the connection to the Bay Area is deep, living, and undeniable.

This is exactly what San Francisco Opera set out to do in 2025.
And Number One says it all. 👑🐒🎶”

Read below excerpts from several reviews, and also a compilation from SFO on all reviews.