On Opening Night, November 14, the atmosphere inside the War Memorial Opera House that evening was right away electric.  There were so much anticipation and excitement among the sold-out crowd, especially among the large younger and Asian attendees, and at 7PM sharp, the lion/dragon dancers arrived and gave  rousing performances, a time-honored tradition on all celebratory occasions.  Right afterwards our group of over 90 attendees gathered on the steps outside of the Opera House for a group photo.  Then it was into the opera hall.  As the lights dimmed there was a hush among the audience before the premiere performance began. And there was no let up.  It  was waves upon waves of action as the story moved forward: the music, the colorful inventive costumes and sets, the heavenly puppetry, the dancing and the demonstrative deliveries of al the singers all conspired together to deliver an uplifting, enthusiastic and long-lasting standing ovation.  There were so many glowing faces among the audience, and the predominant expression of them was one of unconcealed pride, pride in our historical and enduring culture, pride in the superb delivery of everyone’s roles in this complex and overwhelming all-Asian production, and, above all, pride in SF Opera’s dedication and determination to do justice to this wonderful story of our beloved Monkey.

Photo Album