By 

Heidi Waleson

”SF Opera’s production, directed by Diane Paulus, with set design and puppetry direction and design by Basil Twist—who can turn a length of silk into a mountain, a horse, or a waterfall—vaults the piece into the vivid fantasy realm of Chinese opera. Together with the gorgeous projection designs of Hana S. Kim—many of them in classic Chinese painting style—and the lighting of Ayumu “Poe” Saegusa, on scrims and backdrops of billowing curtains, the staging is a brilliant, constantly changing spectacle. ”

“presents its rebellious, trickster antihero—a monkey born from a magic stone, who challenges gods and rulers—in all his colorful, anarchic glory. Mr. Huang skillfully manipulates the musical language of Western opera, adding only gongs, Chinese cymbals and a pipa (a plucked instrument) to the orchestra, to conjure up the spirit of Chinese opera. ”