Organization

Tête à Tête Festival

Singer

Michael CT Lam

The Buddha/Ruanist

Lixin Liu

The Monkey King

Jack Whiting

Xuanzang

Valerie Wong

Yin Wenqiao

James Gribble

Chen Guangrui

Franco Kong

The Dragon King/Yin Kaishan

Deirdre McCabe

Madame Zhang

Aaron Kendall

Liu Hong

Tricia Yates

Li Biao

Edwin Dizer

Monk Faming

Roxanne Korda

Madame Hu

Wan Tat Cheah

Fisherman/Zhao Yue

Eugene Too

Erhuist

Conductor

Anna Vienna Ho

Pianist

Lingling Yu

Buddha and the Monkey King

London

United Kingdom

The Cockpit

Music: Anna Vienna Ho

Words: Michael CT Lam & Roxanne Korda

“Buddha and the Monkey King” from Journey to the West (World Premiere)

An adaptation of ‘Journey to the West’ by Wu Cheng’en, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Rooted in Chinese folk religion, mythology, and Confucianist, Taoist and Buddhist philosophies, this opera opens a new window on the novel. This short opera, which is considered a “prologue” of the whole work, shows one of its most iconic moments as Buddha talks to the mighty Monkey King.

This English-language opera blends Chinese and Western musical traditions. The second part of the work, “The Monk of the River” will be performed in the next Tête à Tête Opera Festival.

The performance will include an introduction to Chinese instruments, especially the Ruan.

Buddha and the Monkey King Ho

Public

Approved

Production booklet

Further reading