Damon Albarn’s Opera Premiered Last Night

The Manchester International Festival saw the first performance of Monkey: Journey to the West.

The opera is the brainchild of Chen Shizheng, who read the legend of the Monkey growing up in Mao’s China. He told the AP, "It was the most inspiring thing as a kid because Monkey was fearless and fighting, defending his own rights in this incredible magical world. It gave me a lot of strength. It gave my mind somewhere to go."

Albarn and Gorillaz artist Jamie Hewlett (yes, the dildo guy) eventually signed on to the project.

Here’s its initial run: