Here are few cuts from the score created by Damon Albarn for the new opreah by Chen Shi-Zheng called, “Monkey Journey To The West“.
About the Opera:
In a mythical time, on the Mountain of Flower and Fruit, Monkey was hatched from a stone egg. So begins the tale of the Monkey King, our headstrong, self-important hero. After crossing the all-powerful Buddha, Monkey is given the opportunity to redeem himself by travelling to India with the young monk Tripitaka to bring the Holy Scriptures back to China.
Accompanied by a motley crew of helpers, the pair meet and overcome terrific challenges, finally returning with the sacred texts. Despite its playful, bawdy tone and colourful characters the story of Monkey is deeply serious in intent. It’s a fable of spiritual change and growth, a 16th Century story which is still familiar to all Chinese schoolchildren.
Monkey: Journey To The West re-tells the 400 year-old tale for a new audience. This production is a triumph of collaboration – between old and new, sight and sound, East and West. Developed in conversation between Beijing, Dalian, Paris, London and Manchester it brings together traditional disciplines – acrobatics, singing, dancing – with emphatically modern technology including animation and dazzling video projections.
About the Album:
Created by the team behind Gorillaz, Journey to the West is performed by both European and Chinese musicians and singers and produced by Damon Albarn. The album is a natural development of art and music based on the opera of the same name which Albarn and Hewlett Created with director Chen Shi-Zheng.