Monkey: Journey To The West to kickstart in USA - Damon Albarn does Opera

To the West it goes - Damon Albarn's opera "Monkey: Journey To The West" is journeying  truly to the 'west' of the world map. Fans in USA will be able to witness the show because the opera will be playing in this year’s Lincoln Center Festival.

The production, created by Damon Albarn and his Gorillaz partner Jamie Hewlett, originally premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2007. The new set of productions will be Monkey: Journey To The West's New York debut. It will be staged 27  times at the David H. Koch Theater, from July 6 to 28.

“It sold more tickets than any other single event in the 36-year history of Spoleto,” said Nigel Redden, director of the Lincoln Center Festival, “But it’s never been in New York and to some extent, many artists feel their work has not premiered in the U.S. until it has premiered in New York.”

Monkey: Journey to the West is a tale about a monk's perilous, adventurous and self-discovering journey from China to India while he searches for sacred Buddhist scripts. The opera is headed by legendary director Chen Shi-Zheng and features original music from Damon Albarn. It combines theater with illustration (by Jamie Hewlett), Chinese martial arts, acrobatics and dance. An official album of the soundtrack was released in 2008.

"A high-octane, 90-minute rock 'n' roll circus…breathtaking." —Guardian 

"A life-enhancing triumph." —Evening Standard (U.K.) / "The event of the year." —Time Out London

Even though Damon Albarn hasn't revealed any new plans for Gorillaz material, it seems that his previously rocky relationship with Jamie Hewlett has repaired, replenished and rejuvenated. After all they will be working closely together for the new set of shows in America.

Perhaps Damon Albarn will decide to release new Gorillaz material, if all goes well with Jamie and the opera. A good plan after the Blur shows of 2013?

Monkey: Journey To The West (Lincoln Centre Festival 2013)
Date	Time
Jul-06	8:00 PM (preview)
Jul-07	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM (previews)
Jul-09	8:00 PM
Jul-10	8:00 PM
Jul-11	8:00 PM
Jul-12	8:00 PM
Jul-13	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Jul-14	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Jul-16	8:00 PM
Jul-17	8:00 PM
Jul-18	8:00 PM
Jul-19	8:00 PM
Jul-20	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Jul-21	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Jul-23	8:00 PM
Jul-24	8:00 PM
Jul-25	8:00 PM
Jul-26	8:00 PM
Jul-27	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Jul-28	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM