The San Francisco Opera on Tuesday announced a dynamic 2025–26 season, the centerpiece of which is a highly anticipated new commission: The Monkey King, an action-adventure opera by composer Huang Ruo and librettist Henry David Hwang.
Premiering Nov. 14, The Monkey King is based on Journey to the West, a 1592 Chinese literary classic that’s inspired countless films, animations and even a massively popular video game, Black Myth: Wukong. The new work, which runs through Nov. 30, promises to push SF Opera to new technical heights, utilizing dance and puppetry to tell the story of the ruler of the monkey kingdom who faces off against gods, demons and his own ego in his quest for immortality.
Another season highlight is the return of Dead Man Walking, which premiered at SF Opera 25 years ago and has since become one of the most popular modern operas of this century. Coming to the War Memorial Opera House stage Sept. 14–28, the libretto by Terrence McNally tells the real-life story of Sister Helen Prejean as she undergoes a spiritual journey while ministering to a man facing the death penalty.
The season kicks off with Verdi’s Rigoletto, running Sept. 5–27, with a cast that includes Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat in the title role alongside Adela Zaharia, Giovanni Sala, J’Nai Bridges, Peixin Chen and Aleksey Bogdanov.
From Oct. 25–Nov. 13, SF Opera will present a new production of Richard Wagner’s final work, Parsifal, the story of a knight’s spiritual quest, which — like The Monkey King — is heavily influenced by Buddhism. The opera is part of SF Opera Music Director Eun Sun Kim’s ongoing exploration of the 19th century German composer’s work, and will be directed by Matthew Ozawa. (Kim and SF Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock will appear live at KQED’s Mission District venue, The Commons, on Feb. 4 for a conversation with Forum host Mina Kim.)
Other season highlights include a June 2026 staging of Gioachino Rossini’s iconic 19th-century comedy The Barber of Seville and Richard Strauss’ Greek mythology-fueled Elektra. A special concert for Pride month is also slated for June.
