The lineup for the 2013 edition of the Lincoln Center Festival hasn’t been revealed yet, but a good bet is for Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett and Chen Shi-Tzeng’s opera “Monkey: Journey to the West” to kick off the event. Didn’t hear about it from the regular press channel, mind you, but the membership office seems to have jumped the gun: I just received a brochure for something called the Lincoln Center Producers Circle, which entices would-be members with VIP invites and “exclusive benefits.” One of the perks is a ticket for “Monkey” on July 9, at the State Theat … sorry, the David H. Koch Theater.
The production has been around a while: It premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2007, and has travelled to a few places, including Spoleto USA in 2008. A collaboration between a pop musician (Albarn), a cartoonist (Hewlett, already working with Albarn in Gorillaz) and a Chinese opera director = international arts festival heaven, with everything that entails.
Coincidentally, “Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons,” the latest movie version of the original 16th-century story, has recently come out, helmed by Stephen “Shaolin Socce” Chow.
Never enough monkeys, I say!