Blur's Damon Albarn Making Opera about Enlightened Monkey King

Former Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn, not merely content to don a top hat and perform with supergroup The Good, The Bad, and The Queen at SXSW, has been commissioned by the city of Manchester to compose an opera with another simian theme, "Monkey: Journey To The West," relating the Chinese legend of the enlightenment of the Monkey King.

The Guardian says Albarn is responsible for text, music, and some instruments, and that the opera will tour to Athens, New York, and Tokyo:

"For Monkey: Journey To The West, Albarn has set a text in MandarinChinese and scored his music for western and Chinese instruments, plussome he has invented himself. The designs and animations are by JamieHewlett, designer for Gorillaz, and the cast includes 40 Chinese circusacrobats, singers and martial arts performers."

Organizers hope that when the show premieres on June 28th in Manchester, opera fans will want to see the form revitalized, while Albarn's fans will be drawn there to see whether he can pull off yet another genre crossover. There's no word yet on whether Oasis are planning Chinese opera of their own.

(via psfk; image by Jamie Hewlett)