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Monkey: Journey to the West
25/7/13 10:22I have been on the periphery of "Journey to the West" fandom for a while: I bought a Saiyuuki notebook in Japan a decade ago without actually having seen any episodes of the show; I bought the first English graphic novel but put it down because the translation irritated me; and I've been reading bits and pieces of different children's adaptations of the story since I started studying Chinese. So when I found out there was a pop opera adaptation coming to New York, I was excited to be able to get tickets for somewhere around a reasonable price.
(The seats were "partial view," but the only thing that was cut off for me was a bit of the top part of the stage -- so that, in the press photo with the review, I could only see as far up as the Buddha's neck.)
Alas, I found myself agreeing with the New York Times reviewer, at least in part. The set pieces are gorgeous, with beautiful sets, excellent choreographed dancing and fighting and acrobatics (especially in the Spider Woman scene, whoah), and lots of the music was great -- a blend of modern, repetitive, Philip Glass-y music with Chinese traditional instruments and electronic music that sometimes sounded almost video-game-like, different from anything I'd heard before and more listenable than I sometimes expect from modern "art" music. But for me, it didn't so much hold together as a narrative. It may be that it would have worked better for me if I were more familiar with either opera or the Journey to the West story, but maybe not?
Anyway, I'm glad I went; there was a lot to enjoy about it even if it wasn't all I wanted it to be. And it has re-piqued my interest in watching Saiyuuki (yes, yes, I know; it's about as loose as an adaptation can be.)
Oh, also, the Kate-Beaton-esque white horse? Adorable.
(The seats were "partial view," but the only thing that was cut off for me was a bit of the top part of the stage -- so that, in the press photo with the review, I could only see as far up as the Buddha's neck.)
Alas, I found myself agreeing with the New York Times reviewer, at least in part. The set pieces are gorgeous, with beautiful sets, excellent choreographed dancing and fighting and acrobatics (especially in the Spider Woman scene, whoah), and lots of the music was great -- a blend of modern, repetitive, Philip Glass-y music with Chinese traditional instruments and electronic music that sometimes sounded almost video-game-like, different from anything I'd heard before and more listenable than I sometimes expect from modern "art" music. But for me, it didn't so much hold together as a narrative. It may be that it would have worked better for me if I were more familiar with either opera or the Journey to the West story, but maybe not?
Anyway, I'm glad I went; there was a lot to enjoy about it even if it wasn't all I wanted it to be. And it has re-piqued my interest in watching Saiyuuki (yes, yes, I know; it's about as loose as an adaptation can be.)
Oh, also, the Kate-Beaton-esque white horse? Adorable.