Showbiz
New Albarn opera gets standing ovation
Published Monday, Jul 2 2007, 09:50 BST | By Matthew Houghton
The 'circus opera' Monkey: Journey To The West opened at the Manchester International Festival and is a mixture of live circus performance and animation.
The former Blur frontman composed the music for the show while Gorillaz designer Jamie Hewlett provided the animation.
The opera is based on an ancient Chinese legend and follows the story of The Monkey King who leads a revolt against heaven.
Albarn told NME: "It's the original adventure story, but it's 2000 years old; that's what really drew us to it.
"We went to China and travelled around, to get a picture of what China is like now, and combine it with ancient, classic China. Just come and see it!"
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