SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A rascally superhero born from a stone egg, the Monkey King is beloved in Chinese mythology, appearing in everything from a 16th century epic to modern comics, animated movies and video games — even in poetry by Mao Zedong.

And now he’s the star of an opera.

“The Monkey King,” with music by Huang Ruo and libretto by David Henry Hwang, has its world premiere at the San Francisco Opera on Friday with performances through Nov. 30.

It’s adapted from “Journey to the West,” a 100-chapter novel inspired by the true story of a 7th-century Chinese monk who traveled to India to find Buddhist sutras, or scriptures, and bring them back home.

“It’s essentially an allegory of how Buddhism came to China,” Hwang said.

His libretto, in both English and Mandarin, is based on early

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