Albarn's Monkey aims to transcend opera 'elitism'

Damon Albarn hopes his opera Monkey: Journey To The West will help destroy the elitism of the form.

The Blur and Gorillaz star spoke to the Standard as tickets for the show's Royal Opera House transfer went on sale today.

The work is based on an ancient Chinese legend of spiritual enlightenment and made its debut at the Manchester International Festival last year. It has now been bought by Covent Garden and will receive seven performances between 23 and 26 July.

Albarn said it mattered to him and collaborator Jamie Hewlett that it was well-received by opera critics but the reaction of non-opera-lovers was important, too. He said: "We wanted to demystify opera to a degree, destroy its elitist attitude. Then for people who do like opera, open them up to new forms of music.

"We wanted to bring a big cornerstone of Chinese culture and present it to the West."

Albarn added that the mix of East and West was what made the opera work.

"What we've tried to do is take the unified physicality of Chinese opera, which tends to tell stories in pictures, and apply that to Western work," he said.

He will be at the opening at the Royal Opera House, although he is not involved in the production itself. "I can just sit back and hear what I've done," he said.

Public booking opens at 2pm with tickets priced from £10 to £75.