Of how many novels can it be said that they gave rise to an independent field of study? Well, Chinese literary scholars recognize a specialty called Redology, devoted entirely to Cao Xuequin’s 18th-century Dream of the Red Chamber, a convoluted tale of love, debt, life, and death regarded as one of China’s four great classical novels. What do Redologists think about? For one thing, there are questions of authorship and author’s intent. Manuscripts that circulated during Cao’s lifetime ran to 80 chapters. The first published edition appeared nearly 30 years after his death, with 40 extra chapters that may or may not jibe with his unrealized intentions. With an English-language libretto by David Henry Hwang scored by Bright Sheng, the all-singing Dream of the Red Chamber received its premiere at the San Francisco Opera in 2016 and returns this season by popular demand. Notable: As far as one can tell from the credits, the entire cast and all the principal members of the production team are Asian-American. —Matthew Gurewitsch

Dream of the Red Chamber livestreams on Sunday, June 19, at two P.M. P.T., and streams on demand for 48 hours—10 A.M P.T. June 20 through 10 P.M. P.T. June 22