“1 HAVE YOU BEEN HERE BEFORE”
“2 NO THIS IS THE FIRST TIME”


An evening with Robert Wilson. A Live broadcast to the Pervasive Media Studio from the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.

In this exceptional performance, director and artist Robert Wilson invites you into his astonishing aesthetic universe. Combining hundreds of striking images from through his prolific career, Wilson provides an intimate self-portrait of his creative process.


Mr. Wilson references his landmark original works for the stage such as Deafman Glance, A Letter for Queen Victoria, Einstein on the Beach (created with composer Philip Glass), the CIVIL warS, and The Black Rider, as well as his acclaimed work for the operatic and theatrical repertoire including his luminous stagings of Madame Butterly, Wagner’s Ring Cycle, The Magic Flute, Ibsen’s Peer Gynt and Heiner Mueller’s Quartett. In particular Wilson will focus on his creation of The Life and Death of Marina Abramović which premiered at the Manchester International Festival in July 2011.


About Robert Wilson
The New York Times described Robert Wilson as “a towering figure in the world of experimental theater.” Wilson, born in 1941 in Waco Texas, is among the world's foremost theater and visual artists. His works for the stage unconventionally integrate a wide variety of artistic media, including dance, movement, lighting, sculpture, music, and text. His images are aesthetically striking and emotionally charged, and his productions have earned the acclaim of audiences and critics worldwide.
 
Wilson’s awards and honors include two Guggenheim Fellowship awards (’71 and ’80), the nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama (’86), the Golden Lion for sculpture from the Venice Biennale (’93), the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize for lifetime achievement (’96), the Premio Europa award from Taormina Arte (’97), election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters (’00), and Commandeur des arts et des lettres (’02) among others.

Together with composer Philip Glass, he created the seminal opera Einstein on the Beach. With productions such as Deafman Glance, KA MOUTain and GUARDenia Terrace, Life and Times of Sigmund Freud, CIVIL warS, Death Destruction & Detroit or a Letter for Queen Victoria he redefined and expanded theater. Wilson’s collaborators include diverse writers and musicians such as Susan Sontag, Lou Reed, Heiner Müller, Jessye Norman, David Byrne, Tom Waits, and Rufus Wainwright. Wilson has also left his imprint on masterworks such as The Magic Flute, Wagner's Ring Cycle, Madama Butterfly, Dreamplay, Per Gynt, The Threepenny Opera, Shakesepeare’s Sonnets and Krapp's Last Tape.

This performance will be streamed live to the The Pervasive Media Studio. It is part of State of the Arts the annual Arts Council England conference, with a programme of performances curated by Manchester International Festival in partnership with Cornerhouse, Whitworth Art Gallery, The Hallé and the Royal Northern College of Music.

This is a free event but booking is essential, for tickets call Watershed box office: 0117 927 5100.