The Brooklyn Academy of Music raises the
curtain on its "2005 Next Wave Festival" on Oct. 4,
with a play by the Handspring and Sogolon puppet companies, "Tall
Horse," at the BAM Harvey Theater and Philip Glass’ composition
"Orion" at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House.
BAM Executive Producer Joseph Melillo says the two productions
exemplify what the 2005 Next Wave Festival is all about – collaboration.
"’Tall Horse’ is an intra-Africa collaboration with Handspring
from Capetown, South Africa, and Sogolon Puppet Company, which
is based in Mali. That’s a rarity and a distinction," said
Melillo, about the play, which continues Oct. 8-9.
"It’s not puppetry solely; it’s theater that happens to
use puppetry in the course of telling this true story of how
the Pasha of Egypt gives King Charles X of France a giraffe,"
said Melillo.
Even the operation of the 16-foot giraffe is a collaborative
effort, as two men on stilts work the puppet’s twitching ears
and tail and swooping 6-foot-long neck.
In "Orion," created for the 2004 Summer Olympics, the
Philip Glass Ensemble performs with "virtuosic musicians
from the four corners of the world," said Melillo, who attended
the world premiere in Athens.
"What it was teaching me is that artists of all cultures
can communicate with each other, and I wanted New York City to
have that particular experience, because it’s thrilling to see
what happens when all of the artists come together," said
Melillo.
"Orion," conducted by Michael Riesman, will be performed
again Oct. 6-8.
More works by Glass will be performed in November. Former Brooklyn
Philharmonic music director Dennis Russell Davies returns to
BAM to conduct the world premiere of Glass’ Symphony No. 8 and
Symphony No. 6 ("Plutonian Ode"), with text by Allen
Ginsberg, on Nov. 2, Nov. 4 and Nov. 5 at the BAM Howard Gilman
Opera House.
"Among conductors and American composers [Davies and Glass]
have a very special relationship," explained Melillo. "[Davies]
has conducted most of the premieres of Philip’s symphonic scores.
That’s a very special collaboration."
French movie star Isabelle Huppert (Jean-Luc Godard’s "Every
Man for Himself" and "Passion" and Claude Chabrol’s
"Violette Noziere," "The Story of Women"
and "Madame Bovary") stars in the late Sarah Kane’s
last play, "Psychose 4:48," directed by Claude Regy.
Performed in French with English supertitles, Melillo promises
that this collaboration between director and actor is a marked
departure from The Royal Court Theatre’s production of "4:48
Psychosis," which was performed at St. Ann’s Warehouse in
DUMBO last October.
"Psychose 4:48," which will be performed Oct. 19-23
and Oct. 25-30 at the BAM Harvey Theater, features the lone Huppert
as the character experiencing psychological despair and collapse.
"Isabelle is a monumental film star and what New York doesn’t
know is that she is an equally monumental stage actress,"
explained Melillo. "[At St. Ann’s], it was a group of actors
who interpreted the text. Here you have one actress, so I think
you feel closer to Sarah Kane the person. With Isabelle interpreting
the work, there’s a different kind of intensity."
Film buffs and balletomanes alike will be intrigued by the collaboration
between the National Ballet of China and filmmaker Zhang Yimou
for an adaptation of Yimou’s movie, "Raise the Red Lantern,"
for a ballet. Directed by Yimou ("Hero," "House
of Flying Daggers," "Ju Dou"), this lavish production,
which includes dancers bursting through paper screens in each
performance, will hit the stage of the BAM Howard Gilman Opera
House Oct. 11-15.
Choreographer Wally Cardona, of Windsor Terrace, created his
dance "Everywhere" in collaboration with Joanna Kotze,
Kathryn Sanders and Matthew Winheld. "Everywhere" will
be performed Dec. 13 and Dec. 15-17 at the BAM Harvey Theater
against music composed by Phil Kline – which will play from 100
boom boxes on the stage and by the live string quartet Ethel.
Additional productions in the "Next Wave Festival"
include: Michael Thalheimer’s abridged version of Gotthold Ephraim
Lessing’s play "Emilia Galotti" at the BAM Harvey Theater
Oct. 12-15; Brazilian techno-samba-pop diva Daniela Mercury performing
songs from her Latin Grammy-nominated CD "Carnaval Eletronico"
at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House on Oct. 22; "Lecuona"
and "Onqoto," performed by contemporary dance troupe
Grupo Corpo at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House Oct. 25 and
Oct. 27-29; Propeller’s all-male production of William Shakespeare’s
play "The Winter’s Tale," directed by Edward Hall at
the BAM Harvey Theater Nov. 2-6; "Les Noces" and "Petrushka"
danced by the Italian troupe, Compagnia Aterballetto Nov. 8 and
Nov. 10-12 at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House; James Thierree’s
nouveau cirque show, "Bright Abyss," performed by La
Compagnie du Hanneton Nov. 9-13 at the BAM Harvey Theater; Batsheva
Dance Company’s "Mamootot" at the Mark Morris Dance
Center Nov. 15-20, Nov. 22-23 and Nov. 25-27; The Builders Association
and dbox’s multi-media theatrical collaboration, "Super
Vision" Nov. 29-Dec. 3 at the BAM Harvey Theater; and choreographer
Sasha Waltz’s "Impromptus," which will be performed
Dec. 6, Dec. 8-10 at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House.
At the "Next Wave" festival there are also opportunities
to get behind-the-scenes glimpses of the productions with BAMdialogues
with some of the artists and even a master class with Batsheva
Dance Company on Nov. 19.
Melillo says that "one of the great discoveries of the ’Next
Wave’ festival" is the U.S. premiere of "Shelter."
At the BAM Harvey Theater from Nov. 16-19, this grand collaboration
incorporates music composed by Michael Gordon, David Lang and
Julia Wolfe with Deborah Artman’s libretto, Bill Morrison’s film
and Laurie Olinder’s projections, and performances by trio mediaeval’s
vocalists and contemporary music ensemble musikFabrik.
"Bill Morrison’s film footage is of a flood and Deborah
Artman’s libretto is of man’s need for shelter," said Melillo
of the piece that had been in the making long before the New
Orleans tragedy. "It is so topical. It is the issue we’re
all grappling with now, reading it in the newspapers and seeing
it on television. It’s amazing that this is happening on our
stage."
The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s "2005
Next Wave Festival" runs Oct. 4-Dec. 17 in several theaters.
Single tickets are on sale now. For more information about the
festival, which also includes film series at BAM Rose Cinemas,
live music at the BAMcafe and art on display throughout BAM,
visit the Web site at www.bam.org.
To order tickets, call (718) 636-4100.
