U-M Museum of Art
US Premiere Screening:
Einstein on the Beach
Widely credited as one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century, this rarely performed and revolutionary work launched director Robert Wilson and composer Philip Glass to international success when it was first produced in Avignon, France in 1976 with subsequent performances in Europe and at the Metropolitan Opera. It is still recognized as one of their greatest masterpieces.
Nearly four decades after it was first performed, a reconstructed production of Einstein on the Beach was co-commissioned by UMS (January 2012) for a major international tour including the first North American presentations ever held outside of New York City. This new HD recording captures the 2012 reconstruction.
Einstein on the Beach breaks all of the rules of conventional opera. Instead of a traditional orchestral arrangement, Glass composed for the synthesizers, woodwinds, and voices of the Philip Glass Ensemble. Non-narrative in form, the work uses a series of powerful recurrent images as its main dramatic device, shown in juxtaposition with abstract dance sequences created by American choreographer Lucinda Childs.
UMS at UMMA’s “Nights at the Museum”
In partnership with UMMA (University of Michigan Museum of Art), UMS will present two screenings this September as a part of UMMA’s “Nights At the Museum” initiative. The screenings will take place along the Museum’s State Street-side facade, on the west side of the Maxine and Stuart Frankel and the Frankel Family Wing, and will feature two exceptional performances from past and present UMS collaborators. “Nights” will kick off during UMMA After Hours, the museum’s twice-annual community celebration, on Friday, September 8.