Blank Out

“A wonderfully fluent and effective piece of music theatre”
The Guardian (UK)

Composer Michel van der Aa is a multidisciplinary figure in the contemporary music scene, combining composition with film, stage direction, and script writing. Classical instruments, voices, electronics, actors, video, apps and even web browsers are all seamless extensions of his broad musical vocabulary, allowing him to create works that are as visual as they are aural.

This dynamic young creative voice comes to the Armory for the North American premiere of his latest work, a chamber opera for soprano and 3D film. Soprano Miah Persson sings live, combined with replayed loops of herself and the voice of baritone Roderick Williams on film to create haunting musical passages and ensembles. Based on the life and work of South African poet Ingrid Jonker, this groundbreaking work combines live action, innovative techniques of interactive film, and inventive music to consider human memory, the ways in which we reconstruct and deal with traumatic life events, and notions of individual realities.

Blank Out: Artist Talk, Friday September 22 at 6:00pm
More Information

A Production of Dutch National Opera
Adapted by Park Avenue Armory

Miah Persson, Soprano
Roderick Williams, Baritone (film)
Nederlands Kamerkoor, Choir (film)
Michel van der Aa, Composer, film, and stage director
Sophie Motley, Dramaturg
Floriaan Ganzevoort, Lighting Designer

Blank Out is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Photo by Marco Borggreve

 

September 21–27

Thursday, Friday, Monday &
Wednesday at 8:00pm
Sunday at 3:00pm

This performance is approximately 70 minutes without an intermission.

Wade Thompson Drill Hall
Tickets start at $40

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