Park Avenue Armory Announces 2013 Artistic Programming

An extraordinary collaboration connecting the dark, intense music and visual work of Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack with the thought-provoking vision of documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis, this site- specific event integrates music, film, and elements of illusion created by a visionary team of artists and designers that also includes Punchdrunk director Felix Barrett, radical set designer Es Devlin (Royal Shakespeare Company, Jay-Z and Kanye West), and the innovative art and design practice UnitedVisualArtists. Described as "a collective hallucination" by Del Naja and "a musical entertainment about the power of illusion and the illusion of power" by Curtis, this groundbreaking production will include performances by Massive Attack and place the audience at the center of stories of politics and power over the last 30 years.

This production is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by the British Council. Complementary public programs are presented in partnership with the British Council.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARINA ABRAMOVI? Conceived and directed by Robert Wilson With Marina Abramovi?, Antony, and Willem Dafoe U.S. Premiere

Commissioned by Manchester International Festival and Teatro Real, Madrid with Theater Basel, Art Basel, Holland Festival, Salford City Council and deSingel, Antwerp Thursday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m. (Preview) Friday, December 13 at 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, December 14 at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, December 15 at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 17 at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 18 at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, December 19 at 7:00 p.m. Friday, December 20 at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, December 21 at 8:00 p.m.

At the intersection of theater, opera and visual art, director Robert Wilson's reimagining of performance artist Marina Abramovi?'s extraordinary life and work begins with her difficult childhood in former Yugoslavia, and chronicles her journey to the present day. Abramovi?, who plays herself as well as her imposing mother, is joined by world-renowned actor Willem Dafoe and singer Antony, performing original music and songs created for this 'quasi opera.' Premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2011, The Life and Death of Marina Abramovi? has played to sold-out audiences and rave reviews in Madrid, Basel, Antwerp and Amsterdam. For the Armory, Wilson is creating a new staging that uses the full sweep and soar of the Wade Thompson Drill Hall to draw the audience in as though they are part of the story.

RECITAL SERIES

The 2013 season marks the debut of the Armory's recital series, which will feature performances by three extraordinary artists, rarely heard in New York. Presented in the Armory's exquisitely renovated Board of

Officers Room, audiences will experience chamber music as it was originally intended: in a glorious salon setting, close enough to the artists to feel as though they are part of the performance.

Christian Gerhaher, baritone

Gerold Huber, piano Friday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. Sunday, September 29 at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 1 at 8:00 p.m. Schumann Lieder Myrthen, Op. 25 Liederkreis, Op. 39 (Eichendorff) Die Löwenbraut, Op. 31/1 (Chamisso) Zwölf Gedichte, Op. 35 (Kerner)

Vilde Frang, violinist

Michail Lifits, piano Monday, October 21 at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 22 at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 23 at 8:00 p.m. All-Mozart Sonata No. 24 in F Major, K. 376 Sonata No. 18 in G Major, K. 301 Sonata No. 22 in A Major, K. 305 Sonata No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 Sonata No. 33 in E-flat Major, K. 481

Anton Batagov, pianist

Friday, October 25 at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, October 26 at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, October 27 at 7:00 p.M. Morton Feldman's Triadic Memories

Park Avenue Armory's recital series is supported, in part, by the Wade Thompson Memorial Fund and The Reed Foundation.

TICKETS

Season tickets go on sale February 19.

Single tickets for OKTOPHONIE go on sale February 19. Single tickets for WS go on sale May 13 to the general public. Single tickets for the rest of the season go on sale June 17 (June 10 for Armory members and June 13 for subscribers).

To purchase tickets, visit armoryonpark.org or call Park Avenue Armory Ticket Services at (212) 933- 5812.

SEASON SPONSORSHIP

Citi is the Armory's 2013 season sponsor.

Support for Park Avenue Armory's artistic season has been generously provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Shubert Foundation, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Marc Haas Foundation, The Charles Evans Foundation, and the Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation. Public funds are provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

ABOUT PARK AVENUE ARMORY

Part palace, part industrial shed, Park Avenue Armory fills a critical void in the cultural ecology of New York by enabling artists to create-and audiences to experience-unconventional work that cannot be mounted in traditional performance halls and museums. With its soaring 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall-reminiscent of 19th-century European train stations-and array of exuberant period rooms, the Armory offers a new platform for creativity across all art forms.

Since its first production in September 2007-Aa Ron Young 's Greeting Card, a 9,216-square-foot "action" painting created by the burned-out tire marks of ten choreographed motorcycles-the Armory has organized a series of immersive performances, installations, and works of art that have drawn critical and popular attention working independently or with other cultural institutions. Among the highlights of its first five years are: Bernd Zimmermann's harrowing Die Soldaten, in which the audience moved "through the music"; the unprecedented six-week residency of the Royal Shakespeare Company , in their own theater rebuilt in the drill hall; a massive digital sound and video environment by Ryoji Ikeda; a sprawling gauzy, multisensory labyrinth created by Ernesto Neto; the final performances of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company across three separate stages; and the New York Philharmonic performing Karlheinz Stockhausen's sonic masterpiece Gruppen with three orchestras surrounding the audience. The ongoing Under Construction series features intimate performances in the Armory's period rooms with artists presenting works in progress. The most recent project was the event of a thread, a site-specific installation by Ann Hamilton .

The Armory is currently undergoing an ongoing $200-million revitalization of its historic building, named among the "100 Most Endangered Historic Sites in the World" by the World Monuments Fund in 2000. The renovation and restoration will stabilize and preserve the building and create new resources and state-of-the-art spaces for exhibitions, installations, and performances, as well as Artist-in-Residence studios, rehearsal rooms, and back-of-house amenities-offering dynamic environments for artists and audiences alike.

The multi-year revitalization project, designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron, reinvigorates the Armory's original design while stabilizing, preserving, and renewing the building for future generations. Recent work includes the restoration of the Park Avenue façade and entrance, encompassing a rebuilt and restored front staircase, a new copper mansard roof, and a restored original 1879 cast-iron fence. Ongoing work includes the restoration and renovation of the period rooms. During the 2013 season, the Board of Officers Room, one of the largest and most important historic rooms in America and one of the few remaining interiors designed by Herter Brothers, will be unveiled and become the home of the Armory's recital series.

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