NEW YORK, NY.- The Park Avenue Armory announced its 2024 season on Thursday, including the New York City arrival of Illinoise, a dance-theater work based on a Sufjan Stevens album and staged by Justin Peck, and the North American premiere of Indras Net, an immersive installation performance inspired by a Buddhist story and created by interdisciplinary artist Meredith Monk.
Rebecca Robertson, the founding president and executive producer of Park Avenue Armory, said the season of performances would provide audiences with opportunities to explore themes of interdependence and spirituality.
Its a special journey about joy, contemplation and spiritual exploration, Robertson said.
Illinoise, which will run for several weeks starting March 2, is an adaptation of Stevens 2005 concept album Illinois, leading the audience through the American heartland from campfire storytelling to the edge of the cosmos. This music-theater production, adapted by Peck and Pulitzer-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, will feature new arrangements by composer-pianist Timo Andres.
Performances of Indras Net, featuring Monks vocal ensemble, as well as a 16-piece chamber orchestra and an eight-member chorus, will start on Sept. 23. The work draws on music, movement and architecture to tell a tale of interconnectedness and interdependence inspired by an ancient Buddhist and Hindu legend in which an enlightened king stretches a net across the universe, placing a jewel at each intersection.
The Armorys season will also include the North American premiere of Inside Light, in which Kathinka Pasveer, director of the Stockhausen Foundation for Music, performs five electronic compositions from Karlheinz Stockhausens 29-hour opera cycle Licht. The performance, which opens June 5, was conceived specifically for the Armory and will include lasers and a high-definition video projection.
In addition to those performances, the Armorys upcoming season includes:
The world premiere of Dear Lord, Make Me Beautiful, from choreographer Kyle Abraham, with digital design by Cao Yuxi and a score composed and performed live by yMusic.
The North American premiere of R.O.S.E, an homage to club culture by choreographer Sharon Eyal that is directed by Gai Behar and Caius Pawson.
Shall We Gather at the River, a musical call to climate action that weaves together Bach cantatas and Black American spirituals. It will be staged by director Peter Sellars and performed by the Oxford Bach Soloists and the Choir of Trinity Wall Street.
This article originally appeared in
The New York Times.