WILLIAM KENTRIDGE & Paul Holdengraber

LIVE from the NYPL
in Collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera

presents

LEARNING FROM THE ABSURD
A Conversation with William Kentridge.

Paul Holdengräber hosts William Kentridge, in a conversation about Gogol, Shostakovich, and Kentridge’s creative process.

Acclaimed artist William Kentridge makes his Metropolitan Opera debut directing the company premiere of Shostakovich’s The Nose, based on the short story by Gogol. Kentridge rose to international prominence in 1997 when his work was included in Documenta X in Kassel, Germany, and in the Johannesburg and Havana Biennials, which led to a series of solo exhibitions worldwide. He created his first opera production in 1998 with Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria, followed by a widely praised staging of Mozart's The Magic Flute, which premiered in Brussels in 2005 and was later seen at BAM. His recent work includes Telegrams from the Nose , a collaborative performance with composer François Sarhan inspired by his work on the opera production. For the 2008 Sydney Biennale he created I Am Not Me, the Horse Is Not Mine, a solo lecture/performance piece inspired by Gogol, which he has been performing in New York recently. His work combines drawing, animation, filmmaking, and collage. The Met premiere of The Nose coincides with a major retrospective of Kentridge’s work on view at the Museum of Modern Art.

The production opens at the Met on March 5 and runs through March 25. An related exhibit of Kentridge’s work inspired by the opera is on display at Gallery Met from February 26 through May 17.

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This event is located in the South Court Auditorium of The New York Public Library. Enter on 5th Avenue between 40th Street and 42nd Street and proceed to South Court.

Box office opens at 5:00pm, Doors open at 6:15pm, Program begins at 7:00pm. Arrive early for seats!