Veteran theater stage director and playwright Robert Wilson will talk about his decades-long career at Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on Thursday, February 20.
The event titled “Re-Setting the Stage: In Conversation with Robert Wilson” will run from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Those who arrive early can enjoy a happy hour at Dolcezza Café in the lobby from 5:30 p.m.
Wilson will join Hirshhorn director Melissa Chiu in conversation about his career of redefining art, design, and the theater experience.
“Celebrated as one of the most important living directors and stage designers of this century, Wilson’s productions have decisively shaped the look of theater and opera. Since the late 1960s, Wilson has continuously articulated the force and originality of his vision through his signature use of light, his investigations into the structure of a simple movement, and the classical rigor of his scenic and furniture design,” the event brief says.
“Wilson’s collaborations with leading artists, writers, and musicians—such as his famous 1976 collaboration with composer Philip Glass on Einstein on the Beach—continue to fascinate audiences worldwide.”
Among the writers and musicians who collaborated with Wilson are Heiner Müller, Tom Waits, Susan Sontag, Laurie Anderson, William Burroughs, Lou Reed, Jessye Norman, and Anna Calvi.
He also worked on Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, Brecht/Weill’s Threepenny Opera, Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Goethe’s Faust, Homer’s Odyssey, Jean de la Fontaine’s Fables, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Verdi’s La Traviata and Sophocles’s Oedipus.
The event is free, but registration is needed, which you can do through Eventbrite. The organizers recommend claiming a ticket for a guaranteed seat as the program is expected to be at capacity.
The Hirshhorn Museum is located at Independence Ave SW and 7th St SW, Washington, D.C.