Die Soldaten
Bernd Zimmerman
July 5, 2008 - July 12, 2008
Wade Thompson Drill Hall
Lincoln Center Festival 2008, in association with Park Avenue Armory presented an epic production of Bernd Zimmerman's opera Die Soldaten in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, where movable seating on railway tracks enabled the audience to experience extremes of intimacy and overwhelming all-enveloping sound. Originally produced at the Ruhrtriennale, Die Soldaten is a deeply engrossing and unsettling piece by a 20th-century composer scarred by World War II, which exposes the consequences of war and an innocent young woman’s slide into desperation and despair. The opera was performed for five nights to a sold-out audience of almost 1,000.
“An amazing, alarming spectacle that is nearly as formidable as the infernal devices suggested in the score… Subtle, no; awesome yes.”
The New Yorker
“Over the years some daring directors and conductors have walked into the Armory and become immediately enthralled with its potential...A miraculous realization of an opera once deemed unperformable.”
The New York Times
"Best use of an unexpected space. The Drill Hall in the Park Avenue Armory revealed itself as a venue of choice for large-scale, avant-garde extravaganzas..."
New York Magazine
Gallery
Production Credits
Produced by Lincoln Center Festival and the Ruhrtriennale.in association with Park Avenue Armory.