North American Premiere – A Park Avenue Armory Commission
Upload
Michel van Der AA
Julia Bullock
Roderick Williams
March 22, 2022 - March 30, 2022
Wade Thompson Drill Hall
Where does our identity reside: in our minds, our bodies, or our relationships? This seminal question lies at the heart of the latest work by visionary composer, film and stage director, and librettist Michel van der Aa. Having dazzled Armory audiences with his technologically ambitious chamber opera Blank Out in 2017, van der Aa returns for the highly anticipated North American premiere of this groundbreaking new operatic work that blends live performance, technical innovation, and immersive film.
The acclaimed Julia Bullock and Roderick Williams star as a daughter and her father who, when confronted by his inevitable death, have his thoughts and memories uploaded to achieve virtual immortality. At once highly conceptual and deeply emotional, this thought-provoking work examines technologies of our near-future and the impact they play on fate, identity, and everlasting life.
Performances
Monday–Wednesday at 7:30pm
Friday–Saturday at 8:00pm
Run Time
This performance is approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes with no intermission. Performed in English with English supertitles.
“a seamless interweaving of opera, film and high technology…[Van der Aa] operates here as composer, librettist and director with the restraint of a confident master.”
The New York Times
“gorgeous…[Julia Bullock] gives an unrestrained, impassioned performance”
The Wall Street Journal
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Artists & Creatives
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Composition, Director, Libretto
Michel van der Aa
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Daughter
Julia Bullock
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Father
Roderick Williams
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Psychiatrist (film)
Katja Herbers
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CEO (film)
Ashley Zukerman
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Scientist (film)
Esther Mugambi
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Brother-in-law (film)
Samuel West
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Childhood friend (film)
Claron McFadden
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Friend 1 (film)
David Eeles
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Friend 2 (film)
Tessa Stephenson
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Music Director
Otto Tausk
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Orchestra
Ensemble Musikfabrik
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Set & Lighting Design
Theun Mosk
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Dramaturgy
Madelon Kooijman, Niels Nuijten
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Director of Photography
Joost Rietdijk
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Motion Capture and Real-Time Graphics
Darien Brito
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VFX Supervisor & Fractal Artist
Julius Horsthuis
Production Credits
North American Premiere
A Park Avenue Armory Commission
Commissioned by and in Co-Production with Park Avenue Armory, Dutch National Opera, Oper Köln, Bregenzer Festspiele, Ensemble Musikfabrik, doubleA Foundation
Related Events
Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at 6:00pm
Artist Talk: Upload
Composer, librettist, and director Michel van der Aa discusses Upload with conceptual and performance artist Marina Abramović.
Wade Thompson Drill Hall
Blank Out
Based on the life and work of South African poet Ingrid Jonker, composer Michel van der Aa's groundbreaking work combines live action, interactive film, and inventive music to consider human memory and notions of individual realities.