Theater | Music
Shakespeare's Sonnets
Berliner Ensemble
By Robert Wilson and Rufus Wainwright
Sonnet selection by Jutta Ferbers
Iambic pentameter gets a surreal makeover in this pop-opera romp through Shakespeare’s sonnets from director Robert Wilson and composer Rufus Wainwright. The Bard’s enigmatic poems are pared down to 25 selections, set to everything from medieval German Minnesang to cabaret rock and performed by Bertolt Brecht’s historic Berliner Ensemble. As pallid, genderqueer[1] dramatis personæ, the virtuosic performers smirk and sneer through expressionistic slapstick, while Wilson’s signature sculpting of time, light[2], and gesture evokes an absurdist dream.
Directing, stage design, lighting concept by Robert Wilson
Music by Rufus Wainwright
Costume design by Jacques Reynaud
Conducted by Hans-Jörn Brandenburg, Stefan Rager
Co-direction by Ann-Christin Rommen
Lighting by Andreas Fuchs and Ulrich Eh
Leadership support provided by:
The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust
Aashish & Dinyar Devitre
Read the 25 sonnets featured in Robert Wilson and Rufus Wainwright’s production.
Save 20% on 4—6 shows, 30% on 7 or more. Plus enjoy flexible scheduling with free exchanges.
Meet fellow Friends of BAM over a glass of wine before Robert Wilson and Rufus Wainwright’s Shakespeare’s Sonnets.
Robert Wilson achieved worldwide acclaim, along with Philip Glass, for their monumental large-scale opera Einstein on the Beach, which altered conventional notions of a moribund form.
Rufus Wainwright is one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation, having carved out his own singular sound in the worlds of rock, opera, theater, dance, and film.
