Talks
On Truth (and Lies) in Myth
- 6PM
In conjunction with Semele
With Daniel Mendelsohn
Hosted by Simon Critchley
Co-presented by BAM and the Onassis Cultural Center NY
Part of the Hellenic Humanities Program
Award-winning writer, critic, and translator Daniel Mendelsohn joins philosopher Simon Critchley for a conversation about Greek mythology in conjunction with the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Handel’s Semele this season. They discuss the various ways Greek myth has been interpreted and appropriated across cultures—and the truths these stories continue to reveal.
On Truth (and Lies) in Myth is part of the Hellenic Humanities Program co-presented with the Onassis Cultural Center New York.
Chinese visual artist Zhang Huan directs this East-meets-West production of Handel’s opera from the Canadian Opera Company, pairing a cast of debaucherous characters with a centuries-old Ming Dynasty temple.
Simon Critchley is the Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research. He is the author of more than a dozen books, most recently, Stay Illusion: The Hamlet Doctrine (Pantheon Books, 2013), and Bowie (O/R Books, 2014). He runs an online philosophy column with The New York Times.
Daniel Mendelsohn is the author of the international bestseller The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million; two collections of essays and criticism, How Beautiful It Is and How Easily It Can Be Broken and Waiting for the Barbarians: Essays from the Classics to Pop Culture (2012), which was shortlisted for the PEN Art of the Essay Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.