Robert Wilson on the Wonder to Be Found in Time, Space, and Light

For each and every performance the theater director, playwright, choreographer, and sound and lighting designer Robert Wilson creates, time isn’t just of the essence—it is the essence. Perhaps best known as the director of the four-act opera Einstein on the Beach, which he composed with Philip Glass and debuted in 1976, Wilson now has nearly 200 stage productions to his name. These include Dorian, which premiered last year in Düsseldorf, and The Life and Death of Marina Abramović, which opened at the Manchester International Festival in 2011. What stands out about Wilson’s work, among many things, is its rare ability to disorient viewers while also enchanting them. Duration is often another part of the equation: Some of the performances on Wilson’s résumé have ranged from seven hours to an astonishing seven days. Many critics, writers, and scholars have agreed that Wilson has completely reshaped the landscape of theater, vastly expanding its vocabularies and horizons.

On this episode, Wilson talks about his personal philosophies around silence and sound, the intersections of architecture and theater, and his enduring vision for the Watermill Center.

Special thanks to our Season 8 sponsor, Van Cleef & Arpels.

Show notes:

[04:31] The King of Spain

[04:32] The Life and Times of Sigmund Freud

[04:34] Deafman Glance

[04:59] John Cage

[09:02] Madama Butterfly

[13:51] “Time to Think”

[14:34] Marina Abramović

[16:37] The Ring

[16:39] King Lear

[16:41] Einstein on the Beach

[16:43] Philip Glass

[18:14] Parsifal

[18:50] The Watermill Center

[28:55] Dorian

[32:09] Time Rocker

[32:15] Lou Reed

[34:27] Ka Mountain and Guardenia Terrace

[39:28] Festival of Autumn in Paris

[40:38] The Golden Windows

[41:04] Pratt Institute

[43:45] Medea

[44:48] Edison

[44:58] Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights

[45:00] Relative Calm

[46:32] H-100 Seconds to Midnight

[52:27] The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin

[52:40] A Letter for Queen Victoria