The New York Times called Robert Wilson “a towering figure in the world of experimental theater and an explorer in the uses of time and space on stage.” His opera with Philip Glass, Einstein on the Beach, upended operatic conventions. He left his mark on masterworks of the classical and modern repertoires from The Magic Flute to Madama Butterfly to The Ring, Wozzeck, Macbeth,and Turandot, from Lulu to The Threepenny Opera to Faust l + ll to Endgame with the Berliner Ensemble, and elsewhere from Hamlet to Orlando, Krapp’s Last Tape, Lecture on Nothing to Pushkin’s Fairy Tales, Mary Said What She Said, Dorian, and Moby Dick… People go to the theater today and sometimes they say, “Oh it’s Bob Wilson” without realizing just how radical it was to be Bob Wilson.
Robert Wilson: On the Edge is the companion volume to Robert Wilson from Within that The Arts Arena Publication Series published in 2011 and focuses on work since then. The new book is an entry deep into Bob Wilson’s personal creative process as recounted by Wilson himself and those who worked most closely with him, his “creative family.” Wilson personally selected and laid out each of the more than 300 lavish color production images in the book. “I am a visual artist and this book should reflect my vision”; just weeks before his death on July 31, 2025, he gave final approval to the book’s visuals.
Robert Wilson was on the Arts Advisory Council of The Arts Arena and appeared before our audiences half a dozen times. Margery Arent Safir, General Editor of both books, will present Robert Wilson: On the Edge, and we will screen her final interview with Wilson at The Arts Arena.
A coupe de champagne de champagne will follow. The book will be available for purchase at a special Arts Arena price.
Reservatiions are required.