[BROADCAST] Beth Morrison Projects: Opera of the Week – anatomy theater
Free
David Lang – anatomy theater
BMP is keeping the work of our artists out in the world as theaters are shuttered by offering an “Opera of the Week" which will stream on our homepage for one week every Thursday at noon.
This week we are featuring David Lang and Mark Dion's anatomy theater, directed by Bob McGrath with musical direction by Chris Rountree.
Based on texts from the 18th century, anatomy theater follows the progression of an English murderess from her confession to execution, to denouncement, and finally to dissection, including an anatomy lesson for curious onlookers.
Before medicine offered a better understanding of the physical body, the corpus was seen as the manifestation of the spiritual. In 18th century England, traveling specialists would tour from town to town producing a “moral spectacle,” in which the bodies of executed criminals would be dissected in front of a paying audience, with food and drink served and musicians playing. These were not scientific events, but spiritual carnivals, in which evidence of corruption was sought and uncovered in the interiors of the human body.
anatomy theater is a contemporary reflection on this historical spiritual carnival.
The broadcast will start at 12 PM Eastern / 9 AM Pacific
Watch the broadcast here:
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Note: Livestream concerts are subject to change without notice. If a livestream doesn't take place, we hope you'll visit the performers' website to explore their recorded performances, or discover another group to listen to online!