Wil the BLACJ( RIDER

Contact: William Murray 718-636-4129 1111iHIWil THE BLACJ( RIDER A PACT WITH THE DEVIL THREE VISIONARIES COLLABORATE IN AMERICAN PREMIERE AT BAM ROBERT WILSON, TOM WAITS, WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS NOVEMBER 20 - DECEMBER 1, 1993 The Black Rider, a haunting , cabaret-infused , operatic melodrama created by director Robert Wilson , musician Tom Waits , and author William S. Burroughs , each a major figure in his field, has its American premiere as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music's (BAM) 11th NEXT WA VE Festival, sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc . The production runs from November 20 through December 1 at the BAM Opera House which is located at 30 Lafayette Avenue , Brookl yn, N .Y. The Black Rider's plot is adapted from a collection of folk tales which inspired Carl Maria von Weber's 1821 opera Der Frieschutz . It is the story of a young marksman , Wilhelm, who falls prey to the devil in attempting to win the hand of his beloved Kathchen . David Reiff, in his review of the work's premiere in Hamburg called it "a grand act of cultural appropriation ." In the hands of Wilson, Waits and Burroughs , each in top form , it becomes a cabaret/psychodrama with a decidedly contemporary slant. Unlike Weber 's opera, in this version the devil - namely "The Black Rider" -- remains triumphant. The Black Rider premiered to enthusiastic crowds at the Thalia Theater Hamburg in March 1990, and has gone on to acclaimed performances in Paris , Vienna , Barcelona , and Sao Paulo . The Black Rider score , as interpreted by Tom Waits, was released in early November on Island Records . The gravelly voice and sardonic wit of Tom Waits are as familiar to pop music fans the world over, as they are to film audiences who have seen Waits in films such as "Down by Law" and "Night on Earth ," in Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula," and most recently in Robert Altman's "Short Cuts ," working opposite Lily Tomlin. His original score for The Black Rider runs the gamut of musical idioms : waltzes, blues, vaudeville , rock and cabaret, performed live by an ensemble including banjo , bassoon, French horn , pump-0rgan, viola, guitar and a host of other intruments . Wait's lyrics supply a wry commentary on the work's overall theme of corruption , concluding that the world nevertheless remains an amusing place . The Black Rider was Wait's first collaboration with Wilson ; their second project , Alice, was premiered by the Thalia Theater in December 1992. William S. Burroughs is known for creating a surreal , at times phantasmagoric , world in such classics as Junky, Naked Lunch, Queer, The Western Lands and other works . For The Black Rider, Burroughs transforms the original German folk tale material into an apocalyptic farce , replete with forebodings of addiction . Burroughs has been an important influence on a generation of young writers and his writings have been translated in fifteen languages . He is widely recognized for his film and recording work , as well. Over the past few years , Burroughs has been seen in the films "Drugstore Cowboy ," "Twister ," and "Heavy Petting," and director David Cronenber g recently shot a film version of his Naked Lunch . Earlier this year, Burroughs and record producer Hal Willner released their second effort together with "Spare Ass Annie & Other Tales," a hip-hop , sonic journe y with members of "The Disposable Heros ofHiphoprisy." Burroughs is a member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France . Robert Wilson 's relationship with BAM extends back over a decade and includes BAM production s of such masterpieces as the Glass/Wilson epic Einstein on the Beach, and CIVIL warS. These works and many others have firmly established his reputation as one of theater's most visionary and influential creators . Stylized gestures and striking visual effects characterize Wilson's work , techniques which are powerfully evident in The Black Rider . Described by critics who have seen the production as one of the director's more accessible works , Wilson nevertheless challenges his audience with the following comment: "I hate naturalism. Theater is an artificial form, and the sooner we can accept this, the better." Robert Wilson's Madame Butterfly will open at the Paris Opera Bastille on November 22nd and in New York , the Paula Cooper Gallery will present Wilson's video "Deafman's Glance" in an installation beginning December 2nd. Next year he will continue workshops at the Alley Theater in Houston for new productions of The Balcony , Gertrude Stein's Saints and Singing , and a one-man Hamlet; a new work for the Munich Kammerspiele , Rad im Gras, based on a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm;-re-stagings at the Paris Opera Bastille of The Magic Flute and Lohengrin , as well as the Winterreise song-c ycle with Jessy Norman , all in preparation for the 1994-95 season which will include six of his productions in repertory , and perhaps most intriguing, two new operas for the Teatro Communale of Florence which are adapted from Japanese Noh dramas, with music by Japanese and European composers . Next summer he will once again conduct workshops , rehearsals and other projects in theater , music, dance, film and video, sponsored by the Byrd Hoffman Foundation at Watermill , LI. The Cooper-Hewitt Museum mounts an exhibition of recent Wilson theater designs in June of 1994. The Thalia Theater of Hamburg has gained a reputati on artistically as one of the most important German language theaters , performing a varied reperto ry of comedies, musicals, classical and modern plays The Thalia celebrates its 150th season this year. The Black Rider will be performed at the BAM Opera House. The gala opening night, November 20, will begin at 7:00 PM, and performances November 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 30 and December 1 will begin at 8:00 PM. There will be two matinees at 3:00 PM on November 21 and 28. Tickets for BAM's production of The Black Rider range from $20 - $50. Tickets may purchased at the BAM box office (30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn) or by calling TicketMaster at 212-307-4100. For further information, call 718-636- 4100. The 1993 NEXT WAVE Festival is sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc. The Brookl yn Academy of Music gratefull y acknowledges generous ongoing support for the NEXT WA VE Festival from donors of the following special funds, which have been established as part of The Campaign for BAM : Philip Morris/NEXT WA VE Forward Fund , Founding Sponsor , "Supporting the Spirit of Innovation" ; and the Michael Bancroft Goth Endowed AnnualPerformance Fund. Additional support for The Black Rider has been prov ided by: Goethe House New York/German Cultural Center ; The Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany ; The Bohen Foundation; TicketMaster ; One World Arts Foundation , Inc .; The Chase Manhat tan Bank; The Fan Fox and Leslie R . Samuels Foundation, Inc.; Robert W. Wilson; and Meet The Composer. International transportation supported by Lufth ansa. The NEXT WA VE Production Fund has been support ed by: The National Endowment for the Arts ; The Ford Foundation ; John S. and James L. Knight Found ation; The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc .; The Rockefeller Foundation ; The Bohen Foundation ; The Harkness Foundations for Dance ; The Foreign Office of the Fede ral Republic of German y; The Howard Gilman Foundation ; Lufthansa German Airlines; Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. ; One World Arts Foundation , Inc.; Robert W. Wilson ; Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust ; The William and Mary Greve Foundation ; L. Marshall Zeigen ; The Arthur Ross Foundation ; Meet the Composer ; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; New York State Council on the Arts ; NEXT WA VE Produ cers Council; NEXT WA VE Associates and the Friends of BAM The BAM facility is owned by the City of New York and its operation is made possible , in part , with public funds provided through the New York City Departm ent of Cultura l Affairs with support from the Brookl yn Delegation of the New York City Council and Brookl yn Boro ugh President Howard Golden . #### TOM WAITS "THE -BLACK RIDER" NOTES FROM THE RECORDING When I was first approached by Robert Wilson and the Thalia Theatre of Hamburg to be involved with The Black Rider , I was intrigued , flattered and scared . The time commitment was extensive and the distance I would have to travel back and forth was a problem , but after a meeting at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood , I was convinced this was to be an exciting challenge and the opportunit y to work with Robert Wilsoi:i and William Burroughs was something I couldn 't pass up. I had seen only one Wilson production , "Einstein on the Beach" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and had been pulled into a dream of such impact and beauty , I was unable to fully return to waking for weeks. Wilson's stage images had allowed me to look through windows into a dusting beauty that changed my eyes and my ears permanently . Wilson is an inventor on a journey of discovery into the deepest parts of the forest of the mind and spirit and his process of working is innocent and respectful. His workshops in stage one demand from all involved to enter his world and place as much value on the things you bring to it as the things you leave behind . I was nervous about our compatibility as his process seems so developed and was in a new country as was working in Hamburg , Germany, the Rainey Streets, church bells and the train station .

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