Australia's Circa to Make BAM Debut with OPUS, Nov 4-8

An Australian circus company, a French string quartet, and a Russian composer will tumble together in the fantastic world of OPUS, a "cut-glass, caviar circus" (The Telegraph) which BAM presents from November 4 to 8.

With OPUS, Circa and Debussy String Quartet set up some unusual challenges for themselves: How do you play Shostakovich's thorny string quartets (11, 8, and 5) when blindfolded and with 14 acrobats jumping, tumbling, and somersaulting all around you? How do you execute hair-raising acrobatic routines with four string players (and their precious instruments) in your midst? The result is a show that has been described as "so remarkable as almost to defy description" by The Guardian.

OPUS is the Brisbane-based contemporary circus company's largest-scaled creation to date. "OPUS will challenge your perceptions of what is possible with the human body and draw you deep into a world of physical daring," said Circa's artistic director Yaron Lifschitz. "It's a performance of unshakable passion and razor-sharp precision. It finds new emotional landscapes inside what is generally considered to be a spectacle. In a sense what we want OPUS to do is to be a non-verbal expression of an emotion that doesn't have any other name -- in fact an emotion that you hopefully didn't even know you could feel."

About the Artists:

Known for its blend of athleticism, stripped-down acrobatics, poetry, and humor, Circa has earned an international reputation for its originality and innovative aesthetics. Since 2004, under the guidance of Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz, the company has been at the frontier of new circus-creating powerful works of circus art that challenge, thrill and delight. Featuring an ensemble of multi-skilled circus artists, Circa's award-winning works have been seen in 33 countries across six continents.

Through its passionate commitment to speak in a unique voice, eschewing the creation of an international quartet sound, Debussy String Quartet has established itself as one of the finest quartets touring and recording today. Formed in 1990 by a group of young musicians (Christophe Collette and Marc Vieillefon on violin, Vincent Deprecq on viola, Ce?dric Conchon on cello) studying at the Conservatoire de Lyon, France, the quartet has gained international renown for its exciting performances and award-winning recordings.

In major concert halls from New York to Tokyo, they perform a wide range of works, and are best known for their devotion to the French repertoire. In addition to playing string quartets and joining renowned colleagues to play other chamber music, the quartet has embarked on an adventurous collaboration with the famed modern dance ensemble, Compagnie Ka?fig (choreographer Mourad Merzouki), for a new project in which they are incorporated as choreographed elements while playing their respective instruments in concert with the dancers.

A Nuits de Fourvie?re production/ De?partement du Rho?ne, coproduced with Les The?a?tres de la ville de Luxembourg, GREC Festival of Barcelona, Le Cirque-The?a?tre d'Elbeuf, Dusseldorf Festival, Barbican Theatre, CACCV Espace Jean Legendre-Compie?gne. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government's Major Festivals Initiative, managed by the Australia Council its arts funding and advisory body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals, Brisbane Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, and Melbourne Festival.

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafe? are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafe?, operated by Great Performances, offers a dinner menu prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafe? also features an eclectic mix of live music for BAMcafe? Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a bar menu available starting at 6pm.

For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.

Photo Credit: Justin Nicolas

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