KCET to Air 'Invisible Cities' Artbound Special, 12/12

KCET's award-winning arts and culture series, Artbound and The Industry have partnered to produce an in-depth online series and television special exploring the creative process behind the new experimental opera, Invisible Cities, a joint production by The Industry and L.A. Dance Project which premieres at Los Angeles' historic Union Station on Oct. 19, 2013. Artbound's unique online multimedia series, which launches Oct. 8 at www.kcet.org/Artbound, invites fans to explore the artistry and experience the behind-the-scenes excitement prior to Invisible Cities' opening night.

The original Artbound series provides an exclusive look at the avant-garde opera, composed and adapted by Christopher Cerrone, in an audacious production conceived and directed by The Industry's founder and artistic director Yuval Sharon, with choreography by Danielle Agami. The production utilizes wireless technology provided by Sennheiser, offering audience members headphones to hear the opera amid the normal "hustle and bustle" of the train station's everyday life.

Updated weekly with new articles, video and photos, Artbound viewers will see rehearsal footage; get a glimpse of the production's beautiful costumes; discover the technical nuances of combining technology, art and public spaces; learn about the complexities of choreographic dance in high traffic areas, and much more.

The project culminates on Dec. 12, 2013 at 9 p.m., with a special hour-long Artbound episode that airs exclusively on KCET. The special will capture the complete creative narrative of Invisible Cities, featuring scenes from the live opera performance, artfully interspersed with robust multimedia footage taken during the making of the production.

"We are honored to collaborate with The Industry and artistic director Yuval Sharon on the production of this special series, which is redefining our understanding of opera and modernizing it for the 21st century," said Juan Devis, vice president of Arts & Culture Programming, KCETLink. "This project underscores Artbound's willingness to document the most relevant and innovative art production in Southern California, while breaking the boundaries of traditional arts reporting, and shows our audience how a complex theatrical production of this magnitude is mounted."

Added Sharon, "Invisible Cities is a large-scale collaboration of many incredible LA-based artists, all working towards the purpose of a once-in-a-lifetime event. With KCET's imaginative approach to capturing the production as it is developed, I believe this behind-the-scenes look will appeal to anyone fascinated by the creative process."

Invisible Cities makes its world premiere on Saturday, Oct. 19 for a limited run through Nov. 8 at Los Angeles' iconic Union Station. Performance dates for Invisible Cities are Oct. 19, Oct. 24, Oct. 26, Oct. 29, Oct. 31, Nov. 5, and Nov. 8. There will be two performances each night at 7:30 and 10 p.m. except for Oct. 19 (7 p.m. only). The VIP experience includes exclusive access to a roped off area of the Harvey Restaurant and a glass of wine. For ticket information, visit www.InvisibleCitiesOpera.com/tickets

Based on Italo Calvino's fantastical novel, Invisible Cities imagines a meeting of the emperor Kublai Khan at the end of his life with the explorer Marco Polo. Khan orders Polo to report on the cities in his empire, and Polo's responses are flights of fancy, cities of the imagination and the mind. The opera depicts the meeting and describes three chimerical cities with a quiet stateliness that offers the audience a chance to contemplate the essence of travel, as well as our subjective experience of environment and time.

ABOUT KCET

On-air, online and in the community, KCET plays a vital role in the cultural and educational enrichment of Southern and Central California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its nearly 50-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality educational family and children's programs, its outreach and community services and its website, kcet.org. KCET is a donor-supported community institution. For additional information about KCET productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org. KCET is a service of KCETLink.

ABOUT ARTBOUND

With over 50 columnists and cultural critics in 11 counties of Southern California, Artbound provides seeds of engagement through articles, videos, projects and partners, who are narrating the cultural stories of the region. The role of Artbound is not just to record, report and broadcast cultural stories; its aim is to create mechanisms--be it partnerships, projects or online tools--through which audiences can take direct action in the creation of a common narrative. Since its launch in May 2012, Artbound has earned numerous awards for its coverage of Southern California's unique narrative of arts and culture, including a Southern California Journalism Award, a National Entertainment Journalism Award and a Golden Mike Award. The site was also named a Webby Award Official Honoree and voted "Best Arts & Culture Site" by L.A. Weekly in 2012.