The directors
Since his participation in Dokumenta X in Kassel in 1997, solo shows of William Kentridge’s work have been shown in many museums and galleries around the world, starting with the MCA San Diego (1998), and the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1999). In 1998 a survey exhibition of his work was hosted by the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, continuing to museums in throughout Europe during 1998/1999. 2001 saw the launch of a substantial survey show of Kentridge’s work in Washington, traveling thereafter to cities in the US and South Africa. Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev curated a new retrospective exhibition of his work for the Castello di Rivoli in Turin in January 2004, which went on to museums in Europe, Canada, Australia and South Africa.
The shadow oratorio Confessions of Zeno was commissioned for Documenta XI in 2002. The installation 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès, Day for Night and Journey to the Moon was presented at the 2005 Venice Biennale. April 2005 saw the premiere of a production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) at the Théâtre de La Monnaie in Brussels, with William Kentridge directing and René Jacobs as conductor, touring to cities including New York, Naples, and Johannesburg. In October 2005, the Deutsche Bank Guggenheim in Berlin presented Black Box/Chambre Noire, a miniature theatre piece with mechanized puppets, projection and original music by Philip Miller.
William Kentridge received the Carnegie Medal for the Carnegie International 1999/2000; the Goslar Kaisserring in 2003; and the Oskar Kokoschka Award (2008). He has received honorary doctorates from a number of universities internationally.
Recent work includes Telegrams from the Nose, a collaborative performance with composer Francois Sarhan; and for the Sydney Biennale of 2008, both I am not me, the horse is not mine, a solo lecture/performance piece, and an installation of the same title, comprising eight film fragments. Among Kentridge’s current projects is work towards a production of Shostakovich’s opera The Nose, to premier at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in March 2010.
Click here to read more about William Kentridge’s artistic vision for this production of The Return of Ulysses.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Merwelene van der Merwe)
Luc De Wit is a stage director, drama teacher and Feldenkrais practitioner. He studied at the national theater school in Belgium, followed by studies at the Ecole International de Théâtre J. Lecoq in Paris. In 1994 he completed his Feldenkrais Training in the U.K. In 1984, he founded the theatergroup Pantarei, where he works as an actor and director, and during this time he also began touring internationally. In 1995 he began working as assistant-director and as an opera director. He often works as a drama teacher in theatre schools or in workshops. Since 2005 he is an artistic collaborator of William Kentridge. Luc De Wit often directs the revivals of William Kentridge’s productions.
Stephen Stubbs is a Seattle native who spent 1981–2006 in Europe and many international venues with a distinguished career as a musical director specializing in baroque opera and as a concert lutenist. In this career he has garnered three Grammy nominations, an Edison award, a Cini award and has been co-artistic director of the Boston Early Music Festival since 1997. He was the professor for lute and performance practice at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen, Germany where he directed the early music program and established the baroque opera workshop called the Accademia d’Amore. During his years abroad he founded and directed the ensembles Tragicomedia and Teatro Lirico, conducted numerous opera productions and recorded over 100 CDs. Upon returning to Seattle, he established a major educational program for the training of young professional singers and instrumentalists in the discipline of baroque opera: the Seattle Academy of Baroque Opera. He has directed and performed in Seattle, across the United States, and internationally since his return. He has also given masterclasses for the Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program, and directed three baroque operas in the Northwest over the last year (Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea at Intiman with the Early Music Guild, Cavalieri’s Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo with the Seattle Academy of Baroque Opera at St. James Cathedral, and Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at Pacific Lutheran University).