MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST Kicks Off Lincoln Center Festival Today

Lincoln Center Festival, which runs from today, July 6 through 28, 2013 will unfold in six venues on and off the Lincoln Center campus. Music figures prominently in the 2013 Festival with international productions by an eclectic range of renowned composers, singers, musicians and directors. In addition to performances, a panel discussion on Lera Auerbach's opera, The Blind, is scheduled. A chronological listing follows.

For complete Festival programming, visit: LincolnCenterFestival.org. Tickets are available online, via CenterCharge, 212-721-6500 and at the Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall box offices, 65th Street and Broadway.

Monkey: Journey to the West

July 6-July 28, 2013

27 performances, David H. Koch Theater

Concept, Libretto, and Stage Direction Chen Shi-Zheng

Composer Damon Albarn

Visual Concept, Animation and Costumes Jamie Hewlett

Conductor Brad Lubman

Lighting Designer Nick Richings

Sound Designer Barry Bartlett

Masks, Prosthetics, Makeup and Wigs Bertrand Dorcet

With: Lu Wang (Monkey King), Yangyang Cao (Monkey King), Yijing Chen (Spider Woman), Jiaojiao Chen (Princess Iron Fan), Yuanyuan Huo (Guan Yin), Li Li (Tripitaka), Chang Liu (Subodhi / Buddha), Kun Liu (Dragon King), Borui Dong (Sandy), Kejia Xu (Pigsy), Zhuoran Yao (White Skeleton Demon), and the Jiangsu Yancheng Acrobatic Company

Monkey: Journey to the West is a music theater piece based on a classic Chinese folktale "Journey to the West" which dates to 1592. It is conceived, written and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng. The composer is Damon Albarn, best known in the U.S. as the singer/songwriter in the band Blur. The designer/animator is Jamie Hewlett, who, together with Albarn, created the virtual band, Gorillaz*.

Over the course of this 110-minute, fantastical journey, the monk Tripitaka, travels from China to India, facing many challenges while searching for the sacred Buddhist scriptures. The mischievous Monkey King leads Tripitaka and his animal companion protectors, including a pig and a horse, in a series of perilous and comic adventures and misadventures.

The dazzling production combines elements of music theater, bold and stunning animation, and performances by Chinese vocalists, martial artists and the Jiangsu Yancheng Acrobatic Company. Damon Albarn's original and compelling score uses washes of electronic sounds, brass fanfares, electronic percussion, and Chinese pop melodies. Jamie Hewlett's designs, animations, and eye-popping costumes reference the world of Japanese animé.

Monkey: Journey to the West created a sensation when it premiered at the first Manchester International Festival in England in 2007. It was then performed at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and at Spoleto Festival USA, followed by performances at the Royal Opera House in London.

Singer/songwriter/producer Damon Albarn is the recipient of four Brits, two Ivor Novello Awards and a Grammy Award. His second opera Dr Dee, co-created with Rufus Norris, premiered at Manchester International Festival in 2011. In addition to his work with Blur and Gorillaz, Albarn has released a number of recordings, including Mali Music (2002), The Good The Bad and The Queen (2006), Monkey: Journey to the West (2007), Rocket Juice & The Moon (2012) and Dr Dee (2012). He has also produced music for Gorillaz, Amadou and Mariam, written music for film soundtracks, and most recently co-produced Bobby Womack's current album The Bravest Man in The Universe. Albarn formed Africa Express, a collective of African and Western musicians in 2007, and toured the UK with them aboard a train last September as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

Creator of comic book series Tank Girl and co-creator of Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett has forged a distinctive visual style and a unique place in British pop culture. Tank Girl was his first major commercial success. Hewlett also conceived the visual concept behind the several-million-selling, multi-award-winning virtual band Gorillaz, which won him the Design Museum's Designer of the Year Award in 2006. Other projects include the Bafta award-winning titles for the BBC's coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Chen Shi-Zheng directed the epic Peony Pavilion for Lincoln Center Festival 99 and subsequently staged three other productions for the Festival: The Night Banquet, 2002; The Orphan of Zhao, 2003; and My Life as a Fairytale, 2005. His other opera credits include Monteverdi's Orfeo with English National Opera; Wagner's The Flying Dutchman and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas for the Spoleto Festival USA; Mozart's Così fan tutte at Aix-en Provence Festival; Miss Fortune at the Royal Opera House in London; and Nixon in China for Theatre du Châtelet in Paris. His first film, Dark Matter, won the Sundance Film Festival's Alfred P. Sloan Award. For Festival 2013, he is also directing the chamber opera, Matsukaze (Wind in the Pines) by Toshio Hosokawa.

*About Gorillaz

A truly global phenomenon, Gorillaz-singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, Japanese guitar prodigy Noodle and drummer Russel Hobbs-has achieved ground-breaking success in in popular music, and was recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as the planet's Most Successful Virtual Act.

Put together by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the band's eponymous debut album was released to wide acclaim in 2001. Three studio albums, Gorillaz (2001), Demon Days (2005) and Plastic Beach (2010) featured collaborations with a wide array of artists including Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, Lou Reed and Dennis Hopper.

Gorillaz has topped the charts around the world, hitting #1 in more than a dozen countries and garnering sales in excess of 13 million. The band has also received influential awards and recognition that reach beyond music including a Grammy and an Ivor Novello, a Webby Award and a Designer of the Year Award for Jamie Hewlett, and the Jim Henson Creativity Honor.

Monkey: Journey to the West performance schedule: Saturday, July 6 at 8 p.m. (preview).; Sunday, July 7 at 2 and 8 p.m. (previews); Tuesday, July 9 at 8 p.m.; Wednesday, July 10 at 8 p.m.; Thursday, July 11 at 8 p.m.; Friday, July 12 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, July 13 at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, July 14 at 2 and 8 p.m.; Tuesday, July 16 at 8 p.m.; Wednesday, July 17 at 8 p.m.; Thursday, July 18 at 8 p.m.; Friday, July 19 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, July 20 at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, July 21 at 2 and 8 p.m.; Tuesday, July 23 at 8 p.m.; Wednesday, July 24 at 8 p.m.; Thursday, July 25 at 8 p.m.; Friday, July 26 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, July 27 at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, July 28 at 2 and 8 p.m.

Running time: 110 minutes

Tickets start at $25.00. Visit MonkeyJourneytotheWest.org or LincolnCenterFestival.org, go to the Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall or David H. Koch Theater box offices, or call CenterCharge, 212/721-6500.

Programs, artists and ticket prices are subject to change.

The Lincoln Center Festival 2013 presentation of Monkey: Journey to the West is made possible in part by generous support from the Tang Family Foundation, Jennie and Richard DeScherer, and the Asian Cultural Council. Makeup provided by M.A.C.

Tour made possible by:

Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture

Government of Yancheng City

Government of Jianhu County

Mr. Yaoxing Xu

Mr Guoqiang Wei

Mr. Qifa Ge

The Blind

World Premiere (new version)

July 9 -14, 2013

Six performances, Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse

Composer Lera Auerbach

Stage Director John La Bouchardière

Music Director Julian Wachner

Sound Design Jody Elff

Co-produced with American Opera Projects

Following the sell-out success of his project The Full Monteverdi performed by I Fagiolini during Lincoln Center Festival 2007, British director John La Bouchardière returns to the Festival to direct a new and radical re-imagining of Lera Auerbach's 2001a cappella opera The Blind, freely-adapted from the controversial symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck.

Scored for 12 unaccompanied voices, The Blind chronicles a group of sightless people abandoned on a desolate island as they await the return of the religious leader who led them from their home so they could feel the last rays of sunlight before winter. The audience will be immersed into complete darkness to experience the sensory world of the story. The cast includes: Dominic Armstrong, Sarah Brailey, Yulia Van Doren, Branch Fields, John McVeigh, Nicole Mitchell, Liam Moran, Kyle Pfortmiller, Barbara Rearick, David Schmidt, Faith Sherman, and Rose Sullivan. It is performed in English.

Lera Auerbach's published oeuvre includes more than 90 works of opera, ballet, symphony and chamber music, as well as poetry and prose. Her works have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra and Tokyo Philharmonic, among other renowned ensembles. The 2012-13 season included the premiere of Preludes CV, a full-length ballet by John Neumeier based on Auerbach's 24 Preludes for Violoncello and Piano and 24 Preludes for Violin and Piano, created to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Hamburg Ballett. Two additional ballets to music by the composer had their world premieres this season: Faust by the Staatstheater N?rnberg with choreography by Goyo Montero and Heroes, for the Munich State Ballet, choreographed by Terence Kohler. Other 2012-13 premieres were: Auerbach's String Quartet No. 6 commissioned by the Tokyo String Quartet for its farewell tour; a string symphony commissioned by the New Century Chamber Orchestra; a concerto for saxophone quartet and choir for the Rascher Saxophone Quartet; and additional string quartets for the Borromeo String Quartet and Ying Quartet.

Born in Chelyabinsk, a city in the Urals bordering Siberia, Lera Auerbach, while still in her teens, became one of the last artists to defect from the Soviet Union-during a concert tour in 1991. She subsequently earned Bachelor and Master's degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied piano with Joseph Kalichstein and composition with Milton Babbitt and Robert Beaser. In 2002 she graduated from the prestigious piano soloist program of the Hannover Hochschule für Musik where she studied with Einar-Steen Nøkleberg. Lera Auerbach lives in New York.

The Blind performance schedule: July 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 at 8 p.m.

Running time: approximately one hour

Tickets start at $75. Visit LincolnCenterFestival.org, go to the Avery Fisher Hall or Alice Tully Hall box offices, or call CenterCharge, 212/721-6500. Programs, artists and ticket prices are subject to change.

Experiential and Sensory Theater Panel

July 12, 6 p.m.

David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center (Broadway between 62nd and 63rd St.)

Join , John La Bouchardière director of The Blind, for a FREE panel discussion on Experiential and Sensory Theater on Friday July 12. Other panelists include Rebecca McGinnis, Access Coordinator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Pamela Sabaugh, theater artist and writer. The panel will be moderated by composer Frank Oteri, Senior Editor of NewMusicBox.org. This event is open to the public as well as The Blind ticket holders from any show date.

Hanggai

July 16, 2013

One performance, Alice Tully Hall

Yiliqi (Ilchi) - tobshuur, banjo and hoomei (vocals)

Ailun - guitars and sanxian

Li Zhongtao (Li Dan) - drums, percussion

Hurizha - vocals, amne huur

Batubagen (Bagen) - morin khuur and hoomei (vocals)

Yilalata (Shang Li) - guitars, sanxian and vocals

Niu Xin - bass and vocals

The seven-piece group Hanggai, "who distill everything powerful about Mongolian folk music and make something new from the ingredients" (Pitchfork), will perform a concert in Alice Tully Hall. Hanggai has been called "one of the best live bands in Beijing" by SeeChina.com and is one of the leading groups integrating traditional music into the urban rock/pop scene. Citing influences such as Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine, Hanggai has won many international fans and drawn enthusiastic crowds at important festivals, including the Sydney Festival, Bonnaroo, and Woodford Folk Festival. Hanggai was also the first Chinese band to perform at the Wacken Open Air Festival, the annual heavy metal festival held in Germany each summer.

Hanggai's leader, singer/tobshuur player, Yiliqi, who once fronted punk band T9, traveled to his father's homeland in Mongolia and learned the technique of throat singing (hoomei) and immersed himself in the traditional music and songs of the region. While in Mongolia, he met two music students who joined him in forming Hanggai. In an interview Ichi explains, "The roots of Hanggai's music come from traditional Mongolian music from different eras and different regions. Hanggai's music doesn't really speak of Genghis Khan's time, but it does reflect the life and ethics of the Mongolian people. Some of our songs are influenced by Chinese music, because those songs were composed after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, and we were all born long after that! We are influenced by what we grew up listening to, and we're still searching for our musical roots."

The word "Hanggai" is Mongolian and means beautiful grassland with mountains, trees, river and blue sky. Hanggai's unique mix of rock with drones, banjos, and hoomei, a centuries-old Mongolian technique in which the artist emits two different pitches at the same time, blends Mongolian folk music with more modern styles including punk. At the heart of the music are two traditional instruments, the morin khuur (a horse-hair fiddle) and the tobshuur (a two-stringed lute).

Hanggai performance schedule: July 16 at 8 p.m.

Running time: approximately 70 minutes

Tickets start at $25. Visit LincolnCenterFestival.org, go to the Avery Fisher Hall or Alice Tully Hall box offices, or call CenterCharge, 212/721-6500. Programs, artists and ticket prices are subject to change.

The Lincoln Center Festival 2013 presentation of Hanggai is made possible in part by generous support from China International Culture Association.

Matsukaze (Wind in the Pines)

July 18, 19, and 20, 2013

Three performances, Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College

Composed by Toshio Hosokawa

Libretto by Hannah Dübgen

Directed by Chen Shi-Zheng

Conducted by John Kennedy

Set design by Chris Barreca

Lighting design by Scott Zielinski

Video design by Olivier Rosset

Costume design by Elizabeth Caitlin Ward

With: Pureum Jo (Matsukaze); Jihee Kim (Murasame); Gary Simpson (Monk); and Thomas Meglioranza (Fisherman)

With a hypnotic tapestry of sound, Toshio Hosokawa-one of Japan's most prominent living composers-conjures up the spirit world of the play by a 15th-century Noh master on which his ethereal new opera is based. A traveling monk encounters two ghostly sisters-Matsukaze (Wind-in-the-pines) and Murasame (Autumn-Rain)-who are fated to wander the earth searching for the man who they both loved centuries ago. The production is directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, who is also responsible for theFestival production of Monkey: Journey to the West. The German libretto is by poet and dramatist Hannah Dübgen. Conductor John Kennedy leads the Talea Ensemble, conducting a score that was declared "compellingly beautiful" by The Financial Times (London).

Matsukaze will be Hosokawa's first opera by to be produced in the United States. It opens with the tranquil sound of waves washing up on a beach. The contemporary score does not use Japanese instrumentation, aside from a few bells.

Matsukaze had its world premiere on May 3, 2011 at Théâtre de la Monnaie, where it was commissioned. It had its U.S. premiere at Spoleto Festival USA on May 24, 2013. "I wanted to create Noh theater completely anew," said Hosokawa in aNew York Times interview when the work was presented at the Berlin State Opera in 2011.

Toshio Hosokawa was born in Hiroshima in 1955. In 1976 he began his studies in composition in Berlin, first with Isang Yun at the Hochschule der Künste and then with Klaus Huber at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg. Over the years, as his reputation grew on the international contemporary music scene, he received a growing number of commissions. From 1989 to 1998, the composer was the artistic director and organizer of the annual Akiyoshidai International Contemporary Music Seminar and Festival in Yamaguchi. He has also been the artistic director of the Japanese Takefu International Music Festival in Fukuj. He was appointed as permanent guest professor at the Tokyo College of Music in 2004.

Influences from both Western music-from Schubert to Webern-and the cultural touchstones from traditional Japanese music can be found in Hosokawa's compositions, which include orchestral works, solo concertos, chamber music, and film scores, alongside works for traditional Japanese instruments. The prize-winning composer considers the compositional process to be instinctively associated with the concepts of Zen Buddhism and its symbolic interpretation of nature. His orchestral workCirculating Ocean was composed in 2005 as a commission for the Salzburg Festival. Valery Gergiev conducted the world premiere and the British premiere took place at the BBC Proms a year later under the baton of Kazushi Ono. Hosokawa's other works include the piano concerto Lotus under the moonlight, an homage to Mozart; the oratorio Voiceless voice in Hiroshima(1989/2000-01); his first opera, Vision of Lear, which premiered at the Münchener Biennale in 1998; and a second opera,Hanjo, which was first staged at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2004, followed by further performances in seven other cities. Hosokawa has been Composer-in-Residence at the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra since 1998. He lives in Nagano, Japan.

Matsukaze performance schedule: July 18, 19, and 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Running time: approximately 70 minutes, no intermission.

Tickets start at $35. Visit LincolnCenterFestival.org, go to the Avery Fisher Hall or Alice Tully Hall box offices, or call CenterCharge, 212/721-6500. Programs, artists and ticket prices are subject to change.

Matsukaze is co-produced with Spoleto Festival USA.

The Lincoln Center Festival 2013 presentation of Matsukaze is made possible in part by generous support from LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.

The Lincoln Center Festival 2013 presentation of Matsukaze is made possible in part by Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.

Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), J.C.C. Fund of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc., and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal U.S.A., Inc.

Michaels Reise um die Erde (Michael's Journey Around the World)

U.S. Premiere

July 18, 19, 20, 2013

Three performances, Avery Fisher Hall

Composer Karlheinz Stockhausen

Musical direction Peter Rundel

Concept and stage direction Carlus Padrissa

Concept and set designer Roland Olbeter

Concept and video designer Franc Aleu

Costume designer Chu Uroz

Sound designer Paul Jeukendrup

Lighting designer Michael Schernigg

Dramaturgy Thomas Ulrich

Ensemble musikFabrik

Marco Blaauw, trumpet solo (Michael)

Nicola Jürgensen, basset horn solo (Eve)

Carl Rosman, clarinet solo (Clownesque Swallow-Pair)

Fie Schouten, clarinet/basset horn solo (Clownesque Swallow-Pair)

Karlheinz Stockhausen's Michaels Reise um die Erde (Michael's Journey Around the World) will receive its U.S. premiere atFestival 2013. The work is from the second act of "Donnerstag" ("Thursday") from Licht (Light), the epic seven-opera cycle that took the composer 26 years to complete. This production by Wiener Taschenoper, directed by Carlus Padrissa, a founder of the avant-garde Catalan theater troupe, La Fura dels Baus, will transform the stage of Avery Fisher Hall. Michael's Reisefeatures German contemporary music ensemble musikFabrik.

A chance encounter between Stockhausen and a mysterious figure at Lincoln Center more than 40 years ago led to the creation of Licht. In 1971, the composer led the New York Philharmonic and guest soloists from Stockhausen Group in the triumphant premiere of Regions I-IV of his Hymnen, in Avery Fisher Hall. Following the concert, he was approached by a man who asked him to "become the minister of sound transmission" and presented the composer with The Urantia Book, a thick philosophic/religious/scientific tome, published in 1955, with a rich and complex moral narrative that is equal parts Tolkien and St. Paul. The book supplied the spiritual underpinnings of Stockhausen's huge operatic cycle about the creation of the universe. Written between 1977-2003, Licht comprises seven full operas, one for each day of the week, and clocks in at 29 hours of music.

Michaels Reise um die Erde, a purely instrumental act from the "Thursday" section, has individual musicians portraying the leading roles of Michael the Archangel, Eve, and Lucifer, Michael's adversary. These three, who symbolize spirituality, love, and pure, rational intellect, respectively, are the main characters in Licht, represented interchangeably throughout, by singers, instrumentalists or dancer/mimes.

In this production, a giant satellite dish dominates the stage; different views of the Earth and other images are projected on it. Images also dance on a gauze curtain hung in the foreground of the stage. Michael the Archangel (represented by the trumpeter Marco Blaauw in a virtuoso performance) performs from a perch atop a giant 20 foot high crane weighing nearly 2,000 pounds. With the crane in constant motion, tipping him upside down and sideways, he "flies" to seven points on the globe, including New York City, searching for good and evil. He encounters Lucifer, the dark angel (clarinetist Carl Rosman) as well as musicians costumed and representing penguins, clowns, and sailors. He finally meets Eve, who is portrayed by a basset-horn (Nicola Jüergensen). This staging of Michael's Reise begins with the overture from "Thursday" entitled "Michael's Gruss" (Michael's Greeting), for 12 brass players.

German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928- 2007) created over 350 works and for fifty years was one of the most influential and controversial composers of the post-World War II period. He is known for groundbreaking work in electronic music, serial composition, and spacialization. His influence and admirers extend far beyond the frontiers of classical music; artists as diverse as Björk, the Beatles, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, Brian Eno, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, and MiLes Davis all cited, or paid tribute to, Stockhausen's influence on their work.

Michaels Reise um die Erde performance schedule: July 18, 19, 20 at 8:00 p.m.

Running time: approximately one hour

Tickets start at $25. Visit LincolnCenterFestival.org, go to the Avery Fisher Hall or Alice Tully Hall box offices, or call CenterCharge, 212/721-6500. Programs, artists and ticket prices are subject to change.

Original production of Michaels Reise um die Erde by Wiener Taschenoper in collaboration with Wiener Festwochen and co-produced by Köln Musik, Ensemble MusikFabrik and Festspielhaus Hellerau.

Zorn@60

July 18 and 20, 2013

Two performances, Alice Tully Hall

Boundary-breaking New York composer John Zorn will turn sixty in September 2013. In collaboration with Zorn, Lincoln Center Festival will curate Zorn@60, a two-concert focus in Alice Tully Hall. The concerts are part of a large scale celebration of Zorn's work during 2013 in Europe and the U.S. The Festival concerts will explore two aspects of Zorn's huge and intriguing catalog-his compositions for vocal quintet and his cycle of string quartets.

The program for July 18: Zorn@60 - The Holy Visions consists of two lyrical works written for five a capella female voices: the sensual and evocative Shir Ha-Shirim, inspired by The Song of Songs (one of the Hebrew scriptures most enigmatic texts), and Zorn's latest mystery play, The Holy Visions (heard at New York City Opera's VOX 2012 showcase), based on the work of 12th-century mystic Hildegard von Bingen. Both works feature some of the brightest voices on the contemporary and early music scenes in New York: Abby Fischer, Kirsten Sollek, Lisa Bielawa, Jane Sheldon, and Melissa Hughes. The first evening concludes with Zorn himself at the controls of Alice Tully Hall's Kuhn organ performing a recital of improvisations entitled The Hermetic Organ.

On July 20, Zorn@60 - The Complete String Quartets, the focus shifts to Zorn's powerful works for string quartet, performed by Jack Quartet, The Alchemy Quartet (made up of Zorn regulars Jesse Mills, violin; Pauline Kim, violin; David Fulmer, viola; and Jay Campbell, cello), and Brooklyn Rider. This is the first time all six quartets will be performed together in one concert: Cat O' Nine Tails (1988), Dead Man (1990), Memento Mori (1992), Kol Nidre (1996), Necronomicon (2003), and The Alchemist (2011).

Drawing upon his experience in classical, jazz, rock, hardcore punk, klezmer, world and improvised music, John Zorn has created an influential body of work that defies academic categories. Born and raised in New York City, he is a central figure in the downtown scene, bringing together a wide variety of creative musicians to suit his various compositional formats. His remarkably diverse work draws inspiration from art, cartoons, literature, film, theater, philosophy, alchemy, and mysticism. Zorn founded the Tzadik label in 1995, runs the East Village performance space The Stone, and has edited/published six volumes of musicians' writings under the title ARCANA. Among the many honors he has received are the Cultural Achievement Award from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and the William Schuman Prize for composition from Columbia University. He was inducted into the Long Island Hall of Fame by Lou Reed in 2010 and is a MacArthur Fellow. In 2012, Zorn was honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters and given the honorary doctorate Magister Artium Gaundensis by the University of Ghent.

Zorn@60 performance schedule: July 18 and 20 at 8 p.m.

Running times: July 18 approximately one hour 45 minutes/July 20 approximately two hours

Tickets start at $25. Visit LincolnCenterFestival.org, go to the Avery Fisher Hall or Alice Tully Hall box offices, or call CenterCharge, 212/721-6500. Programs, artists and ticket prices are subject to change.

Sinéad O'Connor: The Gospel Sessions

July 26 and 27, 2013

Two performances; Alice Tully Hall

Multi-platinum recording artist Sinéad O'Connor returns to Lincoln Center to unveil a special, new program at the conclusion of the 2013 Lincoln Center Festival, performing two nights of classic American soul gospel music in Alice Tully Hall. These performances will be her only scheduled U.S. appearance this summer. Ireland's most widely-known female vocalist, O'Connor was last in the U.S. as a special guest artist in the Lincoln Center Festival 2012 tribute to Curtis Mayfield. She electrified the crowd: "Her soaring vocals spurring the crowd to leap to their feet," according to Rolling Stone.

Gospel artists such as The Staples Singers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sam Cooke, and The Soul Stirrers have long been a part of O'Connor's personal soundtrack, and serve as touchstones for this intimate exploration of her deep love of gospel music, under the musical directorship of Obie Award-winning pianist and composer Bob Telson.

These concerts will only be performed at Lincoln Center Festival, making this the only opportunity for her ardent fans to experience the intense and compelling artist performing some of American's most soul-stirring music.

Sinéad O'Connor: The Gospel Sessions performance schedule: July 26 and 27 at 8 p.m.

Running time: approximately 80 minutes.

Tickets start at $50. Visit LincolnCenterFestival.org, go to the Avery Fisher Hall or Alice Tully Hall box offices, or call CenterCharge, 212/721-6500. Programs, artists and ticket prices are subject to change.

Since its inaugural season in 1996, Lincoln Center Festival has received worldwide attention for presenting some of the broadest and most original performing arts programs in Lincoln Center's history. Entering its 18th year, the Festival will have presented nearly 1,260 performances of opera, music, dance, theater, and interdisciplinary forms by internationally acclaimed artists from more than 50 countries. To date, the Festival has commissioned more than 42 new works and offered some 137 world, U.S., and New York premieres. It places particular emphasis on showcasing contemporary artistic viewpoints and multidisciplinary works that push the boundaries of traditional performance.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 15 series, festivals, and programs including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Artist Program, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Books, Lincoln Center Dialogue, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, Midsummer Night Swing,Martin E. Segal Awards, Meet the Artist, Mostly Mozart Festival, Target Free Thursdays, and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2 billion campus renovation, completed in October 2012.

Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, call the Department of Programs and Services for People with Disabilities at (212) 875-5375.

INFORMATION AND UPDATES:

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PHONE NUMBERS/CONTACT INFORMATION:

CenterCharge: 212-721-6500

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Lincoln Center Festival page: LincolnCenterFestival.org

Lincoln Center Customer Service: 212-875-5456

Lincoln Center Information Line: 212-875-5766

VENUE LOCATIONS:

Alice Tully Hall, 65th Street and Broadway

Avery Fisher Hall, 64th Street and Broadway

David H. Koch Theater, Broadway at 63rd Street

Gerald W. Lynch Theater, John Jay College, 524 West 59th Street between 10th and 11th Avenue

Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, 165 W. 65th Street, 10th floor (The Rose Bldg.)

Programs, artists and ticket prices are subject to change.

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Pictured: "Monkey: Journey to the West" will be performed July 6-28 in the David H. Koch Theater as part of the 2013 Lincoln Center Festival. (Pictured: Scene from the Spoleto Festival, Charleston 2008). Photo Credit: © William Struhs.