Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Michel van der Aa’s immersive BLANK OUT at the Park Avenue Armory is a triumph of concept and execution

• By drediman
• September 26, 2017
• No Comments

Miah Persson and Roderick Williams in Michel van der Aa’s “Blank Out” at the Park Avenue Armory. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Berger

Tonight, I caught the penultimate performance of Michel van der Aa’s immersive Blank Out at the Park Avenue Armory. Over the years, the Armory has become one of the key purveyors of must-see performance “events” in the city. Its presentation of Blank Out is no exception. Mr. van der Aa’s 2016 opera seamlessly integrates video, sound, composition, and performance in a way that challenges our notion of reality and the act of perception. It may revolutionize how we view the performing arts, as well.

The opera begins with a tragic “Rashomon”-like event but doesn’t stop there. It continues by begging the question of whether memory is merely fiction and vice versa. To accomplish this, the audience is immersed in a meticulously realized, cascading onslaught of looping 3D film segments (yes, the audience is required to wear 3D glasses for the duration of the opera) vis-à-vis live performance. Mr. van der Aa smartly never subordinates the technical elements of the production to soprano Miah Persson’s powerhouse performance (the radiant Ms. Persson is the sole live performer, even the orchestra, male character, and choir are “canned”). All elements come together to create a total work of art, reminiscent of Richard Wagner’s idea of the “Gesamtkunstwerk”, that contributes to Mr. van der Aa’s rabbit hole vision.

Mr. van der Aa’s leider-like score is initially subdued, but it slowly builds to an effective and harrowing electronic crescendo as the opera’s opposing forces face off and attempt to annihilate each other. Blank Out never really answers any of the questions that it raises, but nevertheless, it’s sheer execution packs an emotional and intellectual wallop, despite its short running time (the performance runs runs just over an hour). By all accounts, it is a triumph.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

BLANK OUT
Opera
Park Avenue Armory
1 hour, 10 minutes (without an intermission)
Through September 27