Legendary minimalist classical composer Philip Glass’ annual Days and Nights Festival is arriving in a virtual showing this year showcasing a variety of multidisciplinary arts and performances on its own streaming platform. Today on April 15th, several performances will be released on the festival’s streaming service including Kafka’s In The Penal Colony, Third Coast Percussion in Big Sur, and Drowning. The festival, now landmarking its 20th year in running, features films from the likes of JoAnne Akalaitis, Tibetan artist Tenzin Choegyal, and Danny Elfman, as well as performances by Dennis Russell Davies, Ira Glass, Matt Haimovitz, and the Philip Glass Ensemble. Glass’ statement that “From the beginning, I wanted it to be a cross-cultural festival, but not just in terms of musicians from different parts of the world. I meant it in a truly cultural way.” truly reflects his vision for the festival as a multidisciplinary showing in all ways. Glass’ “Kafka’s In The Penal Colony” was originally filmed at the Days and Nights Festival in 2018 and now arrives on the streaming platform for the first time. Third Coast Percussion in Big Sur is similarly premiering for the first time on streaming services and was originally filmed at Days and Nights 2019, featuring Devonté Hynes, Danny Elfman, Philip Glass. Danny Elfman is a multidisciplinary artist most well known for his film scoring work for the likes of Tim Burton and Sam Raimi; his performance of Third Coast Percussion in Big Sur with Glass takes name in the festival’s iconic setting of California’s Big Sur coast.
Also notably premiering is “Drowning”, an opera adaptation of Cuban playwright María Irene Fornés’ play of the same name. The play, created by JoAnne Akalaitis and Philip Glass, first premiered at Days and Nights 2019 and was performed by Gregory Purnhagen, Peter Stewart, Tomas Cruz, Alex Weston, and Lavinia Meijer. You can watch all the performances named at the link for Days and Nights 2021 here.
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