American director Bob Wilson has died

By The New Obs with AFP

American director Bob Wilson , known for his original creations in theater and opera, died on Thursday, July 31, in New York State, at the age of 83, the foundation preserving his work announced.

"We are devastated to announce the passing of Robert M. Wilson, artist, theatre and opera director, architect, set and lighting designer, visual artist [...]," the Robert Wilson Arts Foundation said, adding that he "passed away peacefully" in Water Mill, New York, following "a brief but devastating illness."

"Although he faced his diagnosis with clarity and determination, he felt the need to continue working and creating until the end. His works for the stage, on paper, his sculptures and his video portraits, as well as the Watermill Center, will remain his artistic legacy," the foundation added.

“Peter Pan”, “Turandot”, “Einstein on the Beach”… His productions of original works as well as works from the traditional repertoire have created events wherever they have been shown, particularly in France.

"Bob Wilson was a visionary artist, a master of staging, a sculptor of light" who "deeply influenced his contemporaries, particularly in France where he created so much," commented the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati.

"The master of light has passed away [...] With him, one of the greatest inventors of the contemporary scene disappears. I met him at the Nancy Festival, in those flamboyant years when everything seemed possible. It was an aesthetic shock, a revelation," added former Minister of Culture Jack Lang .

Born on October 4, 1941, in Waco, Texas, Robert Wilson, or more simply Bob Wilson, began staging his own plays in the family garage before moving to New York in his twenties, where he became close to American avant-garde artists such as Andy Warhol.

But it was in 1976 that he was propelled onto the international scene with "Einstein on The Beach", a "UFO" lasting almost five hours, edited several times since its creation, and whose music was composed by the famous Philip Glass.