A 'Mile-Long Opera' Will Be Performed On The High Line This Fall

CHELSEA, NY — An opera performed by 1,000 singers will stretch along a mile of the High Line, Chelsea's famous elevated park, in a new performance that turns New York City itself into an opera house.

The project, titled "The Mile-Long Opera: a biography of 7 o’clock," is being composed by the Pulitzer-winning David Lang, who is known for his massive public-art performances.

"What I love about the High Line is that it gives you a great vantage point on the life of the city–you see the backs of old buildings and the fronts of new buildings, you look down alleys, into windows, over old broken warehouses and new fancy stores," Lang said in a statement. "You walk up the High Line and you can see a bit of everything."

For the Mile-Long Opera, 1,000 singers will be positioned throughout the High Line, and listeners can choose whether to follow one singer's story or take in the breadth of the opera.

"I wanted the music to work the same way: 1,000 singers each have their own solo stories to sing, and you walk by them," Lang said. "You might hear them all together, in a haze, as you walk by. Or you might lean in and hear each story."

The performance will premiere Oct. 3-7 at the Chelsea park.

The lyrics of the opera were written by Claudia Rankine and Anne Carson, who took inspiration from interviews with New Yorkers who were asked: What does 7 p.m. mean to you?

"The Mile-Long Opera project on every level was a process of engagement," Rankine, a National Book Award finalist, said in a statement. "I stepped into the 7 o’clock world initiated by Anne Carson and reached out to a random array of people who described their dining tables. Writing into their descriptions brought them into relation with each other, myself, and Carson’s text. Their lives are various and each table exists on a street I’ve walked or never been. The writing became a series of encounters—sites of personal theater."

Singers will be recruited from throughout the five boroughs, according to the High Line, through multiple partnerships with local community groups.

All performances will be free, but listeners will need advance tickets to get into the performances. On the night when the opera is performed, the High Line will only be open to ticket-holders.

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