Photo: Andrej-Vasilenko©, Courtesy The Artists
“‘Sun & Sea’ remains one of the greatest achievements in performance of the last 10 years.” — The New York Times
“Rarely has an environmental message been so subtly, humorously, tellingly conveyed in an artwork.” — The Spectator (UK)
The set alone is an artwork worthy of curation. With 25 tons of sand and more than 13 performers, the artists behind Sun & Sea have created a true-to-life beach inside the Momentary in Bentonville. From sunbathing tourists to barking dogs and leaking coolers, every detail of the seaside has been masterfully crafted here in the landlocked Ozarks.
And then the music starts.
More than just a static installation, Sun & Sea is an award-winning opera performance by Rugile Barzdziukaite, Vaiva Grainyte, and Lina Lapelyte. Having stunned audiences at the 2019 Venice Biennale, earning its all-female creative team the Golden Lion, this cutting-edge performance is making its way to the American heartland for an exclusive, four-day-only run at the Momentary.
Sun & Sea offers up a slice-of-life glimpse into the lives of its characters and their connections (or lack thereof) to the struggling planet around them. Seductive harmonies and melodic stories gently drift between the innocent and the sinister as slowly—even nonchalantly—characters notice that this summer is a little hotter than before, that Christmas “felt like it could be Easter!” Only dimly do we see that “everything is out of joint.”
Funny, surreal, and bleakly beautiful, the siren’s song of Sun & Sea is not to be missed.
Find out more and reserve your ticket here. $20, or $16 for Momentary members. October 6-9, 2021, times vary. No ticket required for ages 12 and under.
