Meredith Monk: Voice as a Second Language

Meredith Monk, born in Lima in 1942, is a pioneering American singer, performer, and choreographer who has developed an exceptional vocal quality by exploring the entire vocal apparatus. She began her career in 1964 in the vibrant New York art scene, alongside Andy Warhol's Factory and the avant-garde Kitchen venue, where works by John Cage and Steve Reich were presented. In 1968, she founded her company, The House, and in 1978, the Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble, with which she has toured worldwide and recorded extensively. Her interdisciplinary works integrate video and film into choreographies she calls 'cinematic operas,' such as Atlas (1991). Her performances deconstruct temporal conventions in dance, opera, song, and film editing. In France, she was first invited by the Festival mondial du théâtre de Nancy in 1973, then by the Festival d'Automne in 1975, and has since returned regularly to venues like the Musée du Louvre and the Fondation Cartier. Her free, feminine expression makes her a pioneer in performance and avant-garde art.