Robert Wilson, visionary theater director, dies at 83

Robert Wilson, the American theater director and visual artist known for integrating music, dance, and architecture into total works of art, died at 83 in New York after a brief illness. Born in 1941 in Waco, Texas, Wilson studied architecture and began his career in 1960s New York, working in painting, sculpture, and set design. In 1968 he founded the Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds. His international breakthrough came with "Einstein on the Beach" (1976), created with Philip Glass. Wilson had a long collaboration with Milan's Teatro alla Scala, starting with "Salome" in 1987 (directed by Kent Nagano, costumes by Gianni Versace, starring Montserrat Caballé), followed by "Doktor Faustus" (1989), and Monteverdi's operas (2011–2015). His final Scala production was "The night before. Objects chairs opera" on April 7, 2025, for the Salone del Mobile. For the same fair, he created "Mother," an installation dedicated to Michelangelo's Pietà Rondanini at the Museo della Pietà Rondanini – Castello Sforzesco. Wilson also made "Voom Portraits" (2007 onward), high-definition video portraits of celebrities like Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Jr., and Lady Gaga, as well as homeless people. He received the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale (1993), the Europe Theatre Prize (1997), and the Praemium Imperiale (2023). In 1992 he founded the Watermill Center on Long Island, a laboratory for the arts and humanities that will continue his legacy.