Campus to premiere ‘Io and Her and the Trouble with Him’

As part of her spring residency, composer Pauline Oliveros will present the Madison premiere of her new dance-opera, “Io and Her and the Trouble with Him” at 8 p.m. Friday, April 13, at the Wisconsin Union Theater, 800 Langdon St.

Directed by librettist Ione, with choreography by Joanna Haigood, this dance-opera is a collaborative venture among artists of all types. The performance features a multimedia panorama of experimental theater and technical virtuosity that includes aerial ballet, masks, video projection, a sinister, thousand-eyed monster and a highly imaginative electronic soundscape.

The one-act story, set in primeval time, retells the myth of Io, Argivian priestess. Transformed by a terrible spell, she roams the world, becomes trapped by Argus the terrible monster and is befriended by the brilliant Bird, who helps her to begin to understand the true mystery of what her journey has been about.

Tickets: $15 for general admission, $10 for students. Call the Union Theater box office, (608) 262-2201, for tickets and reservations.

Oliveros’ residency at the Arts Institute is sponsored by the School of Music, the Department of Art and the Women’s Studies and Dance programs.