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Karole Armitage talks ‘Schoenberg in Hollywood’ opera, her days as a punk ballerina, and the lack of female choreographers

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Bruce Weber/courtesy of Karole Armitage

Bruce Weber/courtesy of Karole Armitage

By Wendy Taucher

Karole Armitage, the distinguished choreographer, is directing the world premiere of Schoenberg in Hollywood, composed by Tod Machover with libretto by Simon Robson. The opera, commissioned by Boston Lyric Opera, makes its debut Nov. 14-18 at the Emerson Paramount Center in Boston.

Armitage has choreographed since the 1980s, creating dances for her New York City contemporary company Armitage Gone! Dance, American Ballet Theatre (under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov), Boston Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, and companies around the world. She has strong Boston connections, having collaborated with Diane Paulus of American Repertory Theater, and she has also choreographed Broadway’s Hair, which earned her a Tony nomination, and Cirque du Soleil’s Amaluna. This season, she is an MIT Media Lab Director’s Fellow and in 2015-2016 was a Harvard University Radcliffe Fellow.

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