Pierre Audi
(c) Erwin Olaf
French-Lebanese theatre director Pierre Audi (*1957) will join The Park Avenue Armory as their new artistic director. The Armory is a not-for-profit cultural institution within the historic Seventh Regiment Armory building located at 643 Park Avenue on New York City’s Upper East Side. Since taking over the building in December 2006, Park Avenue Armory’s mission has been to revitalize the landmark building as a centre for unconventional works in the performing and visual arts, while simultaneously maintaining and restoring the historic aspects of the building. Audi will start his tenure in October 2015 to begin planning for the 2017 season, and will continue to lead the Dutch National Opera, a role he has held since 1988.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Audi founded the Almeida Theatre after graduating from Oxford University, raising funds to restore the derelict building that had once served as a Salvation Army hall. Under his leadership, the Almeida grew into a legendary home for experimental theatre and music, introducing a vast number of then-living composers to the U.K., from John Cage to Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Part and mounting for the first time in the U.K., works by Robert Wilson, Deborah Warner, Simon McBurney, and Robert Lepage, among others.
Appointed as head of the Dutch National Opera in 1988, Audi was the youngest opera leader at the time and today is the longest serving in the world. From 2004 to 2014, Audi served as Artistic Director of the Holland Festival.
