BAM: The Complete Works

A lush and profusely illustrated history of the country's oldest performing arts center.

BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) is at once the oldest performing arts center in the country and a renowned nexus for contemporary global and local culture. From its opening night in 1861, BAM has forged an unparalleled artistic legacy, emerging in the latter part of twentieth century as the preeminent stage for the most visionary performers of the age. Its standard of excellence has defined and supported the institution through times of triumph as well as turmoil. This strikingly illustrated overview of BAM provides a narrative and visual chronicle of the institution's history and the countless artists integral to its identity, including Enrico Caruso, Isadora Duncan, Sarah Bernhardt, Merce Cunningham, Philip Glass, Pina Bausch, Robert Wilson, Bill T. Jones, Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Robert Lepage, William Christie, Mark Morris, Sam Mendes, and many others who continue to inspire in the new millennium. 200 full-color and 100 black-and-white photographs

Steven Serafin, a leading authority on the arts, is the editor of Continuum Encyclopedias of American and British Literature and Encyclopedia of World Literature in the Twentieth Century. He lives in New York City.