Composer Louis Andriessen's monumental work De Materie receives its North American stage premiere with performances at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City beginning tonight and running through March 30. The production, directed by Heiner Goebbels, is performed by International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), led by conductor Peter Rundel, along with ChorWerk Ruhr. The Los Angeles Times' Mark Swed, reviewing the US West Coast premiere of the concert version of De Materie in 2014, called it "the Dutch opera that the world at large had long been waiting for."

Consisting of four distinct musical essays, De Materie was inspired by the concept of "matter." The musical style is a synthesis of extremes, incorporating both "high" and "low" arts, a feature characteristic of Andriessen's work. Nonesuch Records released a double album of the complete piece in 1996, performed by Asko|Schönberg, with members of the Netherlands Chamber Choir, and conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw, who had led the piece in its world premiere in Amsterdam in 1989. To download the album, head to iTunes or the Nonesuch Store now.

In conjunction with the premiere production, the Park Avenue Armory presents a number of related events this week: an Artists Studio set for two pianos with Andriessen and Jason Moran, on Wednesday; a conversation with Goebbels and others moderated by WNYC's John Schaefer, on Thursday; a second discussion led by Schaefer with composers Donnacha Dennehy, Julia Wolfe, and Nathan Michel on the impact of De Materie, on Friday; and an Artist Talk with Andriessen, Goebbels, Rundel, and Park Avenue Armory Artistic Director Pierre Audi on the creation of De Materie moderated by dramaturg Cori Ellison, on Saturday.

For all the details and tickets to any of these events, visit armoryonpark.org.