Van Gogh at Atlas Performing Arts Center

Tortured by inner demons (some called it madness), crushing poverty, the inability to sell his work and a frustrated love life, Vincent Van Gogh was nonetheless capable of a remarkable output, with some 800 paintings and 800 drawings. He left behind 500 letters to his devoted brother Theo, detailing his struggle for his art. Playwright Michael Gordon said of the story "I found it hard to believe that anyone could tell another person, even his brother, the raw emotions that Van Gogh experienced." The great artist's journey culminates in the opera Van Gogh, given texture, color and fervor by the Great Noise Ensemble at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in D.C.