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It's the latest incarnation of the Lincoln Center Festival, with 85 performances by artists from eight countries scheduled for July 6-25. This year's roster, announced Tuesday, spices its rundown of classical and avant-garde events with some unusually high-profile pop-oriented performances. Popular programming has always been part of the nine-year-old festival, but it "may be a little more visible than some years," agreed its director, Nigel Redden. Definitely in the "more visible" category will be the New York premiere of "Rebirth of a Nation" (July 23-24), a multi-media remix by DJ Spooky (aka Paul D. Miller) with footage from D.W. Griffith's 1915 film "Birth of a Nation" and a "musicscape" of jungle and hip-hop samples. More music comes in a three-concert (July 13, 15 and 17) Costello series exploring his work in the jazz, rock and classical genres. from the Center's site, the press release: A 3-concert series featuring the work of British composer and popular music singer, Elvis Costello (July 13, 15, 17, in Avery Fisher Hall), will celebrate a wide variety of his musical passions and collaborations: July 13 focuses on songs composed and arranged for orchestra with the North American Debut of the legendary 52-member Netherlands Metropole Orkest; July 15 features Costello with his band, The Imposters, for a night of rock 'n roll, country 'n soul; and finally, July 17 offers the North American Premiere of Costello's Il Sogno, Costello's first full-length orchestral work, which will be performed by the Brooklyn Philharmonic. ELVIS COSTELLO Three-concert series Avery Fisher Hall, 65th Street and Broadway Tuesday, July 13 at 8 p.m. Netherlands Metropole Orkest (North American Debut) Thursday, July 15 at 8 p.m. The Imposters Saturday, July 17 at 8 p.m. Il SOGNO (North America Premiere) Brooklyn Philharmonic Tickets: $65, $50 Continuing its successful tradition of unique retrospectives honoring some of the most influential artists of our time, Lincoln Center Festival 2004 celebrates the vast and varied musical contributions of Elvis Costello. The 2004 Oscar Nominee for Best Song ("Scarlet Tide" from Cold Mountain written with T. Bone Burnett) marks his approaching 50th birthday and his recent move to New York with three distinct programs illustrating his incredible musical range. In the spirit of Leonard Bernstein, Costello has proven himself as a collaborator in the truest, most creative sense in a career spanning more than 25 years. Though best known for his performances and recordings with The Attractions, The Imposters, and with pianist Steve Nieve, his musical curiosity has also led to acclaimed collaborations with Burt Bacharach, the Brodsky Quartet, Paul McCartney, Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, guitarist Bill Frisell, composer Roy Nathanson and the Mingus Big Band. As Artistic Director of London's South Bank Meltdown Festival in 1995, Costello worked with Gunther Schuller, the Irish choral group Anuna and Jeff Buckley. Costello's songs have been recorded by a diverse range of artists including George Jones, Chet Baker, Johnny Cash, Howard Tate, the gospel vocal group The Fairfield Four, and the viol consort Fretwork with countertenor Michael Chance. In 2003 he began a songwriting partnership with his wife, the jazz pianist and singer, Diana Krall, resulting in six new compositions for her forthcoming record release, The Girl in the Other Room. The first program on July 13 highlights Costello's ventures into orchestral song. The legendary Netherlands Metropole Orkest makes its North American Debut in an exclusive collaboration that will only be presented at the Lincoln Center Festival and this summer's North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. The 52-piece jazz orchestra, renowned for its expansive musical range - from jazz and pop, to film scores and classical music - will perform with Costello and pianist Steve Nieve, in variety of works ranging from small ensembles to full orchestra. In addition to Costello's own orchestrations, arrangers represented in the program will include Vince Mendoza, Burt Bacharach, Steve Nieve, Bill Frisell and Sy Johnson. The program will include selections from Painted from Memory, Costello's 1998 Grammy Award-winning collaboration with Burt Bacharach and songs from the 2003 Deutsche Gramophone release North, heard for the first time in full orchestral arrangements. Works will range from surprising interpretations of Costello classics such as "Watching the Detectives," "Clubland" and "Almost Blue," to previously unperformed songs, including Costello's new lyrics for the Billy Strayhorn composition, "Blood Count." Costello joins a long list of music luminaries who have collaborated with the Metropole Orkest since it was founded in 1945, including, Tony Bennett, Bill Evans, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Mel Torme, and Sarah Vaughan. The Metropole Orkest will be conducted by Jim McNeely, a New Yorker and founder of the Vanguard Band. The second Costello program on July 15 will feature Costello and his band The Imposters. Growing out of their acclaimed performances of 2003 at the Royce Hall at UCLA (marking the conclusion of Costello's tenure as Visiting Artist-in-Residence) and at the Montreal Jazz Festival, Costello, pianist Steve Nieve, bassist Davey Faragher and drummer Pete Thomas, will again turn to the more unusual areas of their vast repertoire. Featured songs from those included "My Dark Life" (from Costello's collaboration with Brian Eno) and Mose Allison's "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy," as well as many "hidden" gems from Costello's catalogue of more than 300 songs. By July 2004, the band will have returned from new recording sessions and it is likely that a number of new songs may be heard for the first time at the Lincoln Center Festival. The Costello Celebration concludes on July 17 with the North American Premiere of Il Sogno, Costello's first full-length, orchestral work. The music was originally commissioned in 2000 by the Italian dance company Aterballetto for their adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Following its premiere in Bologna with the Orchestra del Teatro Communale, the ballet was staged throughout Italy, Germany, France, and Russia. However, for the sole U.S. performance in 2001 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the ballet was danced to a taped score. Il Sogno was written in ten weeks across 200-pages in pencil, without computers or musical collaborators. The concluding 170 pages were written directly into full score without the creation of sketches. Fully revised and amended to flow as a purely orchestral work, Il Sogno was subsequently recorded at Abbey Road Studios by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson-Thomas. It will be released on Deutsche Grammophon in Fall 2004. Critics described Il Sogno as "fluid and tuneful" (Le Figaro) "with echoes of folk, swing, 'cultivated music' (Rossini and Prokofiev) and jazz, refined and infused with humor." (delteatro.it) For Lincoln Center Festival, Il Sogno will be performed by the Brooklyn Philharmonic. TICKETS for Festival 2004 go on sale April 26 for multiple-event buyers via CenterCharge, 212-721-6500, on line at www.lincolncenter.org and in person, at the Avery Fisher Hall Festival box office, 65th Street and Broadway. Single tickets go on sale June 2 (at all of the above outlets).