Philip Glass: Akhnaten (Opera) 1983

[micrologus]

From Wiki:

Akhnaten is an opera in three acts based on the life and religious convictions of the pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV), written by the American minimalist composer Philip Glass in 1983. Akhnaten had its world premiere on March 24, 1984 at the Stuttgart State Opera, under the German title Echnaton. Paul Esswood sang the title role, German director Achim Freyer staged the opera in an abstract style with highly ritualistic movements. The American premiere was held on October 12, 1984 at the Houston Grand Opera, where Glass's opera The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 also premiered.
Editorial note: the composer uses the spelling Akhnaten, while the more conventional version is Akhenaten. Given the nature of Egyptian hieroglyphs, the absence of a vowel is not linguistically significant. In this article, the first version refers to the opera and the second to the pharaoh.


According to the composer, this work is the culmination of his two other biographical operas, Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha (about Mohandas Gandhi). These three people — Akhenaten, Einstein and Gandhi — were all driven by an inner vision which altered the age in which they lived, in particular Akhenaten in religion, Einstein in science, and Gandhi in politics.
The text, taken from original sources, is sung in the original languages, linked together with the commentary of a narrator in a modern language, such as English or German. Egyptian texts of the period are taken from a poem of Akhenaten himself, from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and from extracts of decrees and letters from the Amarna period, the seventeen-year period of Akhenaten's rule. Other portions are in Akkadian and Biblical Hebrew. Akhnaten's Hymn to the Sun is sung in the language of the audience.

This opera is realy FANTASTIC

Just ordered the cd

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqANh4QnNxA&feature=related"]YouTube - Akhnaten - Prelude:Refrain,Verse 1,Verse 2[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ruhufue_0&feature=related"]YouTube - The Funeral of Meerkunkhamen[/ame]

[Alpha Centauri]

I have very happy memories of this work, as the UK premiere was staged at ENO while I was working there - by David Freeman, and with Chris Robson in the title role.

I think it's the first of Glass's operas that is successful - EINSTEIN and SATYAGRAHA don't work in the theatre, mostly due to very poor libretti which aren't dramatically thought-out properly, or are - frankly - absurdly pretentious and pseudo-intellectual in the case of SATYAGRAHA. (The idea of Tolstoy appearing at the end of Act I is idiotic - the librettist is at fault, again. How the hell are the audience supposed to know who it is? By reading their program?? What's the point of staging it then? Bad, bad, bad.)

Luckily Glass was persuaded NOT to follow his original idea of having TWO operas at once on two different stages... one about Moses and the other about Akhnaten. This would have been as bad as Satygraha is bad.

In AKHNATEN Glass starts (finally) writing some proper characters instead of two-dimensional cardboard cut-outs. We actually believe in Tye, Nefertiti and Akhnaten as people, and there is some development to their characters during the action. In fact - there is some action

He has also (finally) learned how to write for human voices in AKHNATEN - the vocal writing in SATYAGRAHA is really appallingly bad in many places, by comparison.

The idea of representing the deity Aten by the sound of the trumpet is a genuinely good and operatic device

[micrologus]

Originally Posted by Reiner Torheit

I have very happy memories of this work, as the UK premiere was staged at ENO while I was working there - by David Freeman, and with Chris Robson in the title role.

I think it's the first of Glass's operas that is successful - EINSTEIN and SATYAGRAHA don't work in the theatre, mostly due to very poor libretti which aren't dramatically thought-out properly, or are - frankly - absurdly pretentious and pseudo-intellectual in the case of SATYAGRAHA. (The idea of Tolstoy appearing at the end of Act I is idiotic - the librettist is at fault, again. How the hell are the audience supposed to know who it is? By reading their program?? What's the point of staging it then? Bad, bad, bad.)

Luckily Glass was persuaded NOT to follow his original idea of having TWO operas at once on two different stages... one about Moses and the other about Akhnaten. This would have been as bad as Satygraha is bad.

In AKHNATEN Glass starts (finally) writing some proper characters instead of two-dimensional cardboard cut-outs. We actually believe in Tye, Nefertiti and Akhnaten as people, and there is some development to their characters during the action. In fact - there is some action

He has also (finally) learned how to write for human voices in AKHNATEN - the vocal writing in SATYAGRAHA is really appallingly bad in many places, by comparison.

The idea of representing the deity Aten by the sound of the trumpet is a genuinely good and operatic device

I heard this opera for the first time about 23 years ago. I wonder if it's still performed on stage because I never 'saw' it. That's a pitty!

[Alpha Centauri]

I was in discussion with the publishers about exactly that, in fact.

There have not been any recent productions, although there was one about 4-5 years ago which wasn't fully authorised by the publishers... it had involved a severely reduced scoring, and was a student performance.

It's a pity - this work badly deserves to be heard more often, and it also deserves a proper DVD recording of the entire piece.

[maureen]

the first link isn't working
and imagine if you will
a relative innocent
listening with rapt attention to her musical elders
espouse theory and opinion
critique and criteria
standards and conceptual heights
opening up the second video expecting grand drama
and wondering for a minute if the tinfoil pyre
and gumby statuettes were some form of operatic art unrecognizable
by untrained eyes

bwwwaaaaahhhhhhh

[Alpha Centauri]

opening up the second video expecting grand drama
and wondering for a minute if the tinfoil pyre

The visuals in the second clip are NOT Philip Glass's opera!!

Someone on YouTube has taken a bit of AKHNATEN and made their own video which is NOT a part of the opera at all!

In fact the music here is the Second Tableau of AKHNATEN and is *actually* the Ritual Funeral Dances for Akhnaten's father, Amenhotep III. It shouldn't have any tinfoil in it! I have no idea whom the video refers to - it's not one of Akhnaten's daughters (he had only daughters and no sons - the Amun priesthood, whom he'd driven out with his "New Kingdom" worship of Aten, said this was a curse on him for heresy).

[haydnguy]

Originally Posted by maureen

the first link isn't working
and imagine if you will
a relative innocent
listening with rapt attention to her musical elders
espouse theory and opinion
critique and criteria
standards and conceptual heights
opening up the second video expecting grand drama
and wondering for a minute if the tinfoil pyre
and gumby statuettes were some form of operatic art unrecognizable
by untrained eyes

bwwwaaaaahhhhhhh

Maureen, you can click on the title of the first video and it will take you to the Youtube site where it works.

[haydnguy]

Reiner, go here to the Atlanta opera. They are going to have a performance of it.

Warning: Loud music starts IMMEDIately.

http://www.atlantaopera.org/

[maureen]

oh for pete's sake
i give up
it's stuck at 95% loaded
i think i'll go get loaded (just joking)
i'm abandoning this thread as unlistenable by me
when is the atlanta show?
atlanta is nearly unbearable but i do fly into their every trip i make south and i may be heading that way again in the coming months
so...maybe eliza should go to akhnaten

and wasn't there a phillip glass who was a superrealist painter in new york in the 70's?

off to google

[Alpha Centauri]

Originally Posted by haydnguy

Reiner, go here to the Atlanta opera.

http://www.atlantaopera.org/

Hmm, I get a message telling me what a miscreant I am for not using Internet Explorer I rarely go back to sites like that

I see, though, that (a) AKHNATEN has sold out, which is probably a good thing, and (b) that it's a concert performance (which clearly isn't a good thing).