Glass' 'Satyagraha'
Synopsis
On today\u2019s date in 1980, Satyagraha, an opera by the American composer Philip Glass had its premiere in Rotterdam by the Netherlands Opera.
Four years earlier, Glass\u2019 first opera, Einstein on the Beach, had scored a big hit not only in Avignon, France, where it had premiered, but also at a special, non-subscription performance at New York\u2019s Metropolitan Opera.
But Einstein had been written for Glass\u2019s own electronic keyboard ensemble, while the new opera Satyagraha was written for the more traditional opera pit orchestra of strings, winds, and brass \u2014 in some ways, a new language for Glass to learn.
And speaking of new languages, for opera singers used to singing in Italian, French or German, the libretto for Satyagraha, crafted by Glass and Constance DeJong was to be sung in ancient Sanskrit, based on texts from the Bhagavad Gita.
\u201cSatyagraha\u201d is a Sanskrit word meaning \u201ctruth force.\u201d While the text is ancient, the story of the opera is set in modern times and deals with Mahatma Gandhi's early years in South Africa and his development of non-violent protest as a political tool.
Satyagraha is the second in Glass\u2019 opera trilogy about men who changed the world: Einstein, Gandhi and the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhnaten.
Music Played in Today's Program
Philip Glass (b. 1937): Satyagraha; New York City Opera; Christopher Keene, conductor; Sony 39672