Glass - Satyagraha - Act II: Tagore - Confrontation & Rescue (1/2)

PHILIP GLASS (b. 1937)

Satyagraha

Act II: Rabindranath Tagore

Scene 1 - Confrontation and Rescue (1896)

Performed by the New York City Opera Chorus & New York City Opera Orchestra
Conducted by Christopher Keene

http://www.philipglass.com/

*Satyagraha (English pronunciation: /sʌtˈjɑːɡrəhə/, Sanskrit satyāgraha "insistence on truth") is an opera in three acts for orchestra, chorus and soloists, composed by Philip Glass, with a libretto by Glass and Constance de Jong. The opera is loosely based on the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, and is the second part of Glass's "Portrait Trilogy" of operas about men who changed the world, which also includes Einstein on the Beach and Akhnaten. Philip Glass's style can broadly be described as minimalist, but the music in Satyagraha is somewhat more expansive than is implied by that label. The cast of the opera includes 2 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 2 tenors, a baritone and 2 basses and a large SATB chorus. The orchestra is strings and woodwinds only, no brass or percussion.

The title of the opera refers to Gandhi's concept of non-violent resistance to injustice, Satyagraha, and the text, from the Bhagavad Gita, is sung in the original Sanskrit. In performance, translation is usually provided in supertitles. As the passages are generally repeated, the DVD provides the full text at the beginning of each scene.

Satyagraha was commissioned by the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, and was first performed at the Stadsschouwburg (Municipal Theatre) there on September 5, 1980 by the Netherlands Opera and the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bruce Ferden.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical
• philip
• glass
• satyagraha
• amhisa
• mohandas
• mahatma
• gandhi
• conclusion
• protest
• minimalism
• einstein
• on
• the
• beach

[newFranzFerencLiszt]

?..

[HARMONICO101]

@newFranzFerencLiszt my musical taste is broader than some would suspect. :)

[blindmagi]

@oystermind Yeah, I just saw that today! It fit so well, I didn't realize that it wasn't originally written like that. Very clever on the director's part.

[UncomfortableSilence]

Man, what is that picture of?

[TheShareplay]

I bought the boxed CBS Masterworks CD Recorded Digitally Satyagraha years ago. A novice I had know idea what a work of art the entire opera is. Best of all it gives the historical background of Mohandas K. Gandhi all with translation and lyrics of the entire opera in Sanskrit, French, English and German! Wow ......I love it

[avidfan01]

I never thought I would appreciate Glass. I am not sure I would, if I only heard it. But the brilliant interpretation by the incomparable Metropolitan and its soloists gave me a totally new perspective on the music of Glass. Thank you, Met.

[avidfan01]

@SoldanCro Maybe not significantly, but it was somewhat slower.

[SoldanCro]

@oystermind but it was significantly slower in the Met performance, wasn't it?

[pmckinleyiii]

This was my favorite part of the whole opera.. Amazing scene.

[RousettusAegyptiacus]

@oystermind Yes, I saw it too, what a brilliant scene!

[oystermind]

In the new Met staging the repeated syllable is "ha ha ha". It is interpereted as the derisive laughted directed by the crowd at Gandhi.