Philip Glass' "Satyagraha"

[adriano46]

As I was answering some e-mails and before I checked in here, as there was not much else on TV I turned to NY Channel 13 (PBS) and am fixated with the production they are showing of this opera I never heard about before and its production at the Met.

 

In lyrical sound it is much like Adman's "Nixon in China". The staging is very intriguing although I am not so sure of using Cockney costumes to resemble "untouchables" in India... or am I missing something???

 

Anyone else see this opera or is familiar with it?

[doitb4ugo]

I saw this opera in my local theater earlier in the Met's season. I was not familiar with it before I went but was intrigued by the staging and visual aspects of the production....both were very impressive...the music was so repetative and non-melodic that I found it difficult to enjoy....my opinion only...It seemd to go on much longer than needed to convey the themes and messages...the use of paper was quite imaginative but all in all not an experience I will look for again...

[adriano46]

Yes, in a way I am getting a bit bored with the music and lack of movement - but this was true of Adam's "Nixon in China" which I first heard in 1993 and listened too often enough (admittedly fast-forwarding in some parts). I am struck by the comparisons in style, and agree it seems a bit long but the vocal power of the principle singers is great.

[rguer]

I think it's a very good opera, but you do have to be in the right mood for it. If you are, the music can almost put you into an altered state. If you're not, it's just boring.

 

If you like it, try Einstein On The Beach.

 

I didn't care for Ahknaten, can't say why.

[whipped guy]

I guess I missed this tonight... but really don't think it would have been my thing... still, I would have liked to have seen the production, costumes, etc. I guess my ears are old-fashioned... I really can't take much of anything post Turandot!

[rguer]

I guess I missed this tonight... but really don't think it would have been my thing... still, I would have liked to have seen the production, costumes, etc. I guess my ears are old-fashioned... I really can't take much of anything post Turandot!

 

Listen to the Berio ending sometime. The original Alfani ending is also worth hearing.

[adriano46]

Well, yes Turandot is always a favorite of mine with eirher ending. Have seen a number of productions mounted in Italy and here in the US and it was the very first opera production I saw in Italy when I began attending opera there (here, the first was Madame Butterfly).

 

On the PBS production, I was listening to it as I did some work, and it was haunting the way a line or phrase of music was repeatedly throughout, which is why I heard so many tones familiar to me from John Adam's work. The later acts did seem to get better in my opinion, and had moments of great high interest, but it is not one I would sit through to watch a second time.

[uwsman2]

I don't think "minimalism" is well suited to opera. That said, I attended the first production of Glass's Akhnaton at NYC Opera way back when and was absolutely mesmerized by it. But then I got the recording and could never stay focused for more than about ten minutes due to boredom with the repetition, and when City Opera revived it a few seasons later I drifted off to dreamland early in the first act.

 

Glass's The Voyage at the Met was a big snooze for me, so I decided to skip the new production of Satyagraha - which I understand was a big hit when it was first produced at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) way, way, back.

 

Adams' Nixon in China kept me engaged due to the liveliness of the production, although there were a few scenes that I thought could have been tightened with profit.

[rguer]

I wonder if Turandot holds the record for the most endings for an opera. There's the original Alfano ending, the second Alfano ending (the one that's usually performed), and the Berio ending, in addition to at least one ending that has been written but not recorded.

[whipped guy]

I wonder if Turandot holds the record for the most endings for an opera. There's the original Alfano ending, the second Alfano ending (the one that's usually performed), and the Berio ending, in addition to at least one ending that has been written but not recorded.

I have not heard the Berio ending... and I am now curious about this "other" unrecorded ending. As for the two Alfano endings, the one usually performed (and often in a somewhat truncated version) sounds quite tame compared to the bombastic original version... which ending seems to be a bit over the top, but does indeed bring things to a rousing conclusion. still, I always hear a different orchestral color that is not quite totally Puccini in either ending... and I once heard a lecture that compared Alfano's ending with portions of his other operas to show the similarities.

 

Still, for all its late romanticism, Puccini's score is quite dissonant at times... and at other times very minimalist as well... so in a sense while it is considered by some to be the "last opera", it also looks forward to what was to come...

[rguer]

I've heard the catty remark that Puccini died partway through Turandot because he couldn't figure out how to end it.

 

I like the Berio. It's definitely of our time, but for me that's not a problem - it's like with architecture, old buildings can have modern additions and still look good, if the additions are done right.