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Philip Glass

AKHNATEN

Akhenaton is the son of the powerful pharaoh Amenophis III. When he reaches the throne, he realizes that the clergy are corrupt and take advantage of the offerings reserved for the gods. This leads him to question not only the foundations of the religious tradition, but also the organization of Egyptian society as a whole, thus provoking the uprising of the religious elites and the people against him.

The life and mystical beliefs of the pharaoh Akhenaton inspired Philip Glass an intense and captivating opera until now not produced on the New York scene, with acrobatic choreographies perfectly aligned with the score. Another first, that of the talented conductor Karen Kamensek who officiates for the first time at the Met.

Director Phelim McDermott tackles another one of Philip Glass’s masterpieces, following the now-legendary Met staging of Satyagraha. Star countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo is the title pharaoh, the revolutionary ruler who transformed ancient Egypt, with the striking mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges in her Met debut as his wife, Nefertiti. To match the opera’s hypnotic, ritualistic music, McDermott has created an arresting vision that includes a virtuosic company of acrobats and jugglers. Karen Kamensek conducts in her Met debut.

conductor Reine Tye Nefertiti Karem Dísella J’Nai Kamensek Lárusdóttir Bridges

soprano Mezzo- soprano

Akhnaten Grand prêtre Horemhab Anthony d’Amon Will Roth Aaron Liverman Costanzo Blake baritone conter-tenor tenor

DATE : Saturday, November 23 2019 Time : 6.25 pm Opera in 3 acts by Philip Glass

Estimated run time : 3h21mn

Acte 1 Entracte Acte 2 Entracte Acte 3 Fin de 49mn 30 mn 50 mn 30 mn 42 mn l’opéra

AKHNATEN

World Premiere: Stuttgart Opera House, March 24, 1984.

The operatic work does not present itself as a historical narrative of the life of this heretical pharaoh, but as a dive into its esoteric universe, which the captivating music of the American composer evokes with mysticism and grandiloquence. And the staging, succeeds with force and intelligence, to unify independent scenes to enrich the narration and align this ancient world with our contemporary world.

The first act shows the accession of Akhenaton to the throne of Egypt. The narrator, an ambiguous character who represents as much Amenophis III, the father, as a storyteller, expresses himself in the language of the listener.

During the dark and captivating opening, as Philip Glass knows how to compose them from whirling cuddles of strings and bassoons, a crowd of various characters describes singular portraits of human beings in revolt or else souls and disoriented, violent even - one sees a terrorist equipped with a Kalashnikov - a prostitute stylized by a huge mouth, in short, the universe of a current decadent city.

The big traditional scene that follows is then presented as illustrative of the diversity of the cults practiced at this time. The funeral of Amenophis III takes place according to a primitive rhythm magnificently rendered by the opera chorus.

It's like being in Indiana Jones and the Cursed Temple - this feeling of movie vibe is reinforced both by the tam-tams of music, and by the use of a video inlay that shows what characters live inside the city - and the transformation of the mummified narrator provokes surprise when the unwinding of the mortuary bandages reveals Anthony Rost Costanzo with the solemn features of the new pharaoh.

Setting

At Thebes, Akhnaten is crowned new Pharaoh of Egypt.

Along with his wife Nerfertiti and his mother Queen Tye, this young pharaoh will confront his era with new beliefs by imposing the worship of a unique god, Aton .

Music

Philip Glass - who has tried his hand at all forms of music (pop, film music, rock, electronic music) - must have had the most successful career of all American composers.

His lyric work Akhnaten - premiered in Stuttgart in 1984 - is the third part of a trilogy dedicated to personalities who, according to Glass, have changed the course of history, and whose first two were Einstein on the Beach (whose production original was resumed with great success at Théâtre du Châtelet in 2013) and Satyagraha. Satyagraha (Sanskrit: स配याग्रह; satya: "truth", āgraha: "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or holding onto truth, or truth force, is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. It is not the same as passive resistance, and advocates resisting non-violently over using violence set up by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

But can we call Akhnaten an opera? It is a musical fresco that includes relatively few solo vocals, consisting of orchestral pieces and miming moments, sometimes with a spoken dialogue, in the vernacular of the public - according to the wish of Glass, but also in ancient Egyptian, Hebrew or Akkadian.

The plot is the destiny of Pharaoh Amenophis IV who, under the name of Akhenaton, imposed the worship of a single god, Aton, whose son he called himself, just as, renouncing polygamy, he contented himself with the beautiful Nefertiti. Perhaps the historical reality is more complicated because the Pharaoh's (carnal?) Close ties with his mother, Queen Tye, and even with his daughters, the strong personality of Nefertiti, more attached to the advent than he is. the worship of Aton and, perhaps, the complex of castration of this sovereign with effeminate representations, are so many enigmas. More than monotheism, it seems, it is the setting aside of the too powerful priests of Amon, which interested the sovereign. As the first monotheist in the universe, Akhenaton remains in any case an important reformer of history; Freud even suggested that Moses was one of his disciples ...

As the carving of the libretto makes a choice oriented in the historical sources - funeral of Amenophis III, coronation of Akhenaton, foundation of the holy City, family life, fall of the monarch who neglected to send reinforcements to his troops, guided tour ruins in the twentieth century: all this duly commented by the Scribe (spoken role, remarkably held by the famous Dutch comedian Geert Van Rampelberg) - the viewer is guided by the chronological progression.

Philip Glass chose to write the title role for the countertenor voice. Her extremely personal writing strives to combine the sounds and tones of Western music with the technique of Indian music. It has often been described by the terms "minimalist" or even "simplistic". These are in any case broad motives repeated at great length. A large traditional orchestra deprived of its violins gives the music its dark colors. Instrumental solos have a great deal of expression; Glass confides them mainly to flutes, trombones and trumpets. Added to this is a discrete use of the electronic synthesizer. The "Hymn to Aton" sung by Akhenaton, his duet with Nefertiti, and the final trio with Queen Tye are moments of pure lyricism, not so far removed, for this rarefaction of the sound material, Bellinian Belcanto; besides, the air of the High Priest of Amon and the choruses may remember Norma ...

Composer Philip Glass 1937 –

Philip Glass, born January 31, 1937 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a musician and composer of contemporary music. He is considered one of the most influential composers of the late twentieth century. With his contemporaries Terry Riley and Steve Reich, he is one of the pioneers and one of the most prominent representatives of minimalist music, including repetitive school, and classical music from the United States.

If his first works (until 1974) are typically repetitive and minimalist, they will show, later, a stylistic evolution. He prefers to use, for the following works, the expression "music with repetitive structures", indicating that the repetitive aspect is no longer preponderant. His latest works are far removed from the minimalist current and he currently describes himself as a classical composer, well versed in harmony and counterpoint, having studied Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert.

He has composed works for ensemble, operas, symphonies, concertos, film scores and solo works.

Philip Glass has many friends among artists, writers, musicians and conductors, including Richard Serra, Chuck Close, Doris Lessing, Allen Ginsberg, Errol Morris, Bob Wilson, JoAnne Akalaitis, Moondog, John Moran, Actors Bill Treacher and Peter Dean, Godfrey Reggio, Ravi Shankar, Linda Ronstadt, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Patti Smith, conductor Dennis Russell Davies, and musician Aphex Twin, all of whom collaborated with him. Recent contributors include New York friends Woody Allen and Montrealers Leonard Cohen.

He is by far the most live opera composer in the world.

Synopsis

ACT I

Year 1 of Akhnaten’s reign. Thebes.

Funeral of Amenhotep III The opera begins with the death of Amenhotep III. We see him first revealed both as a corpse and as a ghostly figure, reciting words taken from the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

During the ceremony, we see a sacred ritual performed in which the body’s organs are carefully taken out and placed into canopic jars and the body is wrapped and embalmed. A ceremony takes place that represents a ritual occurring in the Book of the Dead, in which the pharaoh’s heart is weighed against a feather; if his heart is as light as this, it will ensure that Amenhotep will travel through into the afterlife. Coronation of Akhnaten The figure of Amenhotep’s son steps forward and the coronation ceremony begins. The new pharaoh is dressed in sacred robes, and the crowns representing Upper and Lower Egypt are brought together to symbolize Amenhotep IV’s power over all of Egypt. Once he is crowned, the new pharaoh rises up the stairs to make his first pronouncement. The Window of Appearances At the Window of Appearances, the pharaoh reveals his intentions to form a monotheistic religion. He changes his name from Amenhotep IV, meaning “spirit of Amon,” to Akhnaten, meaning “spirit of Aten.” Aten, the sun god, is glorified by Akhnaten, his wife Nefertiti, and Queen Tye, his mother. As the trio makes their pronouncement at the window, the sun rises behind them.

ACT II

Years 5 to 15. Thebes and Akhetaten.

The Temple Akhnaten and Queen Tye begin to make the changes that he has promised. He leads a revolt to banish the old religion and replace it with his own. Akhnaten enters the temple and finds the priests performing the old religious rituals. Akhnaten banishes them and forms the new order of Aten. Akhnaten and Nefertiti Akhnaten and Nefertiti affirms their love for each other. The City The site for a new city is chosen carefully. The new city of Akhetaten—“The City of the Horizon of Aten”—is built in praise of the new religion. Hymn Akhnaten sings a private prayer to his god. His vision of a new religion and a new society is complete.

ACT III

Year 17 and the present. Akhetaten.

The Family Akhnaten and Nefertiti dwell in an insular world of their own creation with their six daughters. Meanwhile, Queen Tye is uneasy. She senses unrest beyond the city’s walls. Crowds gather outside the gates, and letters arrive expressing increasing concern about Akhnaten’s self- imposed isolation.

Attack and Fall The priests of Amon emerge from the gathering crowds and break through the palace doors. The daughters try to escape and are drawn away from Akhnaten and into the swelling mass. Queen Tye and Nefertiti are also separated from Akhnaten, who is finally killed. The Ruins Akhnaten’s father mourns his son’s death. Meanwhile, the new pharaoh, the young Tutankhamun, is crowned in a ceremony similar to that of his father, and the old polytheistic religion is restored. Intercutting this ceremony, a group of modern-day students is listening to a lecture given by a professor. Epilogue The ghosts of Akhnaten, Nefertiti, and Queen Tye are heard from the ancient world once again.

"Akhenaton, Gandhi and Einstein - three men who revolutionized the thought and events of their time by the power of an internal vision.

This is the theme of this trilogy.

Einstein- the scientific man, Gandhi - the politician; Akhenaton the religious man. These themes (science, politics, religion) are, to a certain extent, shared by all three and they inform our Akhenaton ideological and real worlds. Nefertiti

Philip Glass