Akhnaten
An opera in three acts for orchestra, chorus and soloists (1983) 180'

Music by Philip Glass. Libretto (Egyptian, Arcadian, Hebrew, and language of the audience) by the composer in association with Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel and Richard Riddell. Vocal text drawn from original sources by Shalom Goldman.

CAST:

4S, 4Mz, Ct, T, Bar, B; STAB Chorus; (ballet in Act II); 2(pic).2(obda 1+2).2.bcl.2/ 4.3.3.1/ 3 perc (tom-t, SD, BD, cym, finger cyms, t.bells, wdbl)/ syn, cel (1 player)/ str (no violins)

COMMISSION:

Comissioned by the Württembergisch Staatstheater, Stuttgart

PREMIERE:

March 24, 1984, Württembergisch Staatstheater Stuttgart conducted by Dennis Russell Davies

NOTES:

The third in the Glass' trilogy of operas about men who changed the world in which they lived through the power of their ideas, "Akhnaten"'s subject is religion. The Pharaoh Akhnaten was the first monotheist in recorded story, and his substitution of a one-god religion for the multi-god worship in use when he came to power was responsible for his violent overthrow. The opera describes the rise, reign, and fall of Akhnaten in a series of tableaus.

PUBLISHER:

Dunvagen Music Publishers

AVAILABLE SCORES:

• Akhnaten at ChesterNovello.com
• Prelude from "Akhnaten" at ChesterNovello.com
• Dance from "Akhnaten" at ChesterNovello.com
• Hymn to the Sun from "Akhnaten" at ChesterNovello.com
• "Trilogy" Sonata for Piano at MusicRoom.com

RELATED RECORDINGS:

• Akhnaten on Sony Masterworks
• DancePieces on Sony Masterworks
• Glass Masters on Sony Masterworks
• Glass Reflections on Orange Mountain Music
• Philip Glass Ensemble Live in Monterrey, Mexico on Orange Mountain Music
• Obras Maestras / Oeuvres Majeures on Sony
• Songs from the Trilogy on Sony Masterworks
• Songs on Sony Classical
• The Essential Philip Glass on Sony Masterworks
• Violin Concerto / Prelude and Dance from Akhnaten / Company on Naxos

RELATED FILMS:

• Looking Glass by Éric Darmon

RELATED BOOKS:

• Singing Archaeology by John Richardson

CATEGORIES:

Opera