Philip Glass's seminal 1980 opera Satyagraha returns to English National Opera tonight for a nine-performance run at the London Coliseum through March 10. This follows the production's 2007 London premiere and a 2008 run at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Times of London called the production "a masterwork of theatrical intensity and integrity." The Guardian called it “a thing of wonder."
Philip Glass's seminal 1980 opera Satyagraha returns to English National Opera tonight for the first of nine performances at the London Coliseum, running through March 10. This follows the production's 2007 London premiere and succeeding performances that broke ENO's records for contemporary opera and a 2008 run at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Selections from the 1985 recording of the opera appear on 2008's Glass Box: A Nonesuch Retrospective.
Satyagraha is a mesmerizing musical meditation on Mahatma Gandhi's early years in South Africa and his spiritual progress towards a philosophy of non-violent protest. For this revival, Alan Oke reprises his performance as the young political activist whose beliefs would go on to change the course of history.
The production is helmed by the award-winning director-designer partnership of Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, who pair Glass's music to an unforgettable visual display that The Times of London called "a masterwork of theatrical intensity and integrity."
Reviewing the 2007 London premiere, The Guardian called the production “a thing of wonder,” noting that “the whole thing serves as a monumental affirmation of human dignity at a time when many have begun to question its very existence—and for that, we must be infinitely grateful.”
For tickets and information on the current run, including a video interview with the composer, director Phelim McDermott, and singer Elena Xanthoudakis, visit eno.org.
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