Going to the Metropolitan Opera.....

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Wish me luck. I need an Opera for Dummies book if it exists. This is an historic event for me as I swore I would never go to an opera. But the draw of Philip Glass's music was too much to resist.

For those who don't know, Philip Glass is a contemporary composer who is still alive. His work is considered by many as minimalism. Basically, it is repetitious variations on the same melodies, if you will.

Guess I gotta go buy a suit for this one.
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Went to see this last night. I'd rate it as an excellent experience. It started out with running into Philip Glass himself in the willcall area for picking up tickets. He is very recognizable as his image is the subject of many contemporary paintings by Chuck Close that typically find their way into all of the mega-museums. As usual, I am more timid about celebrities and tend not to approach them. It is always fascinating to run into them while going about our ways.

To be honest, I could have done without the theater aspects of it. I also did a broadway show with my daughter and nieces this past summer. Ok, so it was Lion king . But Broadway and Opera are both historic events for me, as I'd not usually interested.

Satya Graha is the name of Philip Glass's opera, it is translated from Sanskrit as 'peaceful resistance. The Opera is about Ghandi's early years in South Africa when he found he voice as a civil rights revolutionary come almost spiritual leader. The music at Satya Graha was excellent as I had expected. Mesmerizing melodies and variations onto melodies, repeated over and over, slowly morphing until they surprisingly turn into something entirely different. Both the Lady and I woke up this morning with the same circular whirl of violins imprinted in our memories, playing over and over again.

I can scratch Metropolitan Opera House off my list as things to do in the city. I'd recommend this experience to anyone.
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Satyagraha is pretty staggering - that was the first piece that got me interested in Philip Glass years ago. The bit where the cello kicks in during the passage commonly called 'Protest' is one of my favorite moments in modern American music. And, I suppose it goes without saying that the subject of the trilogy only grows more relevant as time goes on. Did they project subtitles for the Bhagavad Gita?

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The did project subtitles. There were so many visual layers going on the stage, I could hardly keep up with everything that was going on. Personally, the stagecraft seemed to be quite a bit muddy. I saw Philip again at intermission and I probably should have said something about it.
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Did you see either of the two other operas in this trilogy? I'd imagine the music is excellent and I would definitely go see them if given an opportunity.
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Akhnaten is definitely worth seeing, though Satyagraha is better in my opinion. Einstein on the Beach, however, is bit more modern in the gimmicky sense of the term, and I can't recommend it. Chalk it up to the influence of Robert Wilson, who is fine in his own right but, stylistically, the two didn't quite mesh for me.

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High five on Robert Wilson. I had a professor in college who fancied herself just as aloof. We did not get along at all.
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I'd put Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (in some adaptation) at Lincoln Center on my list of things to do in NYC.
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