Philip Glass’s Akhnaten Still Shines Brightly at the Coliseum

As Glass read Oedipus and Akhnaten about the Egyptian pharaoh Akhnaten, who ruled Egypt in 1351-1334 BC, he knew he had found his final hero to his operatic trilogy of ‘portrait operas’ he had been formulating, dedicated to the great thinkers of this world. By then, Glass had composed two: Einstein on the beach (on Albert Einstein) in…

Much to admire in Philip Glass’s Satyagraha at ENO

In the past fifty years, avant-garde thinker, artist, composer, Philip Glass, has notched up thirty operas, three more than the prolific Verdi. It’s an amazing achievement for a contemporary living composer and there is no doubt that Glass’s minimalist scores have done much to break open the opera genre.  It is only fitting therefore that…