Constance DeJong’s libretto, written in collaboration with Glass, is more abstract ideas than anything else, and the visuals certainly follow suit.Īnd since there’s no “dialogue,” there’s no need for supertitles. Yet it is neither biography nor hagiography of Ghandi. Satyagraha, which translates as “truth-force,” borrows from ancient Sanskrit religious texts ( Bhagavad Gita), and is sung in that language. It seems the creators wanted to celebrate and remind the world of Ghandi’s ability to take a stand with peace - the same ideals that inspired Martin Luther King, who stands silently with his back to us, slowly reenacting his “I Have a Dream” speech for much of the third act. Named for the idea of nonviolent resistance started by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a.k.a.”Mahatma” Gandhi, this three hour and forty minute opera focuses on Gandhi’s formative years in South Africa between 18, his encounters with Tagore and Tolstoy, and his legacy to the Civil Rights movement. As Ghandi walked ever-so-slowly singing an ascending scale pattern in the Phrygian mode 30 times, it felt more soporific than contemplative. Well, magic didn’t strike thrice last night with Satyagraha: Act I had enough Glassian elements to keep my interest piqued, but it didn’t have me in a trance Act II was phenomenal with amazing visuals and truly narcotic vocals but the excruciating and lulling Act III made me wish I had kept that appointment to have a thousand shards of glass instilled in my left eye. Perhaps there’s something mathematical or perfectly in harmony with nature (or in nature with the harmonies of molecular structure itself), but my experience with LA Opera’s previous presentations of the astounding Einstein on the Beach and the monumental Akhnaten were positively transcendent. What is it about Philip Glass’s operas that have completely captivated me? You would think that all of that minimalism - the spellbinding reiterating arpeggios, unhurried modulations and almost uniform orchestrations - would bore me to tears.
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