Philip Glass’s opera "Satyagraha"

[Bogey]

Disclaimer: I know as much about opera as I do about nuclear physics, which is less than nothing.  Now for my post.

This is my first thread that I believe I have ever started in the Opera section of GMG, but felt compelled to.  I more often than not take in the Met's weekly broadcast as our local classical station fortunately carries it.  At this time of day I am usually out doing yard work and trying to make our flower beds look more presentable.  I have found that whatever the opera is, it usually goes well with what I find to be an enjoyable toil.  Then, opera is dropped for me until next week without any further thought.  However, this may have changed yesterday with the performance of "Satyagraha".  I was captured from the get go, dropped my rake to post it on the listening thread, and got little done in the way of work while outside and listening.  I was just wondering if anyone else enjoyed it as much as I did, and eventhough without the moderator I would have no idea what was going on, the music simply blew me away.  Who knows, maybe I will look back on this Saturday as the day Mr. Glass truly captured my attention for this genre of music that eventually lead to my conversion that opera may no longer be just a weekly/fleeting listening experience.  Would like to hear your thoughts and hope this post was deserving of a thread.  If it needs to be attached elsewhere I understand completely as I have no context as to previous threads already begun in this section of GMG.

Here is a NY Times review:



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/arts/music/14saty.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Mark G. Simon]

I heard the last scene of the opera on the radio while driving home yesterday afternoon. I found it annoying at first, then I got drawn into it. As always with Glass, you have to redirect your attention from the vertical and horizontal axes, to the fourth axis, which is time.

The vocal writing in the ensembles sounds very taxing, especially with the sopranos sitting on a high A for long stretches. The soprano had a shaky vibrato, which was in itself annoying. I enjoyed the guy singing Gandhi.

[12tone.]

Phillip Glass and opera don't seem to go together very well    Repetition much?

[Catison]

Phillip Glass and opera don't seem to go together very well    Repetition much?

Wrong.

[Bogey]

There does not seem to be an in-print recording of this Catison.  Am I correct here?

[johnQpublic]

Oh dear God.

I rarely turn my car radio on but yesteday (Sat. afternoon) I did as I ran around town. I knew right away it was Philip Glass but not which opera.

The repetition of mindless simplicity was unrelenting.

Oh dear God.

Maybe it would be better seeing it.....maybe.....but then again.......

[Catison]

There does not seem to be an in-print recording of this Catison.  Am I correct here?

I haven't checked in awhile, but it probably is out of print.  Something tells me, with the way Glass is, that he will rerelease it soon.

[Bogey]

I haven't checked in awhile, but it probably is out of print.  Something tells me, with the way Glass is, that he will rerelease it soon.

That would be excellent.  Let me know if you hear anything.  I wonder if a new recording would be done, or the old one on the CBS label will be re-released.  I believe you can get it from Arkive, but it is a cdr.  It will be interesting to get Bruce's take after he sees it live in a couple days.

[Sean]

Hi there Bogey. I started listening to music 25 years ago and eventually came to the conlusion that minimalism's all that's left, as I said on a thread once. The form is extremely interesting in its relations with the mind's information processing procedures, making it potentially immensely compelling, one of the best examples being Satyagraha . The recording on Sony fortunately is a fantastic achievement and I've played it countless times: it's terrific in the car, with the sounds enlivened somewhat, being bounced off the walls. The companion operas of Einstein and Akhnaten are not quite as involving and inhabit different sound worlds, but the works from the early 80s here generally have a cult following. You should get hold of Koyannisqqatsi also- or ask Catison, he's keen if I remember...

[Bogey]

Oh dear God.

I rarely turn my car radio on but yesteday (Sat. afternoon) I did as I ran around town. I knew right away it was Philip Glass but not which opera.

The repetition of mindless simplicity was unrelenting.

Oh dear God.

Maybe it would be better seeing it.....maybe.....but then again.......

Bruce said one of his friends equated this opera with water torture.   I liked it though, but I can see why some would not.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Bruce said one of his friends equated this opera with water torture.   I liked it though, but I can see why some would not.

I did not like it too much, and I spent close to four hours sitting in the balcony of the Met yesterday watching and listening to it. Very thin musically and static dramatically, despite good performances and a staging that showed considerable imagination. That little ascending Phrygian scale at the end must have repeated some 30-40 times, more I think than on the recording - though I'm not in a hurry to give it another spin and count.

I bet he could have cut 4 of those ascending scales and it wouldn't have made any difference.

Maybe 5.

[Bogey]

I did not like it too much, and I spent close to four hours sitting in the balcony of the Met yesterday watching and listening to it. Very thin musically and static dramatically, despite good performances and a staging that showed considerable imagination. That little ascending Phrygian scale at the end must have repeated some 30-40 times, more I think than on the recording - though I'm not in a hurry to give it another spin and count.

I bet he could have cut 4 of those ascending scales and it wouldn't have made any difference.

Maybe 5.

All I could hear is applause on the radio, but this may be a bit misleading.  What was you take of the audiences impression, in general, compared to other performances you may have seen at the Met?

[Catison]

I did not like it too much, and I spent close to four hours sitting in the balcony of the Met yesterday watching and listening to it. Very thin musically and static dramatically, despite good performances and a staging that showed considerable imagination. That little ascending Phrygian scale at the end must have repeated some 30-40 times, more I think than on the recording - though I'm not in a hurry to give it another spin and count.

I bet he could have cut 4 of those ascending scales and it wouldn't have made any difference.

Maybe 5.

And here I always wanted 4 more repetitions.  Maybe 5.

[Sean]

I did not like it too much, and I spent close to four hours sitting in the balcony of the Met yesterday watching and listening to it. Very thin musically and static dramatically, despite good performances and a staging that showed considerable imagination. That little ascending Phrygian scale at the end must have repeated some 30-40 times, more I think than on the recording - though I'm not in a hurry to give it another spin and count.

I bet he could have cut 4 of those ascending scales and it wouldn't have made any difference.

Maybe 5.

Not to single you out here, but this is a total misunderstanding of what the music's about.

[Wendell_E]

There does not seem to be an in-print recording of this Catison.  Am I correct here?

Yes, the CBS recording (which does cut some of the repetitions) is out of print, but it is available from ArchivMusic.com as one of their ArchivCDs (http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=2975).  Unfortunately, I had to make a trip over to Pensacola that afternoon, since all the radio stations along the route have dropped the Met broadcasts.  I consoled myself with listening to the CBS recording  in the car (I have the original, non-Archiv release).

[BachQ]

What's Bogey doing in opera/vocal?  We must have an imposter in our midst.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Not to single you out here, but this is a total misunderstanding of what the music's about.

Total, eh? then no doubt you can enlighten me.

One of the funnier comments from that Internet stinkpit, rec.music.opera:

Wanna die of torture???Tune in the Met broadcast of
Saggygrahahahahaha...you could PLOTZ!!!!!

and I thought Bach was dull?

[Catison]

Total, eh? then no doubt you can enlighten me.

One of the funnier comments from that Internet stinkpit, rec.music.opera:

I have given up trying to describe to people how to listen to Glass's music.  Unfortunately, it is one of those things you either get right away or you don't.  It is simply a different listening experience than Verdi or Puccini or Prokofiev, in that there is no 4th dimension.  There is no narrative, even musically.  It is about being in a moment, and letting yourself experience that moment for everything its worth.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I have given up trying to describe to people how to listen to Glass's music.  Unfortunately, it is one of those things you either get right away or you don't.  It is simply a different listening experience than Verdi or Puccini or Prokofiev, in that there is no 4th dimension.  There is no narrative, even musically.  It is about being in a moment, and letting yourself experience that moment for everything its worth.

And perhaps it is entirely possible to get all of that while thinking there's not really much to get.

[(poco) Sforzando]

All I could hear is applause on the radio, but this may be a bit misleading.  What was you take of the audiences impression, in general, compared to other performances you may have seen at the Met?

I have been to the Met well over 100 times and seen at least 50-60 operas there. Some members of the audience were clearly enthusiastic; some were bored; some puzzled. It was not quite sold out, but I didn't have a ticket an hour before curtain and wanted to see if anyone was selling outside the door. I was able to buy a mid-priced seat within minutes, clearly a sign that it was a buyer's market rather than a seller's.