# Philip Glass operas



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

So I've dabbled a bit in Philip Glass' music. I do personally enjoy the minimalist style, to a degree. A full album of solo piano music of his is certainly too repetitive, but I really enjoyed the Orange Mountain Sampler of his works.

Sampled Einstein on the Beach and it's not for me. But I was very much intruiged by samples of Orphee, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten. I'll plan to be getting one of these once I've worked through my tremendously large pile of unheard operas. What ones have you enjoyed if any?


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## msegers (Oct 17, 2008)

I'm not a Glass fan myself, but you can find Satyagraha and Akhnaten on Youtube - audio - and a video of the first two hours of Einstein. The complete Einstein video was there a couple of months ago.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I went through a stage of listening to Akhnaten quite frequently - I liked the subject matter and the declamatory parts of the libretto as well as the music. Haven't revisited it for some time though, I must say.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I went the library today and found they had Satyagraha, so I look forward to trying it out. Based on Ghandi, whom I intended to do some reading on anyway, so good melding of subjects!


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

_Einstein_ is always held up as his great opera, presumably because it was his first and in a uniquely Philip Glass style but I've never liked it. It just doesn't seem integrated, people announcing random things loudly over his usual rippling music, you could say something entirely different or entirely different music. His subsequent works are much more approachable. _Satyagraha_ is probably my favourite, _Kepler_, _Orphee_ are also good where some of the others I have heard have left little impression on me. For a similar work to _Einstein_ but shorter and more concise is _Hydrogen Jukebox_. libretto by Allen Ginsberg. Also his _Madrigal Opera_ is a different sound, quite beautiful.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

I'm a Glassophile...

I've enjoyed "The Voyage" and have the CD set, lots of fun. I've also got Einstein on the Beach and don't enjoy it as much as Voyage. But I still like it.

Glass' operas are a love 'em or hate 'em kinda thing. And I therefore have no objections to those who don't care for them. Each to his own.


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## Funny (Nov 30, 2013)

The problem with "sampling" Einstein on the Beach is that its main effect is immersive disorientation - a lot of the minimalist impulse is derived from, and intended to mimic effects of, trance music, which will only unfold after a good amount of time. You can't judge it on the basis of whether one or two pieces seem to be appealing. That said, it's asking a lot of someone to sit through the whole thing just to see if you'll eventually find it revelatory (I did). I feel similarly about the much shorter Music for Eighteen Musicians by Steve Reich. One of my all-time favorite pieces, but I can't blame anyone who finds it "boring" after hearing just two or three minutes.


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