Opera at a minimum

Back in 1975, the North American composer Philip Glass drove a taxi for a living. He had also been a plumber and had even set up a short-lived moving company with his colleague Steve Reich. Glass -this is well told by Alex Ross in The rest is noise- was not interested in the intense aesthetic debates of the avant-garde Europeans. Until Reich put him on the path of minimalism, Glass’s taste lent towards Indian classical music, learning much from sitar player Ravi Shankar.

The proposal by the minimalists was sound but not academic. It collided with what had distinguished Western music for centuries: large format, grand configuration, great expression. Einstein on the beach, created in the mid-70s with stage director Robert Wilson, dynamited everything that had sustained the concept of traditional opera. No libretto or plot, neither dramatic continuity nor defined characters. Only scattered objects, distant musical sounds and apparently unconnected scenes. Glass and Wilson had created a new theatre, one that was contemporary, strangely attractive and intriguing. Einstein on the beach (to understand the title, you will have to come and see it) comes for the first time to the Teatro de la Maestranza with the luxury of a singer, composer and writer such as Suzanne Vega as the narrator. Half a century on, this work continues to fascinate the audience for its novelty, unusual lyricism and unbelievable beauty.

Opera in four acts for ensemble, chorus and soloists with music and words by Philip Glass
Design and stage direction by Robert Wilson
Premiere 27 July 1976 at the Avignon Festival
First time at the Teatro de la Maestranza