In 1976 Hans de Roo, the director of Netherlands Opera, suggested to Philip Glass that he follow up the revolutionary (though not particularly monetary) success of his 5-hour-long abstract music drama, “Einstein on the Beach,” with “a real opera.” Glass, who had been forced to return to his previous profession, driving a cab in New York City, was more than happy to accept the commission, but skeptical about what Roo considered “a real opera.”
The result was “Satyagraha.”
For its subject Glass chose the early political life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in South Africa between 1893-1914. But Glass, as in his previous collaboration with director/designer Robert Wilson, was not interested in composing a musical documentary, i.e. “Gandhi: The Opera.” Instead, Glass and his librettist Constance de Jong would tell their story in a way that would portray the historical events in terms of the evolution of Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance, “Satyagraha.”
Often translated as “Truth Force,” the word is actually a composite created by Gandhi, combining Sadagraha (meaning “firmness in a good cause”) with satya (meaning “truth.”). The opera premiered in Rotterdam in 1980.
Los Angles Opera recently became one of the only American companies to have presented all three of Glass’ “portrait operas”: “Einstein on the Beach,” “Akhnatan” and now “Satyagragha.” It is a brilliant production originally conceived for English National Opera by director Phelim McDermott and designer Julian Crouch and later presented at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
LA Opera’s staging features the lyrically bright tenor voice and visual believability of Sean Panikkar as Gandhi; the statuesque mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges as his wife, Kasturbai; lyric soprano So Yong Park as his loyal follower, Miss Schlessen; and the resounding bass Morris Robinson as Gandhi’s compatriot, Parsi Rustomji. The cast, orchestra and the all-important 40-member chorus are skillfully, adroitly and exactingly conducted by Grant Gershon.
On the night of this review, it’s reasonable to assume that most of the audience that filled the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion arrived knowing the music of Philip Glass, at least on an abstract level. It’s also likely that imagined they would be attending a contemporary opera, while in fact “Satyagragha” was first performed 38 years ago. It was a time of revolutionary rethinking in music and theater. The emergence of Minimalism (led by Terry Riley, Philip Glass and Steve Reich) had broken music free of European academic restraints. Companies like The Living Theater, Mabou Mines (who often collaborated with Glass), and especially Robert Wilson stressed abstraction over the literal, creating time-bending productions that evolved incrementally over hours.
McDermott’s production for ENO remains true to the essence of Glass’s original creation, favoring abstraction over any kind of “you are there” realism. Events like the creation of Gandhi’s Tolstoy Farm, the founding of the newspaper, Indian Opinion, as well as the confrontational protests over “The Black Act” (requiring Indians to register with the government) and the strike-producing “New Castle March” unfold in an abstracted vocabulary. It’s a style that is visually stunning, but may leave the viewer (at times) at a loss as to know who is who, and what is what.
So, it will be very helpful to prepare beforehand by reading the excellent program notes and attending the pre-concert lecture. Who knows? You might get lucky, since Glass is expected to attend at least one of the up-coming performances and may take part in the discussion.
In a theatrical style akin to the magical transformations of Julie Taymor (“The Lion King”), McDermott and Crouch create a world where wicker baskets morph into mythic heroes; sheets of newspaper and cellophane come together to form amorphous beings, while a crowd of monumentally scaled puppet represents the force of government, capitalism and racism arrayed against Gandhi and his followers — the Satyagrahi.
“Satyagragha” was composed before the use of supertitles had come into play. The libretto is sung in Sandsrit and drawn entirely from the text of the Bhagavad Gita. To inform the audience, Glass chose to project isolated phrases from the libretto that would express the moral action a follower of Satyagraha must adopt to achieve the inner peace required for a true non-violent action. The one time the system fails is in Gandhi’s final aria, which Panikkar sang while the figure of Martin Luther King (the man to whom Gandhi will pass the torch) looks on.
I come into being age after age and take visible shape and move a man with men for the protection of good, thrusting the evil back and setting virtue on her seat again , he sang (with no visual translation).
Through the mirror-like reflections in Philip Glass’s music, the performances of the soloists and chorus and its amazing visual scheme, L.A. Opera’s “Satyagragha” produces a mantra-like quality of meditative reflection and transcendence. Those are rare qualities in an opera and are perfectly in harmony with its subject. It is an experience you will not soon forget.
‘Satyagraha’
Rating: 4 stars
Where: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave, Los Angeles
When: 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11
Tickets: $19 and up
Running time: 3 hours and 25 minutes with two intermissions
Suitability: For all audiences
Information: www.laopera.org
