“Satyagraha” is a Sanskrit word meaning “truth force.” Mahatma Gandhi coined the word to describe his philosophy of nonviolent resistance. Although he also used terms such as passive resistance and nonviolence, he created the word “satyagraha” to more accurately embody the spirit of his ideas. “Satya” means truth, and “agraha” means “to grasp or hold.” Compounded, “Satyagraha” conveys the meaning of “grasping or holding onto the truth.” He believed that rather than attempt to defeat or frustrate an opponent, you should convert him. You must cooperate with the wrongdoer to achieve the justice which he unwittingly obstructs, and wean him from error through patience and sympathy.
“Satyagraha” is also the name of Philip Glass’s opera about Gandhi’s formative years in South Africa. Written in 1980, it is the second part in Glass’s “Portrait Trilogy” of operas about men who changed the world. A new production of the opera, created by the English National Opera and the improvisational theater company Improbable, premiers in New York next month. To get a new generation’s perspective on the opera, Glass gave collaborators Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch freedom in their design and staging. As a result the new production features elements such as video and giant puppets made of newspaper. Thanks to the generous donors who made rush tickets possible (to anyone who can wait a few hours on a weekday afternoon), I’m looking forward to catching this opera.
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Jen wrote:
who’s performing this? Glass has interesting music, but I see him more as a movie music kind of guy more than an opera composer
Please let us know how it is!
Posted on 14-Mar-08 at 5:54 pm | Permalink
Lily wrote:
Because I am new to opera, the names mean little to me: Anzolini; Durkin, Croft, Patriarco, Walker
I’ll definitely write back how it is.
Posted on 15-Mar-08 at 8:30 am | Permalink
Lily wrote:
I went to this on Thursday night. I liked it- I think in part because I half-expected to be completely lost and bored, I was pleasantly surprised to be engaged and interested. It was abstract and modern. It’s a series of loosely connected scenes, each of which depicts a historical event. This isn’t knowable from the opera itself- you’d have to go into it with that understanding by reading the notes that come with the program. But without that, it’s enjoyable on an emotional and lyrical level. Because it’s made of newspaper and tape, and because there are lots of people whose only role is to stand there, it felt a little bit like a sublime elementary school play. It appeals most to a meditative, thinking personality who struggles to decide or act.
Posted on 03-May-08 at 11:04 am | Permalink