Akhnaten Tickets | Schedule for 2024/2025 Events

Akhnaten

Philip Glass, an American composer, wrote Akhnaten in 1983, based on the life and religion of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. This opera has three acts (Amenhotep IV). Philip Glass, Shalom Goldman, Richard Riddell, Robert Israel, and Jerome Robbins worked on the libretto. The composer says that this piece is the end of his two other biographical operas, Satyagraha (about Mahatma Gandhi) and Einstein on the Beach (about Albert Einstein).

The Story

Akhnaten ruled Egypt during the 18th dynasty, from 1353 BC to 1336 BC. After Amenhotep III died, he took the throne and lived like most men: he married and raised a family while his mother pressured him. Most people remember Akhnaten as a ruler who had powerful religious beliefs. He was moved to try to bring together the Egyptians' many gods into one god, the sun, which they would worship.

Akhnaten is the last opera in a trilogy of biopic operas. Like the books before it, Akhnaten doesn't have a plot. Instead, the story of Akhenaten's life is told through vocal and orchestral soundscapes, ancient hymns and texts, and Philip Glass's signature minimalist style. Akhnaten is a window into a whole ancient world. It uses original Egyptian, Hebrew, and Arcadian texts to bring old voices back to life and honor the man many people now think of as the founder of monotheism.

The Württembergische Staatstheater commissioned Akhnaten in Stuttgart. Its world premiere, under the German title Echnaton, was on March 24, 1984, at the Stuttgart State Theater. The title character was sung by Paul Esswood, and the opera was directed by the German Achim Freyer in an abstract, ritualistic style. The American premiere, led by David Freeman and at the Houston Grand Opera on October 12, 1984, was also the premiere of Glass's opera The Making of the Representative for Planet 8. Based on American production, the UK premiere took place at the London Coliseum on June 17, 1985. The English National Opera put it on. In March 1987, this show was put on again at the London Coliseum.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a November 2020 show at Opéra de Nice Côte d'Azur was put on without an audience and shown online. Lucinda Childs, who has worked with Glass for a long time and has produced and choreographed this show, ran rehearsals from afar. She also sang the speaking parts in the opera, which were recorded ahead of time and shown on a screen.