It isn't new any more, and you may have seen it at your local movie theater. Nevertheless I only saw it recently and some thoughts.
Satyagraha, the opera by Phillip Glass tells the story of Ghandi and his politial awakening in Africa by showing scenes from his life sung to a libretto in Sanskrit, an essentially dead language and based on the Bhagavad Gita, a classic of Indian literature. The Bhagavad Gita tells of Prince Arjuna's conversation with Lord (God) Krishna before a battle is to start. It was beloved by Ghandi but not directly about the story of the opera. Africa is where Ghandhi first worked out his methods and thephilosophy of struggle that he later used to free India from colonial rule. The production makes use of corrugated iron and newspapers from the time. It is wonderfully creative folding the newspaper into puppets at one point. There is no attempt to literally translate what the singers are singing but phrases are flashed on the wall from time to time to give one the sense of what is sung. The scenes are not arranged in chronological order. The opera has been described as meditative, and it is necessary to let it flow without struggling to make it like something familiar. An Indian friend commented that the Indian texts have been passed orally exactly the same way for centuries, but in Glass they are difficult to understand as they are reset musically.
It sound impossible--essentially a pantomime to impossible words and minimalist music. It is not easy, but it works. It has been described as a masterpiece and is not only worth seeing but worth study.
Satyagraha, the opera by Phillip Glass tells the story of Ghandi and his politial awakening in Africa by showing scenes from his life sung to a libretto in Sanskrit, an essentially dead language and based on the Bhagavad Gita, a classic of Indian literature. The Bhagavad Gita tells of Prince Arjuna's conversation with Lord (God) Krishna before a battle is to start. It was beloved by Ghandi but not directly about the story of the opera. Africa is where Ghandhi first worked out his methods and thephilosophy of struggle that he later used to free India from colonial rule. The production makes use of corrugated iron and newspapers from the time. It is wonderfully creative folding the newspaper into puppets at one point. There is no attempt to literally translate what the singers are singing but phrases are flashed on the wall from time to time to give one the sense of what is sung. The scenes are not arranged in chronological order. The opera has been described as meditative, and it is necessary to let it flow without struggling to make it like something familiar. An Indian friend commented that the Indian texts have been passed orally exactly the same way for centuries, but in Glass they are difficult to understand as they are reset musically.
It sound impossible--essentially a pantomime to impossible words and minimalist music. It is not easy, but it works. It has been described as a masterpiece and is not only worth seeing but worth study.
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