THE WORLD'S FINEST OPERA
BALLET, THEATRE AND MUSIC
Glass: Einstein on the Beach
Helga Davis (Featured Performer); Kate Moran (Featured Performer); Antoine Silverman (Einstein/Solo Violinist); Jasper Newell (Boy); Charles Williams (Mr Johnson)
“I began with this photo of Einstein in his study at Princeton. I looked at many photos of Einstein. Photos of him when he was two years old, 20 years old, 40, 60, 70 years old. In all standing portraits of him, he held his hand in the same position as in the photo. The little space between his thumb and the next finger is always the same. I started the opera with this gesture. And continued.” (Robert Wilson)
“I don’t care about music theory, I’m only interested in listening to music. I begin by listening. Like images emerging from the mist and becoming visible.” (Philip Glass)
“It was the time of pop art and minimalism, often one set against the other. Pop art is a proclamation of the end of the world. The minimal movement is a new beginning.”
(Lucinda Childs)
DVD
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 01/10/2016
Sound Formats: LPCM & DTS 5.1
Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic
Subtitles:
Catalogue Number: OA1178D
BLU-RAY
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 01/10/2016
Sound Formats: LPCM 2.0 & DTS Surround
Ratio: 16:9
Subtitles:
Catalogue Number: OABD7173D
Conductor(s):
Michael Riesman
Michael Riesman
Orchestra(s):
The Philip Glass Ensemble
The Philip Glass Ensemble
Artist(s):
Helga Davis; Kate Moran; Antoine Silverman; Jasper Newell; Charles Williams; The Philip Glass Ensemble; Michael Riesman
Helga Davis; Kate Moran; Antoine Silverman; Jasper Newell; Charles Williams; The Philip Glass Ensemble; Michael Riesman
"At the Théâtre du Châtelet, the opera first performed in 1976 by Bob Wilson and Philip Glass causes the same emotion as when it was first created. A true work of art of about four and a half hours where the visual is inseparable from the musical score. There are several ways to approach the revival thirty-seven years later: One can be nostalgic about what was progressive in one's youth and since became a classic; with the jaded look of the 2014 listener who heard dozens of works by Glass and Wilson since and seen so many shows and whom nothing can surprise. Or one can disregard all memory layers and open one's eyes filled with wonder as if it were the first time: Which is what happened! ... And most striking is that, compared to many pioneers of the past who now seem quite insipid as times went on, their creation has kept its surprises." (Le Figaro)
"On the evening of Tuesday, January 7, time flew and space became infinite. It was the opening night of Einstein on the Beach, the opera by Philip Glass and Robert Wilson, and after curtain down, at about 11 o clock, you could see in front of the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, people who had the look of brightness of a hypnotic journey. They came out of the performance, but is that the right word when it comes to this sensory experience? Not sure, and whatever. What matters is what happened: During more than four hours in an auditorium where everyone was invited to come and go at will, and where, however, almost no one left. Not because the audience did not want to disturb their neighbours; because they just did not want to leave, not even for a short time, and take their attention away from what they saw and heard. " (Le Monde)
"Love it or hate it, Philip Glass's 'Einstein on the Beach' stands like a monumental signpost of the 1970s, pointing towards one kind of opera of the future. Its static tableaux, five hours with no story, are as much art installation as music theatre, and need to be seen rather than heard. This DVD of Pomegranate Art's revival was filmed in Paris in 2014 on its international tour. Director and co-creator Robert Wilson's hypnotic stage pictures are captured in all their remarkable detail. Everything he has done since is but a pale copy of this. The presentation is lavish." (The Financial Times ★★★★)
"The work flourishes here in performances that are, without exception, of enormous integrity and conviction. In the principal solo singing and speaking roles, Helga Davis and Kate Moran are visually and sonically compelling... Audio-only recordings have long been available, but this modern classic really has to be seen: music and stage realization deepen each other immeasurably, thus generating extraordinary cumulative impact. 'Open' and profoundly contemplative the work certainly is, but for reasons that elude easy explanation it is also deeply moving; the DVD reveals that this may be linked to its suggestion of ritual and myth, at times even of temple and celebrants. It's beautifully staged, with clean lines, open spaces, pale blues, silvers, whites; and it's stunningly filmed. On no account to be missed." (Opera)
"Still fresh and fashionably futuristic, it parades with conviction the minimalist techniques that Glass had arrived at in 1975 through his involvement with the avant-garde downtown scene in Manhattan. As such, this immaculately realised revival, filmed in Paris in 2014 and lavishly packaged, is a living monument to a work that marked the arrival on the world stage of a soon-to-be stratospherically successful composer. " (BBC Music Magazine ★★★★)
"Brilliantly shot with excellent sound quality, judging from photographs of the original 1976 production it's also an accurate representation of how Glass and Wilson originally envisaged it. With excellent performances by a highly versatile 12-part chorus, a well-oiled Philip Glass Ensemble directed by Michael Riesman (which includes a dazzling bebpo-style saxophone solo by Andrew Sterman in Act 4 scene 1), and violinist Antoine Silverman as the inscrutable Einstein, this is as close to a definitive version of the opera as you're likely to get." (Gramophone)
"CHOC de Classica - February 2017" (Classica)
"On the evening of Tuesday, January 7, time flew and space became infinite. It was the opening night of Einstein on the Beach, the opera by Philip Glass and Robert Wilson, and after curtain down, at about 11 o clock, you could see in front of the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, people who had the look of brightness of a hypnotic journey. They came out of the performance, but is that the right word when it comes to this sensory experience? Not sure, and whatever. What matters is what happened: During more than four hours in an auditorium where everyone was invited to come and go at will, and where, however, almost no one left. Not because the audience did not want to disturb their neighbours; because they just did not want to leave, not even for a short time, and take their attention away from what they saw and heard. " (Le Monde)
"Love it or hate it, Philip Glass's 'Einstein on the Beach' stands like a monumental signpost of the 1970s, pointing towards one kind of opera of the future. Its static tableaux, five hours with no story, are as much art installation as music theatre, and need to be seen rather than heard. This DVD of Pomegranate Art's revival was filmed in Paris in 2014 on its international tour. Director and co-creator Robert Wilson's hypnotic stage pictures are captured in all their remarkable detail. Everything he has done since is but a pale copy of this. The presentation is lavish." (The Financial Times ★★★★)
"The work flourishes here in performances that are, without exception, of enormous integrity and conviction. In the principal solo singing and speaking roles, Helga Davis and Kate Moran are visually and sonically compelling... Audio-only recordings have long been available, but this modern classic really has to be seen: music and stage realization deepen each other immeasurably, thus generating extraordinary cumulative impact. 'Open' and profoundly contemplative the work certainly is, but for reasons that elude easy explanation it is also deeply moving; the DVD reveals that this may be linked to its suggestion of ritual and myth, at times even of temple and celebrants. It's beautifully staged, with clean lines, open spaces, pale blues, silvers, whites; and it's stunningly filmed. On no account to be missed." (Opera)
"Still fresh and fashionably futuristic, it parades with conviction the minimalist techniques that Glass had arrived at in 1975 through his involvement with the avant-garde downtown scene in Manhattan. As such, this immaculately realised revival, filmed in Paris in 2014 and lavishly packaged, is a living monument to a work that marked the arrival on the world stage of a soon-to-be stratospherically successful composer. " (BBC Music Magazine ★★★★)
"Brilliantly shot with excellent sound quality, judging from photographs of the original 1976 production it's also an accurate representation of how Glass and Wilson originally envisaged it. With excellent performances by a highly versatile 12-part chorus, a well-oiled Philip Glass Ensemble directed by Michael Riesman (which includes a dazzling bebpo-style saxophone solo by Andrew Sterman in Act 4 scene 1), and violinist Antoine Silverman as the inscrutable Einstein, this is as close to a definitive version of the opera as you're likely to get." (Gramophone)
"CHOC de Classica - February 2017" (Classica)
Helga Davis (Featured Performer); Kate Moran (Featured Performer); Antoine Silverman (Einstein/Solo Violinist); Jasper Newell (Boy); Charles Williams (Mr Johnson)
“I began with this photo of Einstein in his study at Princeton. I looked at many photos of Einstein. Photos of him when he was two years old, 20 years old, 40, 60, 70 years old. In all standing portraits of him, he held his hand in the same position as in the photo. The little space between his thumb and the next finger is always the same. I started the opera with this gesture. And continued.” (Robert Wilson)
“I don’t care about music theory, I’m only interested in listening to music. I begin by listening. Like images emerging from the mist and becoming visible.” (Philip Glass)
“It was the time of pop art and minimalism, often one set against the other. Pop art is a proclamation of the end of the world. The minimal movement is a new beginning.”
(Lucinda Childs)
DVD
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 01/10/2016
Sound Formats: LPCM & DTS 5.1
Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic
Subtitles:
Catalogue Number: OA1178D
BLU-RAY
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 01/10/2016
Sound Formats: LPCM 2.0 & DTS Surround
Ratio: 16:9
Subtitles:
Catalogue Number: OABD7173D
Conductor(s):
Michael Riesman
Michael Riesman
Orchestra(s):
The Philip Glass Ensemble
The Philip Glass Ensemble
Artist(s):
Helga Davis; Kate Moran; Antoine Silverman; Jasper Newell; Charles Williams; The Philip Glass Ensemble; Michael Riesman
Helga Davis; Kate Moran; Antoine Silverman; Jasper Newell; Charles Williams; The Philip Glass Ensemble; Michael Riesman
"At the Théâtre du Châtelet, the opera first performed in 1976 by Bob Wilson and Philip Glass causes the same emotion as when it was first created. A true work of art of about four and a half hours where the visual is inseparable from the musical score. There are several ways to approach the revival thirty-seven years later: One can be nostalgic about what was progressive in one's youth and since became a classic; with the jaded look of the 2014 listener who heard dozens of works by Glass and Wilson since and seen so many shows and whom nothing can surprise. Or one can disregard all memory layers and open one's eyes filled with wonder as if it were the first time: Which is what happened! ... And most striking is that, compared to many pioneers of the past who now seem quite insipid as times went on, their creation has kept its surprises." (Le Figaro)
"On the evening of Tuesday, January 7, time flew and space became infinite. It was the opening night of Einstein on the Beach, the opera by Philip Glass and Robert Wilson, and after curtain down, at about 11 o clock, you could see in front of the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, people who had the look of brightness of a hypnotic journey. They came out of the performance, but is that the right word when it comes to this sensory experience? Not sure, and whatever. What matters is what happened: During more than four hours in an auditorium where everyone was invited to come and go at will, and where, however, almost no one left. Not because the audience did not want to disturb their neighbours; because they just did not want to leave, not even for a short time, and take their attention away from what they saw and heard. " (Le Monde)
"Love it or hate it, Philip Glass's 'Einstein on the Beach' stands like a monumental signpost of the 1970s, pointing towards one kind of opera of the future. Its static tableaux, five hours with no story, are as much art installation as music theatre, and need to be seen rather than heard. This DVD of Pomegranate Art's revival was filmed in Paris in 2014 on its international tour. Director and co-creator Robert Wilson's hypnotic stage pictures are captured in all their remarkable detail. Everything he has done since is but a pale copy of this. The presentation is lavish." (The Financial Times ★★★★)
"The work flourishes here in performances that are, without exception, of enormous integrity and conviction. In the principal solo singing and speaking roles, Helga Davis and Kate Moran are visually and sonically compelling... Audio-only recordings have long been available, but this modern classic really has to be seen: music and stage realization deepen each other immeasurably, thus generating extraordinary cumulative impact. 'Open' and profoundly contemplative the work certainly is, but for reasons that elude easy explanation it is also deeply moving; the DVD reveals that this may be linked to its suggestion of ritual and myth, at times even of temple and celebrants. It's beautifully staged, with clean lines, open spaces, pale blues, silvers, whites; and it's stunningly filmed. On no account to be missed." (Opera)
"Still fresh and fashionably futuristic, it parades with conviction the minimalist techniques that Glass had arrived at in 1975 through his involvement with the avant-garde downtown scene in Manhattan. As such, this immaculately realised revival, filmed in Paris in 2014 and lavishly packaged, is a living monument to a work that marked the arrival on the world stage of a soon-to-be stratospherically successful composer. " (BBC Music Magazine ★★★★)
"Brilliantly shot with excellent sound quality, judging from photographs of the original 1976 production it's also an accurate representation of how Glass and Wilson originally envisaged it. With excellent performances by a highly versatile 12-part chorus, a well-oiled Philip Glass Ensemble directed by Michael Riesman (which includes a dazzling bebpo-style saxophone solo by Andrew Sterman in Act 4 scene 1), and violinist Antoine Silverman as the inscrutable Einstein, this is as close to a definitive version of the opera as you're likely to get." (Gramophone)
"CHOC de Classica - February 2017" (Classica)
"On the evening of Tuesday, January 7, time flew and space became infinite. It was the opening night of Einstein on the Beach, the opera by Philip Glass and Robert Wilson, and after curtain down, at about 11 o clock, you could see in front of the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, people who had the look of brightness of a hypnotic journey. They came out of the performance, but is that the right word when it comes to this sensory experience? Not sure, and whatever. What matters is what happened: During more than four hours in an auditorium where everyone was invited to come and go at will, and where, however, almost no one left. Not because the audience did not want to disturb their neighbours; because they just did not want to leave, not even for a short time, and take their attention away from what they saw and heard. " (Le Monde)
"Love it or hate it, Philip Glass's 'Einstein on the Beach' stands like a monumental signpost of the 1970s, pointing towards one kind of opera of the future. Its static tableaux, five hours with no story, are as much art installation as music theatre, and need to be seen rather than heard. This DVD of Pomegranate Art's revival was filmed in Paris in 2014 on its international tour. Director and co-creator Robert Wilson's hypnotic stage pictures are captured in all their remarkable detail. Everything he has done since is but a pale copy of this. The presentation is lavish." (The Financial Times ★★★★)
"The work flourishes here in performances that are, without exception, of enormous integrity and conviction. In the principal solo singing and speaking roles, Helga Davis and Kate Moran are visually and sonically compelling... Audio-only recordings have long been available, but this modern classic really has to be seen: music and stage realization deepen each other immeasurably, thus generating extraordinary cumulative impact. 'Open' and profoundly contemplative the work certainly is, but for reasons that elude easy explanation it is also deeply moving; the DVD reveals that this may be linked to its suggestion of ritual and myth, at times even of temple and celebrants. It's beautifully staged, with clean lines, open spaces, pale blues, silvers, whites; and it's stunningly filmed. On no account to be missed." (Opera)
"Still fresh and fashionably futuristic, it parades with conviction the minimalist techniques that Glass had arrived at in 1975 through his involvement with the avant-garde downtown scene in Manhattan. As such, this immaculately realised revival, filmed in Paris in 2014 and lavishly packaged, is a living monument to a work that marked the arrival on the world stage of a soon-to-be stratospherically successful composer. " (BBC Music Magazine ★★★★)
"Brilliantly shot with excellent sound quality, judging from photographs of the original 1976 production it's also an accurate representation of how Glass and Wilson originally envisaged it. With excellent performances by a highly versatile 12-part chorus, a well-oiled Philip Glass Ensemble directed by Michael Riesman (which includes a dazzling bebpo-style saxophone solo by Andrew Sterman in Act 4 scene 1), and violinist Antoine Silverman as the inscrutable Einstein, this is as close to a definitive version of the opera as you're likely to get." (Gramophone)
"CHOC de Classica - February 2017" (Classica)
