Opera News selected Philip Glass’ new recording of “Waiting for the Barbarians” as its EDITOR’S CHOICE for September 2008: from the review:
“It is hard to listen to the opera now without being painfully aware of its relevance to today’s headlines”…”the strength of the piece’s impact is unmistakable, both moment-to-moment and cumulatively”….”Veteran Glass maestro Dennis Russell Davies demonstrates his customary
expertise in this mesmerizing musical drama, an important cautionary
work for this, or any, era.”….
this is in addition to the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s review this week: ““The big news is that Glass’s 2005 opera Waiting for the Barbarians is out on Orange Mountain Music – not only a significant departure from anything he’s written before, but his best since his 1976 minimalist manifesto, Einstein on the Beach.”
1 thought on “Opera News – Editor’s Choice September 2008”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I’m staggered that an opera composed entirely of prosaic recitative and sub-Another Look At Harmony choral interludes can attract such high praise. It’s hyperbolic to say it’s better than everything since Einstein; in my opinion Barbarians doesn’t come close to Satyagraha or Akhnaten.