"A gloriously coloured eye-catching affair."
The Guardian
"A gloriously coloured eye-catching affair."
The Guardian
Why see Akhnaten?
Brand new production!
Phillip Glass' opera tracing the life of pharaoh Akhnaten is given a new lease of life by director Phelim McDermott of the Improbable Theatre Company. This work is the third of the minimalist composer's portrait trilogy that also comprised operas about Einstein and Gandhi.
The operatic dialogue was composed using various texts taken from ancient letters, hymns, inscriptions and prayers; to add to the historic authenticity the opera is sung in Hebrew, Egyptian and Akkadian. Centred on the life and religious beliefs of the titular pharaoh, from the early years of his reign in Thebes, all the way to the modern day where his ghost and that of queen Nefertiti mourn their ruined city.