Waiting for the Barbarians (opera)

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Operas by Philip Glass

Einstein on the Beach (1976)
Satyagraha (1980)
The Photographer (1982)
Akhnaten (1983)
the CIVIL warS, (1984)
The Juniper Tree (1985) with Moran
1000 Airplanes on the Roof (1988)
The Fall of the House of Usher(1988)
Hydrogen Jukebox (1990)
The Voyage (1992)
Monsters of Grace (1998)
Galileo Galilei (2002)
Waiting for the Barbarians (2005)
Appomattox (2007)
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Waiting for the Barbarians is an opera in two acts composed by Philip Glass, with libretto by Christopher Hampton based on the 1980 novel of the same name by South African-born author John M. Coetzee. The opera was commissioned by the Erfurt Theater in Erfurt, Germany.

Contents

[edit] Performance History

Waiting for the Barbarians premiered on September 10, 2005 at Erfurt Theater, directed by Guy Montavon and conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. There was one other European performance in Amsterdam in 2006. Its American premiere was performed on January 19, 2007 by the Austin Lyric Opera in Austin, Texas. The opera is scheduled for a performance on June 12, 2008 at the Barbican Centre in London.

[edit] Synopsis

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Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.


[edit] Structure

  • ACT I
    • Prelude
    • Scene 1: "In Fact, We Never Had a Prison"
    • Scene 2: Dreamscape No. 1
    • Scene 3: "You Sent for Me"
    • Scene 4: "You're Working Late"
    • Scene 5: "Normally Speaking, We Would Never Approve of Torture..."
    • Scene 6: "Take off Your Cap"
    • Scene 7: Dreamscape No. 2
    • Scene 8: "Do You Like Living in the Town?"
    • Scene 9: "...To Demonstrate Our Strength to the Barbarians"
    • Scene 10: "Did you have a good evening?"
    • Scene 11: Dreamscape No. 3
    • Scene 12: "What is it?"
    • Scene 13: "Can you see them?" (Trip into the Mountains)
    • Scene 14: "Who Gave You Permission to Desert Your Post?"
  • ACT II
    • Scene 1: "Here, In the Dark"
    • Scene 2: Dreamscape No. 4
    • Scene 3: "What is Going On?"
    • Prologue to Scene 4
    • Scene 4: "Perhaps You Would Be So Kind"
    • Scene 5: "Enemy, Barbarian Lover!"
    • Scene 6: "So We're Still Feeding You Well?"
    • Scene 7: Dreamscape No. 5
    • Scene 8: "Tell Me, What Has Happened"
    • Scene 9: "You Don't Have to Go"
    • Scene 10: "Our Town is Beautiful"

[edit] Recording

On June 3, 2008 a recording of Waiting for the Barbarians was released on the Orange Mountain Music label.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

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