Memento Mori
Echnaton (Akhnaten)
Philip Glass
Last Chance
It was in 2017 that the production of Satyagraha by the Komische Oper Berlin premiered to great acclaim. Now we have another chapter in the opera trilogy by the minimal-music pioneer Philip Glass, each work focussed on an individual who changed the world: this time, the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. Directing is Barrie Kosky, whose Moses and Aaron and now Akhenaten show us how contemporary music can take mythic figures and make them strikingly vivid and tangibly real.
Thebes around 1300 BCE, at the dawn of a new era: Amenhotep III has died, and his son, Amenhotep IV, who later takes the name Akhenaten, is crowned pharaoh. The story depicts his love for Nefertiti, as well as the destruction of the Temple of Amun, the centre of the ruling polytheistic religion. Akhenaten supports only the new religion of Aten, in which the sun is worshipped as the sole supreme deity. Finally, the narrative jumps to the present, in which Akhenaten’s demise and the resurgence of the former priestly caste are told from the perspective of a modern tour group visiting ancient Egyptian sites. But in the background, we can now see Akhenaten’s ghost joining the funeral procession of his predecessor . . .
In the oeuvre of Philip Glass, the grand format of the opera forms a central pillar. With Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten, he created a triptych whose first two parts pay homage to two influential figures of the twentieth century: Albert Einstein and Mahatma Gandhi. The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, on the other hand, lived some 3,500 years earlier, and is considered the founder of the first monotheistic religion. A religion that never fully prevailed and that vanished after Akhenaten’s death, and yet is considered an important precursor to later monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Minimal music emerged in the United States of the 1970s as a response to serialism, which was dominant in Europe at the time. It is structured around patterns that keep returning like a prayer wheel. The resulting near-imperceptible shifting and layering give minimalist compositions the hypnotic pull that typify this style of music and have made it one of the most popular genres of the twentieth century, going far beyond the classical audience.
DID YOU KNOW?
The opera’s foregrounding of brass makes it sound particularly archaic. The actual reason behind this choice was that the first venue’s orchestra pit was too small for a violin section, so the composer simply omitted it.
ACT 1
The old pharaoh Amenhotep III is dead. A scribe, who takes on different roles in the course of the opera, annouces his passing. The funeral takes the form of a gigantic ritual which the people of Thebes take part in. It concludes with a coronation ceremony for the son of Amenhotep III, conducted by his advisor Aye, his general Horemheb, and the high priest of Amon. The new pharaoh initially takes the name Amenhotep IV (»Amon is satisfied«) – a name that honours the most important deity in ancient Egypt’s extensive pantheon.
The old pharaoh Amenhotep III is dead. A scribe, who takes on different roles in the course of the opera, annouces his passing. The funeral takes the form of a gigantic ritual which the people of Thebes take part in. It concludes with a coronation ceremony for the son of Amenhotep III, conducted by his advisor Aye, his general Horemheb, and the high priest of Amon. The new pharaoh initially takes the name Amenhotep IV (»Amon is satisfied«) – a name that honours the most important deity in ancient Egypt’s extensive pantheon.
Shortly after ascending the throne, the new king changes his name to Akhnaten (»Effective for the Aten«) and in a joint profession of faith with his mother Tye and his wife Nefertiti, he declares he will found a new monotheistic religion. Aten, the god of the solar disc and light, is to immediately replace the old gods such as Amon and Ra. Akhnaten commands the population to worship only him as Aten’s son incarnate.
ACT 2
Akhnaten’s government pushes ahead with the religious transformation of Egypt, suppressing the old cults with violence where necessary. Supported by Tye and some followers, Akhnaten storms and destroys a temple in which a ritual in honour of Amon is being performed. In the duet that follows, Nefertiti and Akhnaten declare their deep love for each other. To break the power of the Amon priesthood once and for all, Akhnaten decides to leave Thebes and found a new capital: Akhetaten (»Horizon of the Aten«). Now that his revolution appears to be complete, he utters his Hymn to the Aten, a private prayer of his own composition. This is followed by a chorus singing Psalm 104 from the Old Testament, which displays similarities with the hymn.
ACT 3
Akhnaten, Nefertiti and their daughters lead a life that’s increasingly isolated from the outside world. Appeals for help from the pharaoh’s vassals from the north who are under threat from local warlords go unanswered and government business is neglected. A discontented mob led by Aye, Horemheb and the high priest of Amon storms the Pharaoh’s palace and kills Akhnaten. The administration of the new pharaoh, Tutankhamun, reinstates the ancient polytheistic religion. Akhnaten goes down in history as a »Great Criminal« and the cult of the Aten is eradicated. In a transition to the present time, the scribe now appears as a tourist guide explaining the archaeological site of Tell el-Amarna, where the ruins of Akhetaten lie. In the epilogue, Akhnaten, Nefertiti and Tye are heard singing in the afterlife.
Philip Glass
An opera in three acts [1984]
Libretto by Philip Glass in association with Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel, Richard Riddell, and Jerome Robbins
©1983 Dunvagen Music Publishers Inc.
Used by permission.
An opera in three acts [1984]
Libretto by Philip Glass in association with Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel, Richard Riddell, and Jerome Robbins
©1983 Dunvagen Music Publishers Inc.
Used by permission.
Premier on March 25, 2025
Recommended from grade 9
English, Egyptian, Aramaic, Akkadian, and German
3hr incl. intermission
Musikalische Leitung
Inszenierung
Bühnenbild
Ko-Bühnenbildnerin
Kostüme
Bewegungssequenzen
Dramaturgie
Chöre
Licht
Echnaton
Nofretete
Königin Teje
Horemhab
Hohepriester des Amun
Aye
Der Schreiber (Chronist)
Peter Renz
Tänzer
Töchter Echnatons
Ambar Arias/Annette Hörle/Hannah Kretschmer/Camille Frank/Katrin Hacker/Paula Rummel/Katharina Thomas/Lea Maria Koch/SaeEum Jang/Anna-Lisa Gebhardt/Dominika Koscielniak/Katrin Le Provost/Sophia Linden
Chor
Chorsolisten der Komischen Oper Berlin/Vocalconsort Berlin
Komparserie
Komparserie
Further Productions