The New York City Opera, Christopher Keene, Director
Listeners who know only the brittle drive, high volume and dizzying repetitiveness of Glass' early work will be startled by the grandeur and transcendant beauty of his second opera, which premiered in Rotterdam in 1980 and has now been recorded for the first time. The distance traveled from the austere radicalism of 1976's Einstein on the Beach, Glass' landmark first opera, is evident from the first notes of Satyagraha: a serene and supple aria that builds to a duet and then to a trio of near-Verdian gusto and mesh. Throughout this tale of Gandhi's early years in South Africa, during which he developed his concept of Satyagraha, or truth-force, Glass lifts his melodic gift to sublime heights and manages to uncoil the tension in his repetitive patterns. Yet for all the nods to old-fashioned romanticism and classical sweep, Glass never loses his identity. The calliopelike swirl and thumping rhythm of Act II, Scene 3 provide not only the perfect exultant groundswell as Gandhi's followers burn their racial registration cards; it is Glass outdoing himself. As Gandhi, New York City Opera tenor Douglas Perry sings with a purity that is both delicate and unswerving. His voice opens and closes the opera, embodying the radiant peace that Gandhi envisioned and Glass has captured. (CBS)Eric Levin
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