Title: Sunshine on a rainy day
Product review: Whilst 'Einstein' is potty, and stretches the definition of 'opera' to breaking-point, and 'Satyagraha' is strangely uncompelling, 'Akhnaten' is the finest of Philip Glass later operas. Using an audio palette solely consisting of strings, woodwinds and electric organs, Glass conjures up a land before Western time, and although the lyrics are delivered in an alien tongue the emotion is there - surprising, as this was Glass' first go at writing vocal music for a cast (most of 'Einstein' was mostly spoken, and the vocals were numbers). Although Glass was often described as being 'minimalist', 'Akhnaten' is anything but small (there are very few 'quiet moments'), and musically it's surprisingly conventional, sounding almost like a new age Wagner at times. Although you can't really hum any of the tunes whilst riding the bus to work, it blocks out the outside world effectively. Only a strange epilogue, set in the present day, seems to be out of place.
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