Akhnaten (opera)

  • Amenhotep, Schreiber ( voice)
  • Akhnaten ( countertenor )
  • Nefertiti (Alt )
  • Queen Tye (soprano )
  • Horemhab (baritone )
  • Aye ( bass)
  • The six daughters of Akhenaten ( soprano and alto )
  • Choir

Akhnaten ( German: Akhenaten ) is an opera by Philip Glass on the Egyptian king Akhenaten and the Amarna Period. The text is in English, as well as in Egyptian and Akkadian. The premiere took place in March 1984 under the direction of Dennis Russell Davies held at the Opera House Stuttgart. Stylistically, the opera belongs to the musical minimalism.

Formation and style

Akhnaten is the last work in portrait opera trilogy by Philip Glass, which began with Einstein on the Beach (1975 ) and Satyagraha, an opera about Mahatma Gandhi, in 1979, was continued. None of these operas is a continuous action based, but rather the intention to portray a historical figure, which caused changes in intellectual history through their visionary ideas. Here, Glass was referring to the spiritual roots and the environment. So he used in his opera Akhnaten also Pyramid Texts of the Egyptian Old Kingdom and texts from the Amarna period. These are recited by the narrator and commented or sung by the choir.

Glass composed Akhnaten in 1983. Stuttgart premiere was under the restriction that at the time the grand opera house was renovated. Therefore, it should take place on a small scale ( play ) house. In the orchestra pit, but was not enough space for a classical orchestra. Therefore, distant Glass in the composition, the violins, which the opera gave a deep, dark sound. In addition, he first used in his operas rhythm instruments, especially in the second scene of the first act. Except for these restrictions, the orchestra is roughly equivalent to an opera orchestra of the early 19th century, with 48 musicians. The standing mostly in A minor work is mainly quiet fluently and is only in dramatic scenes ( storming of the Amon temple, fall Akhenaten ) moving.

Historical Background

In the Egyptian New Kingdom until the time of Akhenaten Amun was the kingdom of God and the main god of Egypt. Akhenaten broke this tradition by, as only God proclaimed Aten, the sun disc and the Amun cult abolished. In the 5th year of reign he changed his birth name Amenhotep ( Jmn -HTP ) ( " Amun pleasing " or " Amun is satisfied") to Akhenaten (3H n JTN " Aton is useful / used " ) and founded a new capital Akhetaten ( 'Horizon of Aten ", Amarna ). Later there were riots ( iconoclasm ) Aton - followers by scratching out the names of gods Amun to official monuments. They made themselves the name of Akhenaten's father Amenhotep III. not hold. Akhenaten's religious reforms failed, and his second successor Tutankhamen the Amun cult was reintroduced. Tutankhamun moved from Amarna to Memphis over. Akhenaten fell into the Ramesside Period, the earliest from Horemheb a " Damnatio memoriae ".

After illegal excavations in the 19th century, some clay tablets came in Akkadian in the art trade. It was then systematically excavated at Amarna, where you. Upon an archive of the foreign policy correspondence from the late years of Amenhotep III and the reign of Akhenaten came. From these, as Amarna correspondence known clay tablets in Akkadian, is excerpts quoted in the opera.

Historical inaccuracies

Amenhotep ( son of Hapu ), which occurs as Amemhotep, writer, historian and storyteller in the opera, died already in the 35th year of the reign of Amenhotep III. and did not experience the reign of Akhenaten.

A violent overthrow of Akhenaten, as it is claimed in the second scene of Act 3 is not supported by any source.

Content

Akhnaten is not an opera with continuous action, but rather a " symbolic " portrait with various episodes in which the development and the failure of Akhenaten are presented.

The opera consists of the following parts

  • Scene 1: The Temple
  • Scene 2: Akhenaten and Nefertiti
  • Scene 3: The City - Dance
  • Scene 4: Anthem ( Akhenaten singing the great hymn to Aton )
  • Scene 1: The family ( with quotations from the Amarna letters )
  • Scene 2: Attack and fall
  • Scene 3: The Ruins (Present)
  • Scene 4: Epilogue

The language levels

The texts of the narrator, who often quoted from Egyptian texts and the Amarna letters, and leads the audience through the plot, are originally in English language, but are presented in the local language. For the Stuttgart premiere example, the English texts of Thomas grains were translated into German. In contrast, the soloists and the choir sing their texts in Egyptian, Akkadian, or biblical Aramaic. The Canticle of Akhenaten to be sung always in the local language as directed by the composer. After the recitation, and the disposal of Akhenaten at the end of Act 2, a background choir in Biblical Aramaic parts singing from Psalm 104, although 400 years younger, a striking resemblance to the Canticle of Amarna has.

In the Egyptian language of the time, which is preserved in hieroglyphs and hieratic, no vowels were recorded. Therefore, the vocalization corresponds in no way to the historic language. Glass and Goldmann Write to the fact that they have chosen such vowels that can be easily sing to make the rhythms and accents new. The same goes for the quotes in Akkadian from the Amarna letters. Although the Akkadian recorded vowels, but is rendered as Silbenumschrift in opera and thus sometimes taken out of context word. This leaves connoisseurs of both languages ​​to smile, but it was like the Egyptian an intentional stylistic device.

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