17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A value recording with a drawback, April 6, 2005
This review is from: Glass: Akhnaten (Audio CD)
A great recording and inexpesnive. The only drawback is that it lacks the "frill" of a libretto. So if you want to understand what is being sung in Egyptian, you're out of luck.
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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding contemporary classic, April 15, 2004
This review is from: Glass: Akhnaten (Audio CD)
The same recording as appeared in the original boxed debut recording back in the 1980s, packaged in a twin-tray jewel case with few frills and a cheaper price. Very beautiful, moving minimalist opera and beautifully produced and recorded.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
And the Music Stands Alone, September 21, 2006
This review is from: Glass: Akhnaten (Audio CD)
Philip Glass is a theater person whose wide popularity has been greatly enhanced by the visuals that accompany his music: the music score for the film 'The Hours', his triptych of operas about men who changed the world in science ('Einstein on the Beach'), in politics ('Satyagraha') and religion ('Akhnaten') are just a few examples. Though his works for chamber orchestra and his symphonies enjoy wide acclaim, the purely musical values inherent in his operas have for the most part been relegated to recordings. To experience the pure music live without the visuals is an experience that should happen more often. As part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's adventurous and acclaimed 'Minimalist Jukebox' series, composer/conductor John Adams conducted important excerpts from this opera, for the first time allowing the stunned and wildly enthusiastic audience to appreciate the orchestral writing, the magnificent choral writing and the incomparable beauty of the countertenor Akhnaten (as sung by Daniel Bubeck) in the glory of the acoustic wonder of Disney Hall. The effect was overwhelming and turns the listener back to this full recording of the opera with enhanced appreciation.
'Akhnaten' is a little miracle of minimalist opera. The orchestral scoring is for large orchestra minus violins (keeping his original opera small to fit in the orchestra pit at premiere gave that idea to Glass) with an interesting array of percussion instruments. The Prelude quietly sets the pulsating, quivering tone of ancient Egypt and after a narrator sets the scene for the death of Akhnaten's father, the funeral music is wildly percussive and full of brass figurations. The choral declarations are pulsatile and beautifully balanced with the orchestra. Yet when Akhnaten's unfolds his concept of monotheism, his countertenor lines are paralleled with trumpet in a truly spiritual ambience. The death of Akhnaten as proscribed by three male soloists is echoed in the choral writing for the crowd's response. It is a visceral experience.
The recording captures all of the opera in fine, precise style and is easily a recording to return to for moments of favorite Glass writing. It is just satisfying to know that even excerpts played in a symphony hall validate the wonderful work the opera is. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, September 06
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