Leo Goeke

This luminous, visionary opera tells the story of how Mahatma Gandhi developed the philosophy of satyagraha, nonviolent active resistance, as a political revolutionary tool to fight oppression, connecting his lifework to three historical figures who advanced his philosophy: the celebrated Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, the great Indian poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore and the heroic American civil rights leader Martin Luther King. The libretto is comprised of passages from “The Bhagavad-Gita,” India’s greatest philosophical epic, and perfectly complements Glass’ ravishing score, mysteriously transporting the audience with a serene power and an all-encompassing sense of peace.

"Die Zauberflöte" opens with Prince Tamino being rescued from a serpent by Ladies in the employ of the Queen of the Night. Papageno the bird-catcher arrives and claims he killed the serpent, but the outraged Ladies padlock Papageno's mouth for his lie. They also show Tamino a portrait of Princess Pamina, the Queen's kidnapped daughter, and he immediately falls in love. Protected by a golden flute, he sets off with the bird-catcher Papageno to rescue Pamina from the clutches of the sorcerer Sarastro and a madcap adventure involving magicians, wild animals and very Masonic-like trials. Triumphing over all adversity, the lovers unite, as the forces of light banish the darkness and Papageno even finds a true love of his own.

Since its debut in 1934 the Glyndebourne Festival has put a focus on Mozart operas and developed a great competence in staging them. Mozart s operas seem to be made for the small but fine opera house in Glyndebourne and it's not surprising that the 1977 Don Giovanni, one of Mozart's great masterpieces, was a huge success. This production is conducted by Bernard Haitink, who holds the opinion, that no other composer had more opera in his blood than Mozart. It has been proven, for example, that Mozart had no overture for Don Giovanni until the evening before the premiere in Prague and wrote it down in just one night. Like the premiere's success of the opera in Prague in 1787 the Glyndebourne's version staged by Peter Hall was praised by audience and critics alike: We witness a lively and wide-awake ensemble piece that has easily survived all these decades, and still manages to teach many directors the art of playing theatre.