Volume 17 Issue 9 - June 2012

Lucinda Childs, who will serve asEinstein on the Beach.choreographer, as she did for theoriginal production and for therevivals in 1984 and 1992. All ofthese artists are now in their 70s,with this production the cornerstoneof Glass’ 75th birthday year.Speaking of the new production,Glass has said, “For Boband me, the 2012-13 revival ofEinstein on the Beach will be amost significant event, since inall likelihood, this will be thelast time that we will be togetherand able to work on the piece. Foraudiences, few of whom have experienced Einstein apart from audiorecordings, this tour will be a chance finally to see this seminal work.“In this production, my composition will remain consistent withthe 1976 original. The technology of theatre staging and lighting hasimproved to such an extent that it will be interesting to see how Bobuses these innovations to realize his original vision.”Wilson has said, “Philip and I have been always been surprisedby the impact that the opera had and has. I am particularly excitedabout this revival, as we are planning to re-envision Einstein witha new generation of performers, some of whom were not even bornwhen Einstein had its world premiere. Aside from New York, Einsteinon the Beach has never been seen in any of the cities currently on ourtour, and I am hoping that other cities might still be added. I am verycurious to see how, after nearly 40 years, it will be received by a 21stcentury audience.”Einstein on the Beach is the first of what later came known asPhilip Glass “portrait operas,” each centred on a man who changedthe world not through force but through the force of his ideas.Einstein was followed by Satyagraha (1980) about Mahatma Gandhiand Akhnaten (1984) about theEgyptian pharaoh (14th centuryBC) who was the first man inrecorded history to promotemonotheism. In all, Glass haswritten 13 full-scale operas andfive chamber operas, of whichonly one has ever been seen inToronto — La Belle et la Bête (1995),one of his trilogy of Jean Cocteaufilm operas.Glass’ musical style has beencalled “minimalist,” a termhe dislikes, preferring to callit “music with repetitive structures.”Notable features include a prominent steady pulse, consonance(rather than dissonance) and repetition leading to the gradualadditive transformation of musical phrases. Glass’ early workslike Einstein feature near constant arpeggiation of each note of themelodic line. As Glass explains it, “My main approach throughouthas been to link harmonic structure directly to rhythmic structure,using the latter as a base. In doing so, easily perceptible ‘root movement’(chords or ‘changes’) was chosen in order that the clarity ofthis relationship could be easily heard. Melodic material is for themost part a function, or result, of the harmony.” Once a minoritystyle in the 1960s, then still dominated by serialism, it has nowbecome the most popular experimental style in classical music asrepresented by such different composers as Steve Reich, John Adams,Michael Torke, Michael Nyman, and the so-called spiritual minimalistsHenryk Górecki, Arvo Pärt, Sofia Gubaidulina and John Tavener.For more information and tickets visit www.luminato.com.Christopher Hoile is a Toronto-based writer on opera andtheatre. He can be contacted at opera@thewholenote.com.Lucie janSCHCanadian Children’s Opera CompanyAnn Cooper Gay, Executive Artistic DirectorA new children's opera commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812by Errol Gay and Michael Patrick AlbanoThursday & FridayJune 7 & 87:30pmPhoto: Michael CooperLaura’s Cow has been generouslysupported by Gretchen and Donald Ross.Saturday & SundayJune 9 & 102:00pm & 7:30pmEnwave Theatre, Harbourfront Centre231 Queens Quay W. - 416-973-4000$35 Adult; $20 Senior$15 Student & ChildProduced in association with:THE AUCTIONA CANADIAN FOLK OPERASATURDAY, JUNE 30 & SUNDAY JULY 1AT 2:00 pmMusic by John BurgeLibretto by Eugene BensonDirector & Choreographer Allison GrantConductor Philip HeadlamFEATURINGKimberly Barber, Donna Bennett, Olivia Rapos,Bruce Kelly, Keith Klassen, Tim Stiff & Matthew ZadowCommissioned by Westben with the assistance of the OntarioArts Council.Inspired by The Auction written by Jan Andrews andillustrated by Karen Reczuch.Used with permission by the publisher, Groundwood Books6698 COUNTY ROAD 30 NORTH, CAMPBELLFORD ON K0L 1L01-877-883-5777 · www.westben.ca12 thewholenote.com June 1 – July 7, 2012