Satyagraha

Friday, April 23 at 8PM ET
Available on demand until April 24 at 6:30PM ET

In partnership with Carnegie Hall and its Voices of Hope festival, the Metropolitan Opera presents a free encore screening of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha, in Phelim McDermott’s definitive, wildly inventive staging.

The second installment of Glass’s Portrait Trilogy of operas based on the lives of important historical figures—which began with Einstein on the Beach and concluded with Akhnaten—Satyagraha dates from 1979 and is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and his ideology of achieving change through peaceful protest and civil disobedience. With a libretto assembled using text from the Bhagavad-Gita, sung in the original Sanskrit, the opera has no concrete plot, instead layering various historical vignettes, political statements, philosophical musings, and parables to form a meditative work that is as much manifesto as music or theater.

Explore the articles, videos, and resources below to enhance your experience of the performance.

Playbill

View the Playbill from the original 2011 performance, including synopsis, program note, and more.

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Turning the Tide

Before the 2008 Met premiere of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha, Ela Gandhi spoke about the idea of satyagraha and her grandfather’s incredible legacy.

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The Message in the Music

Before the 2008 Met premiere of his Satyagraha, acclaimed American composer Philip Glass spoke about Gandhi as an opera subject and why his message still resonates today.

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The Art of Satyagraha

Innovative artists tell the story of Gandhi and his philosophy of non-violence in the Met-premiere production of Philip Glass’s opera.

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Truth Force

Satyahgraha, Philip Glass’s landmark 1980 work about Gandhi and the development of his philosophy of nonviolence had its Met premiere in 2008. This audio slideshow offers a glimpse of the imaginative design of Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch’s production.

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Nightly Opera Streams

Each night during the Met’s closure, enjoy a free complete performance from the company’s extensive archive of Live in HD transmissions and classic telecasts.

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