PHILIP GLASS: Waiting for the Barbarians (complete opera) – Richard Salter (Magistrate)/ Eugene Perry (Colonel Joll)/ Michael Tews (Warrant Officer Mandel)/ Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra/ Erfurt Theater Opera Choir/Dennis Russell Davies – Orange Mt.

by | Jul 19, 2008 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

PHILIP GLASS: Waiting for the Barbarians (complete opera) – Richard Salter (Magistrate)/ Eugene Perry (Colonel Joll)/ Michael Tews (Warrant Officer Mandel)/ Elvira Soukop (Barbarian Girl)/ Kelly God (Cook)/ Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra/ Erfurt Theater Opera Choir/ Dennis Russell Davies, conductor – Orange Mountain Music 0039 (2-CDs), 2:13:42 total ***1/2 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi]:

Philip Glass continues his enigmatic presence in the music world. Now 71, lionized in many quarters as one of the most important composers of the last and this century, and scathingly ostracized in others for being little more than a hack, his position is polarizing to say the least. He has talent, no question. But despite a number of reviews I have read in recent years about his music, I do not detect the sea change in style that others do. Perhaps in form—after all, the early opera trilogy with its set pieces is now supplanted by a more continuous dramatic throughput, he did turn to concertos and symphonies some years ago—but his style remains instantly recognizable, and not in the same way that Stravinsky’s did. The latter underwent many changes yet still infused his music with an unmistakable stamp of rigorous construction and rhythmic complexity while Glass, maintaining a certain set rhythmic staple, continues to sound like he is reworking the same music he wrote 40 years ago. Those incessant repeated two note patterns, twos morphing into threes, etc., mark a Glass score instantaneously. Many love it—I find it somewhat irritating, wishing for all the world that the composer would finally show some growth in his style (as did John Adams) instead of finding himself too comfortable in his existing milieu.

Waiting for the Barbarians in many ways marks an important step for him in that the opera itself is on a theme of repression, torture, “cold” love, and preventative war. These things resonate to us today and are likely to for some time, and Glass refuses to draw any conclusions from the problems he poses. Barbarians (2005) is based on the famous novel by J.M. Coetzee (libretto by Christopher Hampton) where a Magistrate of a lonely frontier city on the edge of nowhere is faced with a crisis of conscience when the powers that be decide to round up some of the “barbarians” in order to torture and force confessions of impending plans to invade. We never are told whether these plans are real, but it gives the authorities the needed impetus to launch a preemptive strike. The Magistrate, seeing the unneeded and unheeded torture taking place, ends up helping someone on the other side, undergoes persecution and torture, and serves as a small catalyst for the barbarians to actually score a victory. In the middle of this we have some love scenes, a good deal of philosophizing, and some cases of very effective music, although, like so much of Glass, seems better served on the stage than on record.

The pictures of the set on the album booklet make this production seems like a very powerful one, and I would much rather have seen it on DVD than hear it. Frankly, despite some moments of beauty, the music is all a variation on the same theme he has been composing for years. Glass can do many good things—witness his recent highly dramatic and effective score for The Illusionist—but his instincts are primarily theatrical, and his greatest successes are there.

I have read a few over-the-top reviews of this piece on sales websites obviously done by devotees. I don’t want to counter by one in the other camp, but can recommend this to those who know what they are getting—you will not be disappointed, and this is one of Glass’s best scores of recent years. All others might find that a little of this composer goes a long way, and this might serve as a representative example. The singers are all very good (with a couple of strained exceptions), and the sound is high quality – though not what I would call state of the art – recorded live.

— Steven Ritter

Related Reviews
Logo Pure Pleasure
Logo Crystal Records Sidebar 300 ms
Logo Jazz Detective Deep Digs Animated 01