Last Sunday we looked at an operatic film, The Tales of Hoffmann. Let's continue the trend this weekend by briefly focusing on something equally striking on the audiovisual level that has some cinematic moments as well, but that pertains to the world of the stage - the opera Akhnaten, written by Philip Glass.
The opera opened last Friday at Antwerp's Opera Vlaanderen and it has a fashion side to it since it features costumes by Walter Van Beirendonck.
The story mainly takes place in the new city of Akhetaten in Egypt in about 1375-58 BC. Pharaoh Amenhotep III is dead and his son, crowned his successor, opts for the name "Akhnaten" meaning "he to whom the sun-disk is favourably disposed".
Akhnaten introduces a monotheistic cult focused on Aten - the sun-disk - and, together with his wife Nefertiti, founds a new capital and also imposes his ideas for renewal on other areas such as art and culture.
Becoming more and more alienated and isolated from the rest of the population, after a reign of seventeen years, the pharaoh and his family are overthrown by the masses led by former figures of power including General Horemhab, counsellor Aye and the priests. Older and rigid power structures were restored and, as the centuries pass, the devastated city of Akhetaten is dug out of the sand again to become a tourist site.
Written in 1984, Akhnaten is Glass's third full-length opera (it follows Einstein on the Beach, 1976, and Satyagraha, 1980) and it is told via different episodes and scenes.
The soundtrack is particularly intriguing since it is based on repetitive, rhythmic melody patterns that are gradually interwoven.
Rather than moving from his latest designs, for this edition by English director and designer Nigel Lowery, Van Beirendonck's has created costumes that are heavily influenced by his Autumn/Winter 2013 collection originally inspired by David Bowie.
Colours that are historically and traditionally linked with the Egyptian civilisation such as gold, aqua green or turquoise, the latter a symbol of fertility, good luck and protection, are reinterpreted in a Ziggy Stardust glam key in Van Beirendonck's costumes and accessories (see the platform shoes donned by most of the characters).
While gold prevails in most of the opera (see the pleated gowns matched with brightly coloured coats characterised by voluminous silhouettes and made in a material similar to tinsel, but also the gold mummy bandages), lurex remains the fabric of choice, but most garments come in two different colours and textiles almost to hint at a dichotomy between the past and the future (for the future see the Reebok sneakers donned by the Egyptian gods), symbolically represented by Akhnaten, a king and a visionary figure more similar to Sun Ra than to a conventional Egyptian pharaoh.
The colourful make-up, elongated prostetic chins, cheeks and fingers, hip hop jewellery and oversized masks of Egyptian gods worn as helmets add a grotesque element to the opera, but also point towards the trademark iconography of Walter van Beirendonck, giving the show the genuine potential of attracting both fashionistas and an entirely new generation of opera fans.
"Akhnaten" by Philip Glass directed by Nigel Lowery is at Antwerp's Opera Vlaadenren until 22nd February and at Gent Opera from 4th until 10th of March.
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