Akhnaten
Opera byPhilip Glass
Poster for the cinema broadcast of the 2019 production at theMetropolitan Opera
Librettist	Philip Glass, Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel,Richard Riddell, andJerome Robbins
Premiere	March 24, 1984 (1984-03-24) Staatstheater Stuttgart

Akhnaten is anopera in three acts based on the life and religious convictions of the EgyptianpharaohAkhenaten (Amenhotep IV),^[1] written by the American composerPhilip Glass in1983. The libretto is by Philip Glass in association with Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel,Richard Riddell, andJerome Robbins. According to the composer, this work is the culmination of a trilogy including his two otherbiographical operas,Einstein on the Beach (aboutAlbert Einstein) andSatyagraha (aboutMahatma Gandhi). These three people were all driven by an inner vision which altered the age in which they lived: Akhenaten in religion, Einstein in science, and Gandhi in politics.

The text, taken from original sources, is sung in the original languages, linked together with the commentary of a narrator in a modern language, such as English or German. Egyptian texts of the period are taken from a poem of Akhenaten himself, from theBook of the Dead, and from extracts of decrees and letters from theAmarna Period, the seventeen-year period of Akhenaten's rule. Other portions are inAkkadian andBiblical Hebrew. Akhnaten'sHymn to the Sun is sung in the language of the audience.

Akhnaten was commissioned by Württembergische Staatstheater, Stuttgart and had its world premiere on March 24,1984, at theStuttgart State Theatre, under the German titleEchnaton.Paul Esswood sang the title role, German directorAchim Freyer staged the opera in an abstract style with highly ritualistic movements. The American premiere, directed by David Freeman, was on October 12, 1984, at theHouston Grand Opera, where Glass's operaThe Making of the Representative for Planet 8 also premiered. The UK premiere, based on the American production, was on June 17, 1985, byEnglish National Opera at theLondon Coliseum.^[2] This production was revived at the London Coliseum in March 1987.

The award-winning Polish premiere, directed byHenryk Baranowski, was on May 20, 2000, at theGrand Theatre in Łódź.^[3] The French premiere was on September 23, 2002, atOpéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg^[4] as a co-production withBoston Lyric Opera which had premiered the production in February 2002^[5]A new co-production byEnglish National Opera andLA Opera and in collaboration withImprobable directed byPhelim McDermott starringAnthony Roth Costanzo andZachary James premiered at the London Coliseum on March 4, 2016, which won a 2017 Olivier Award, and at LA Opera on November 5, 2016.^[6] This production saw the addition of juggling choreography byGandini Juggling.^[7] A revival of this production in London took place in March 2019 and played at theMetropolitan Opera in their 2019/2020 season, winning the 2022Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.^[8] The 2019 Met production was streamed online on June 20 and November 14, 2020, and February 12, 2021, and returned in 2022.^{[9][10][11][12]} A new production directed and choreographed by Nanine Linning premiered atTheater Heidelberg on June 6, 2014,^[13] another new production directed by Laura Scozzi premiered at Oper Bonn on March 11, 2018.^[14]

A November 2020 production atOpéra de Nice Côte d’Azur was performed without an audience and screened online, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. This production was produced and choreographed by longtime Glass collaboratorLucinda Childs, who conducted rehearsals remotely. She also performed the speaking roles in the opera, which were pre-recorded and projected during the performance.^[15][16] The Opéra de Nice reprised their performance in October 2025 at thePhilarmonie de Paris, again with Lucinda Childs as the narrator.^[17]

The orchestra's size is about the size employed for early 19th-century opera: 2flutes (one doublingpiccolo), 2oboes (both doublingoboe d'amore), 2clarinets,bass clarinet, 2bassoons, 2french horns, 2trumpets, 2trombones,tuba,percussion (3 players),celesta (doublingsynthesizer), 12violas, 8celli, and 6double basses.^[26]

Since theStuttgart State Opera house was being restored in 1984 and theorchestra pit of theKleines Haus at theStuttgart State Theatre, where the premiere was to take place, was considerably smaller, Glass chose to completely leave out the violins (about 20), giving the orchestra a darker, sombre character.^[27] Apart from this, this was Glass's most "conventional" opera orchestra until then (compared toEinstein on the Beach, written for the six-piecePhilip Glass Ensemble, andSatyagraha, scored forwoodwinds andstrings only).^[28]

The opera is divided into three acts:

Thebes,1370 BC

Prelude, verse 1, verse 2, verse 3

Set in thekey ofA minor, the strings introduce aground bass theme, with following variations (apassacaglia). The scribe recitesfuneral texts from the pyramids. "Open are the double doors of the horizon; unlocked are its bolts."

Scene 1: Funeral of Akhnaten's father Amenhotep III

Heralded by hammering drums, Aye and a small male chorus chant a funeral hymn in Egyptian, later joined by the full chorus. The music is basically a march, based on the chords ofA major andF♯ minor (with addedmajor sixth),^[29] and grows to ecstatic intensity towards the end.

Scene 2: The Coronation of Akhnaten

After a lengthy orchestral introduction, during which Akhnaten appears, heralded by a solo trumpet, the High Priest, Aye, and Horemhab sing a ritual text. After that, the Narrator recites a list of royal titles bestowed upon Akhnaten, while he is crowned. After thecoronation, the chorus repeats the ritual text from the beginning of the scene. Again, the main key is A minor.

Scene 3: The Window of Appearances

After an introduction in A minor, dominated bytubular bells, Akhnaten sings a praise to the Creator (in Egyptian) at the window of public appearances. This is the first time he actually sings, after he has already been on stage for 20 minutes (and 40 minutes into the opera) and the effect of hiscountertenor voice (which in 1983 was even more rare than nowadays) is startling. He is joined by Queen Tye, whose soprano soars high above the soon intertwining voices of the royal couple, and later byNefertiti, who actually sings lower notes than he.

Scene 1: The Temple

The scene opens again in A minor, with the High Priest and a group of priests singing a hymn toAmun, principal god of the old order, in his temple. The music becomes increasingly dramatic, as Akhnaten, together with Queen Tye and his followers, attack the temple. This scene has only wordless singing. The harmonies grow very chromatic, finally reachingA♭ major andE minor. The temple roof is removed and the sun godAten's rays invade the temple, thus ending Amun's reign and laying the foundation for the worship of the One God: the Sun God Aten.

Scene 2: Akhnaten and Nefertiti

Two solo celli introduce a "love theme". Accompanied by a solo trombone while the harmony switches to B(sus), the Narrator recites a prayer-like poem to the sun god. The strings softly take over the music in E minor, and the same poem is recited again, this time actually as a love poem from Akhnaten to Nefertiti. Then Akhnaten and Nefertiti sing the same text to each other (in Egyptian), as an intimate love duet. After a while, the trumpet associated with Akhnaten joins them as the highest voice, turning the duet into a trio.

Scene 3: The City – Dance

The Narrator speaks a text taken from the boundary stones of the new capital of the empire, Akhet-Aten (The Horizon of Aten), describing the construction of the city, with large, light-filled spaces. After a brass fanfare, the completion of the city is celebrated in a light-hearted dance, contrasting with the stark, ritualistic music with which this act began (in the Stuttgart premiere, the dance actually described the construction of the city). The dance scene was omitted from the UK premiere production and its 1987 revival.^[2]

Scene 4: Hymn

What now follows is ahymn to the only god Aten, a longaria (alternating between A minor and A major) by Akhnaten, and the central piece of the opera. Notably, it is the only text sung in the language of the audience, praising the sun giving life to everything. After the aria, an off-stage chorus singsPsalm 104 inHebrew, dating some 400 years later, which has strong resemblances to Akhnaten's Hymn, thus emphasizing Akhnaten as the first founder of amonotheistic religion.

Akhnaten,1358 BC

Scene 1: The Family

Two oboes d'amore play the "love theme" from act 2. Akhnaten, Nefertiti and their six daughters, sing wordlessly in contemplation. They are oblivious to what happens outside of the palace. As the music switches from E minor toF minor, the Narrator reads letters fromSyrian vassals, asking for help against their enemies. Since the king does not send troops, his land is being seized and plundered by their enemies. The scene focuses again on Akhnaten and his family, still oblivious to the country falling apart.

Scene 2: The Attack and Fall of the City

The music moves again to a vigorous F minor. Horemhab, Aye and the High Priest of Amon instigate the people (as the chorus), singing part of the vassal's letters (in their originalAkkadian language) until finally the palace is attacked, the royal family killed, and the city of the sun destroyed.

Scene 3: The Ruins

The music of the very beginning of the opera returns. The scribe recites an inscription on Aye's tomb, praising the death of "the great criminal" and the new reign of the old gods. He then describes the restoration of Amun's temple by Akhnaten's sonTutankhamun. The Prelude music grows stronger and the scene moves to present-day Egypt, to the ruins ofAmarna, the former capital Akhetaten. The Narrator appears as a modern tourist guide and speaks a text from a guide book, describing the ruins. "There is nothing left of this glorious city of temples and palaces."

Scene 4: Epilogue

The ghosts of Akhnaten, Nefertiti and Queen Tye appear, singing wordlessly amongst the ruins. The funeral procession from the beginning of the opera appears on the horizon, and they join it. The music introduces a bass line from the beginning ofEinstein on the Beach, the first part of Glass's "portrait" trilogy (The second one beingSatyagraha and the third oneAkhnaten), thus providing a musical bracket for the whole trilogy.

"Window of Appearances" and "Akhnaten and Nefertiti" feature in the seventh episode of thefourth season of theNetflix original seriesStranger Things.^[30]

• Stuttgart State Theater, world premiere, programme (1984)
• A Composer's Notes – Philip Glass and the Making of an Opera, Michael Blackwood (Director), (1985)
• CD booklet (Soloists, chorus and orchestra of the Stuttgart State Opera,Dennis Russell Davies, cond., CBS 1987)
• Glass, Philip; Jones, Robert T (1995).Music by Philip Glass. Da Capo.ISBN 978-0-306-80636-0.OCLC 424030462.
• Schwarz, K. Robert (2008).Minimalists. Phaidon.ISBN 978-0-7148-4773-3.OCLC 971783837.

• Akhnaten, philipglass.com
• "Akhnaten" (work details) (in French and English).IRCAM.
• Philip Glass: Akhnaten (Live from the Met), online streaming of a complete live recording atBandcamp
• "Massenmord am Nil", review of the premiere, by Rudolf Hohlweg,Die Zeit, 30 March 1984(in German)
• Opera Britannia review, 4 February 2016
• Interview with the four main cast members from MET's 2019 production – Anthony Roth Costanzo, J'Nai Bridges, Dísella Lárusdóttir and Zakary James, by Egyptologist Dominic Perry, 29 October 2019 (date provided in e-mail by the interviewer)
• How an opera gets made onYouTube published December 4, 2019Vox Media

• 1984 operas
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• Cultural depictions of Akhenaten
• Cultural depictions of Nefertiti
• Fiction set in the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
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• Operas
• Operas by Philip Glass
• Philip Glass albums
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• Works set in the 14th century BC

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