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Philip Glass: Satyagraha (1983)

2h 48m

Running Time

Philip Glass: Satyagraha (1983)

Name: Philip Glass: Satyagraha
Genre: Drama, Music, History
Released: 1983-01-01

2h 48m

Running Time

January 1, 1983
Release Date

External Links & Social Media

Network & Production Companies

Plot.

This luminous, visionary opera tells the story of how Mahatma Gandhi developed the philosophy of satyagraha, nonviolent active resistance, as a political revolutionary tool to fight oppression, connecting his lifework to three historical figures who advanced his philosophy: the celebrated Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, the great Indian poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore and the heroic American civil rights leader Martin Luther King. The libretto is comprised of passages from “The Bhagavad-Gita,” India’s greatest philosophical epic, and perfectly complements Glass’ ravishing score, mysteriously transporting the audience with a serene power and an all-encompassing sense of peace.

Where to Watch.

Free

Currently Philip Glass: Satyagraha is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Kanopy

Streaming in:
🇺🇸 United States

Cast & Crew.

Leo Goeke

Gandhi 1

Ralf Harster

Gandhi 2

Ralf Harster

Gandhi II

Helmut Danninger

Gandhi 3

Inga Nielsen

Schlesen

Elke Estlinbaum

Kasturbai

Achim Freyer

Set Designer / Costume Designer / Producer

Dennis Russell Davies

Conductor

Joachim Augustin

Executive Producer

Constance DeJong

Writer

Philip Glass

Writer / Music

Mahatma Gandhi

Writer

Hugo Käch

Director

Details.

Release Date
January 1, 1983

Status
Released

Running Time
2h 48m

Genres
Drama Music History

Last updated: 2025-03-09

This Movie Is About.

opera

mahatma gandhi

minimalist opera

anti-colonialism

staatsoper stuttgart

Wiki.

Satyagraha (; Sanskrit सत्याग्रह, satyāgraha "insistence on truth") is a 1980 opera in three acts for orchestra, chorus and soloists, composed by Philip Glass, with a libretto by Glass and Constance DeJong.

Loosely based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, it forms the second part of Glass's "Portrait Trilogy" of operas about men who changed the world, which also includes Einstein on the Beach and Akhnaten.

Glass's style can broadly be described as minimalist. The work is scored for 2 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 2 tenors, a baritone, 2 basses, a large SATB chorus, and an orchestra of strings and woodwinds only, no brass or percussion. Principal roles are Sonja Schlesin, Mahatma Gandhi, Hermann Kallenbach and Parsi Rustomji.

The title refers to Gandhi's concept of nonviolent resistance to injustice, satyagraha, and the text, from the Bhagavad Gita, is sung in the original Sanskrit. In performance, translation is usually provided in supertitles.