Current language: English

Echnaton (Akhnaten)

Date details

Map

A visual map representation follows.Skip map

Show on map

End of map.

Public transportation

9 more dates

Part of:

Echnaton (Akhnaten)

It was in 2017 that the production of Satyagraha by the Komische Oper Berlin premiered to great acclaim. Now we have another chapter in the opera trilogy by Philip Glass, each work focussed on an individual who changed the world.

  • Monika Rittershaus

    – Monika Rittershaus

    © Monika Rittershaus

  • Heinz und Horst Filmproduktion

    – Heinz und Horst Filmproduktion

    © Heinz und Horst Filmproduktion

This time, the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. Directing is Barrie Kosky, whose Moses and Aaron and now Akhenaten show us how contemporary music can take mythic figures and make them strikingly vivid and tangibly real.Thebes around 1300 BCE, at the dawn of a new era: Amenhotep III has died, and his son, Amenhotep IV, who later takes the name Akhenaten, is crowned pharaoh. The story depicts his love for Nefertiti, as well as the destruction of the Temple of Amun, the centre of the ruling polytheistic religion. Akhenaten supports only the new religion of Aten, in which the sun is worshipped as the sole supreme deity. Finally, the narrative jumps to the present, in which Akhenaten’s demise and the resurgence of the former priestly caste are told from the perspective of a modern tour group visiting ancient Egyptian sites. But in the background, we can now see Akhenaten’s ghost joining the funeral procession of his predecessor . . .

In the oeuvre of Philip Glass, the grand format of the opera forms a central pillar. With Einstein on the Beach , Satyagraha , and Akhnaten , he created a triptych whose first two parts pay homage to two influential figures of the twentieth century: Albert Einstein and Mahatma Gandhi. The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, on the other hand, lived some 3,500 years earlier, and is considered the founder of the first monotheistic religion. A religion that never fully prevailed and that vanished after Akhenaten’s death, and yet is considered an important precursor to later monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Minimal music emerged in the United States of the 1970s as a response to serialism, which was dominant in Europe at the time. It is structured around patterns that keep returning like a prayer wheel. The resulting near-imperceptible shifting and layering give minimalist compositions the hypnotic pull that typify this style of music and have made it one of the most popular genres of the twentieth century, going far beyond the classical audience.

DID YOU KNOW?The opera’s foregrounding of brass makes it sound particularly archaic. The actual reason behind this choice was that the first venue’s orchestra pit was too small for a violin section, so the composer simply omitted it.

3hr incl. intermission

Artists/Collaborators: Danielle Bezaire (Bewegungssequenzen), Martina Borroni (Bewegungssequenzen), Danilo Brunetti (Bewegungssequenzen), Klaus Bruns (Kostüme), David Cavelius (Chöre), Shane Dickson (Bewegungssequenzen), Daniel Andrés Eberhard (Dramaturgie), Benjamin Gericke (Bewegungssequenzen), Claudia Greco (Bewegungssequenzen), Klaus Grünberg (Licht), Klaus Grünberg (Bühnenbild), Barrie Kosky (Bewegungssequenzen), Barrie Kosky (Inszenierung), Anne Kuhn (Ko-Bühnenbildnerin), Jonathan Stockhammer (Musikalische Leitung), Andrii Zubchevskyi (Bewegungssequenzen), Katharina Fritsch (Spielleitung), John Holiday (Echnaton), Susan Zarrabi (Nofretete), Kiandra Howarth (Königin Teje), Giacomo Schmidt (Horemhab), Stefan Cifolelli (Hohepriester des Amun), Frederik Bergman (Aye), Peter Renz (Der Schreiber (Chronist)), Benjamin Gericke (Tänzer), Shane Dickson (Tänzer), Danilo Brunetti (Tänzer), Andrii Zubchevskyi (Tänzer), Danielle Bezaire (Tänzerin), Martina Borroni (Tänzerin), Claudia Greco (Tänzerin), Ambar Arias (Töchter Echnatons), Chorsolisten der Komischen Oper Berlin (Chor), Vocalconsort Berlin (Chor), Komparserie (Komparserie), Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin (Orchester)

Alternative events

© Quelle: Reservix-System

WOW Varieté Potsdam 2027

Erleben Sie die magische Atmosphäre des WOW Varietés! Vom 08. bis 17. Januar 2027 gastiert das WOW Varieté im Waschhaus Potsdam mit einer neuen, exklusiven Show. Internationale, vielfach ausgezeichnete Künstlerinnen und Künstler entführen Sie in eine... moreabout: WOW Varieté Potsdam 2027

Date:
Saturday, 09/January/2027 15:30 (7 more dates)
Venue:
Waschhaus Potsdam
Address:
Schiffbauergasse 6, 14467 Potsdam
Price:
from €26.10
Order online

© Eventim

Abalance The ABBA Show / Revival Show - a tribute to ABBA

Die Band "Abalance" gilt als eine der dienstältesten Abba – Revivalbands überhaupt. Mitreißende Shows und Gastspiele führten sie von der Ostsee bis zum Bodensee und in den Friedrichstadtpalast Berlin. Auch im europäischen Ausland...Belgien, Holland, Schweiz,... moreabout: Abalance The ABBA Show / Revival Show - a tribute to ABBA

Next date:
ABBA - Show Abalance - A Tribute to ABBA with ABALANCE
Date:
Saturday, 09/January/2027 20:00
Venue:
Stadthalle am Steintor Bernau
Address:
Hussitenstraße 1, 16321 Bernau bei Berlin
Price:
from €41.20
Order online

© Quelle: Reservix-System

ABBA - ABALANCE The Show

Die Band "Abalance" gilt als eine der dienstältesten Abba – Revivalbands überhaupt. Mitreißende Shows und Gastspiele führten sie von der Ostsee bis zum Bodensee und in den Friedrichstadtpalast Berlin. Auch im europäischen Ausland...Belgien, Holland, Schweiz,... moreabout: ABBA - ABALANCE The Show

Next date:
ABBA - Revival - Show 2027
Date:
Saturday, 09/January/2027 20:00
Venue:
Stadthalle am Steintor Bernau
Address:
Hussitenstraße 1, 16321 Bernau bei Berlin
Price:
from €40.25
Order online

© Quelle: Reservix-System

Savira´s SHOWPALAST - on Tour

Savira Brown gründete im Oktober 2023 ihr eigenes Travestie-Theater "Savira´s SHOWPALAST" in Mühlheim am Main und kommt nun unter dem selben Namen in Ihre Nähe. Mit "Savira´s SHOWPALAST - on Tour" präsentiert sie eine Mischung aus Travestie- und Varieté-Kunst.... moreabout: Savira´s SHOWPALAST - on Tour

Next date:
Die bunte Travestie - Varieté - Revue
Date:
Saturday, 09/January/2027 20:00
Venue:
Gesellschaftshaus Schleicher
Address:
Wilhelmstraße 37, 15890 Eisenhüttenstadt
Price:
from €39.70
Order online

Show more events in the category "Show"…

The help page for the event calendar answers common questions.. Information about coperations and imprint can be found on our page about partners and terms and conditions.

Zum Seitenanfang