期刊名称：Nota Bene : Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Musicology
印刷版ISSN：1920-8979
电子版ISSN：1920-8987
出版年度：2008
卷号：1
期号：1
出版社：University of Western Ontario
摘要：In the opera Satyagraha, Philip Glass presents his vision of M.K. Gandhi’s fight for social equality in South Africa. The title makes reference to the Sanskrit word that was coined by Gandhi in 1906 and used to describe his philosophy and practice of passive resistance.1 Together with librettist Constance DeJong, Glass put in place an imaginative and bold musicodramatic plan by framing Gandhi’s political struggle and his practice of Satyagraha within the context of the sacred Hindu text, the Bhagavad- Gita. The opera begins with a staged representation of the allegorical text, with actors portraying the main characters in traditional costumes from the Kathakali dance drama tradition of Kerala, India. While this is the only staged representation of the Bhagavad-Gita in the opera, Glass still manages to frame the story of Gandhi’s struggle within the context of the sacred Hindu scriptures by using the text as the libretto for Gandhi’s story. This paper examines the ways in which Glass uses musical gestures to track Gandhi’s development as a political, social and spiritual leader.
