#Akhnaten

[scrozac]

MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!! and some pieces of lore if you want to know what's going on…

people in their region (inspired by our south regions like Africa, South America and Australia) consider abilities to be manifestations of divine power and, although they respect such individuals, they fear them and believe that they have no place among ordinary people, so they drive them out of their settlements so that they can fulfill their duty — to protect ordinary people. our main character, Addy, also turned out to be a girl with abilities — she was blessed with the power of the vampire Adze. although she did nothing wrong, she was sent to supposedly protect their world. but she decided to travel the continent in search of herself and other people, to prove that she is also human and abilities do not take away her humanity.

Yara is her first friend, she is really funny girl, even tho in sleep she sometimes TOTALLY ON ACCIDENT licks Addy's legs… anyway they are really good friends!

Xipe-Totec is some kind of a villain, but she is actually nice, just really misunderstood. she is gonna have really sad story, while also acting as silly one. anyway, she tries her best!

there is also a girl named Nyikang, but i'm still working on her design… all i can tell you for now is that she is kinda mean, but she'll do everything to protect people around her…

the last one is Akhnaten, DJ girl, who makes «divine» rhytms by using the power of divine solar disk Aten.

[doyouknowthisopera]

[jone-slugger]

I'm taking a break from my trekposting so that I can recommend this opera I stumbled upon yesterday: Akhnaten, by Philip Glass. It's sung in ancient Egyptian, Akkadian and Hebrew. There are parts taken from the Book of the Dead.

I don't know; it just blew my mind. There was something I found profoundly moving from listening to a song about an Egyptian pharaoh in ancient Egyptian.

[bruitmoderniste]

DAMN Glass' Akhnaten is so fucking METAL 🤟

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

fav opera composed in the last 50 years?

this is probably gonna be a basic-ass answer, but…akhnaten, maybe?

as earlier mentioned, however, innocence scarred me for life in the best way

[chrysocomae]

Watch "Philip Glass - Akhnaten - The Window of Appearances" on YouTube

bro...

[aschenblumen]

Philip Glass, Akhnaten (Escena 4: Hymn to the Sun). Karen Kamensek, directora Anthony Roth Constanzo, contratenor

[swankifyed]

Holy fuck what an omega banger

"Open are the double doors of the horizon

Unlocked are its bolts"

[thewidowstanton]

The Widow's Best of 2023

Jane Hobson 2023: Following such a desperate year for so many in the world this quotation by Nietzsche seems pertinent. "We have art in order not to die of the truth." So, in an effort to uplift whoever might read this, here's a somewhat curtailed list of a few of our favourite things we've seen this year. It wasn't the hottest time for live shows; we walked out of five! One every few years, maybe, but five! Disappointing. However we still managed to find some wonderful things, not all of them new. Let's begin with…

MOST SPECTACULAR: Phelim McDermott's Akhnaten at the London Coliseum. We'd been asked so many times: "Have you seen Akhnaten?" No, we hadn't but now we have and, OK, it's a Philip Glass opera (pictured above and below) but really, with a set by Tom Pye and costumes by Kevin Pollard it's a full-on feast for the senses, with the ever-inventive Gandini Juggling, choreographed by Sean Gandini, doing what they do best.

Jane Hobson BEST CIRCUS SHOW: Cirque Le Roux's thrilling and ambitious Entre Chiens et Louves – staged at Le Bon Marché department store in Paris (take note Selfridges) – took our breath away even without the sublime Lolita Costet in the cast; and Circa's Humans II at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at London's Southbank Centre.

COMPANY TO WATCH: Hoops Désolé! A “crazy” six-strong troupe of artists drawn from the circus school in Quebec, Cirque du Soleil and Cirque Éloize.

Emma Kauldhar BEST DANCE: Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works at London’s Royal Opera House, with the mesmerising Alessandra Ferri, who at 59 was the same age as Virginia Woolf when she died. Another dancer with astonishing longevity is the Spanish Lucía Lacarra, now 48, who appeared in the Ballet Icons Gala at the London Coliseum.

BEST SHOWBIZ MEMOIR: Walking Through Walls by performance artist Marina Abramović; Do It For Your Mum by Roy Wilkinson, then manager of his brothers' band British Sea Power.

MOST TERRIFYING: He's done some daring things in his time and on World Circus Day Hungarian high-wire artist Laci Simet performed a sensational walk across the River Danube – 40 metres up in the wind – with only a balance pole to keep him safe.

BEST FILM: German film Afire or Roter Himmel by Christian Petzold (he’ll never let you down); Babak Jalali’s Fremont, set in a fortune cookie factory; and the Mexican film The Empty Hours directed by Aarón Fernández.

BEST ARCHIVE PIC: Josephine Baker and Dalida at L’Olympia music hall in Paris in 1968. A legendary pair!

LONGEST-SERVING FEMALE DJ: Texan Mary McCoy, who at 85 has been on the air for almost 72 years, and entered the Guinness Book of Records.

BEST DESERT ISLAND DISCS CASTAWAY: Actor/comedian/writer and so on, Adrian Edmondson; snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan.

MOST INSPIRING: The Maricarmen dance school in Chorrillos, south of Lima, in Peru, run by retired dancer Maria del Carmen Silva, offers free classes to girls of all abilities from low-income areas.

BEST DOCUMENTARY: Never Be a Punching Bag for Nobody by indie rock musician Naomi Yang; My Indiana Muse, in which artist Robert Townsend discovers his Kodachrome muse, Helen.

FOND FAREWELL: Actor David McCallum, who, as The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’s Illya Kuryakin was an enduring heartthrob for a certain generation of girls and women. Closer to home the UK lost its leading circus director, Phillip Gandey (above), at 67, whose shows – including Cirque Surreal, The Chinese State Circus and The Lady Boys of Bangkok – were always far and away the most creative and exciting; and The Circus of Horrors – a show I reviewed more times than any other, except perhaps Cirque du Soleil – lost its co-creator and frontman, Doktor Haze (below) at 66. Along with Gerry Cottle, they were notable as two of the nicest circus men I met during my reviewing years, and are greatly missed.

LAST WORD: It wouldn't be a Widow Stanton 'Best of' without some showgirls. This picture was taken by the Argentinian photographer Luisita Escarria, who with her sister Chela, documented all the artists appearing in revues in Buenos Aires from 1958 to 2009. Their story and wondrous archive might have been lost had it not been rescued by filmmakers Sol Miraglia and Hugo Manso. Their documentary Foto Estudio Luisita will warm your heart… and fortunately both the sisters lived long enough to see it.

Compiled by Liz Arratoon

[alwayswiselight]

Last night I indulged in Philip Glass' opera Akhnaten. It took me years to fall in love with this piece. When I was young and stupid, it all had to be tuneful and lushly orchestrated. I'm so grateful to have matured regarding my musical taste among other things.

Akhnaten is more of an oratorio set to minimalist music rather than a traditional opera. Of course, it deals with the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep IV who changed his name to Akhnaten to honor the single god that he worshipped which was Aten the sun's disc. The text above comes from an inscription on the foot of the anthropoid coffin in which the presumed mummy of Akhnaten was found. This restored version of the prayer is spoken twice by the narrator in this opera. I find it one of the most beautiful expressions of faith I've ever encountered.

[sforzesco]

Do you know the opera Akhnaten?!

THERE'S AN OPERA????

[jawbonejoe]

Me: Opera existing in the cultural zeitgeist as unmissable for snooty intellectuals is so silly

Me: *barreling through the Kennedy Center hurling ushers and rich men away from me* WHERE ARE THE TICKETS FOR PHILIP GLASS’S AKHNATEN?! WHERE ARE THEY AT?!?!?

[6ebe]

dick from a countertenor

[nakeddeparture]

Barbados. Akhnaten Z Burrowes is being accused of pushing Ashley Mayers off the deep end.

https://youtu.be/InIoIb3Cv1I

But, in life, there’s never only one thing. Naked!!

[nerdanel01]

Emmrook at the Opera

In honor of Sylvia confirming Emmrich’s occasionally into a “bold Orlesian opera” (one of the most exciting things to ever happen to me), I wanted to put together this little post on resources for anyone who might be curious about the genre, or want to incorporate it into their fic writing.

It’s going to be a little USA-heavy because I do, unfortunately, live in the land of hamburgers and assault rifles, but the silver lining is that I also live in the country that created this:

The Metropolitan Opera House in NYC has to be one of the largest opera houses in the world, at least partially because of the fact that it was built much more recently than many of the old ones. When it’s full, it fits over four thousand people in it. I once took a tour of the backstage with one of my best friends who told me, partially in jest, “Wow, I’ve never seen you look at your boyfriend the way you’re looking at this building.” I broke up with that boyfriend like a year later, but the Met is my love for life. I love the red velvet on the walls and the seats. I love the giant Marc Chagall paintings. I love the sputnik chandelier. I love the peeling gilt gold on the ceilings, which I often have a perfect view of from my seats in the nosebleeds. The Met is my boo. 

Onto the resources!

If you just want to watch a movie that FEATURES opera but is not specifically an opera:

Moonstruck - Cher tries to invite her fiance’s brother (Nicholas Cage) to her wedding. Can you imagine what happens to Cher and Nicholas Cage next. Features the both of them on a date at the Met Opera (my beloved!) and excerpts from La Boheme. One of my all time fave movies, I identify deeply with Cher’s grandfather in the film. 

Falling for Figaro is a pretty cute romcom about a finance chick who quits her job to pursue her dream of becoming a soprano. 

And listen like the singing in Phantom of the Opera (2004) is. Not great. (I’m sorry Gerard Butler, I loved you when I was twelve.) But the opening sequence of the rolling camera pulls through the opera house as the overture plays will haunt me for the rest of my life. 

If you’ve never seen an opera before, and want to watch one (either online or in person), I recommend starting with one of these:

La Boheme - One of the most popular operas, period. Also, it’s literally RENT. Beat for beat, from ‘will you light my candle’ to ‘la vie boheme,’ it’s RENT, just sung in Italian and set in Paris. (Spoilers, the ending in the opera is more tragic.)

L’Elisir D’Amore - If you like Agnes and Emmrich because you enjoy watching two idiots who are obviously in love with each other pine for each other, this is a good one. Very sweet. One of my faves.

The Barber of Seville - I think this one is very approachable if you think of it as a comic version of Sweeney Todd, if Sweeney had no tragic backstory and Jamie was a young noble. It’s a romance, shenanigans are had, and Largo al Factotum is one of the biggest bops of all time. 

My personal favorites also include Akhaten, La Fille Du Regiment, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Turandot, but your mileage may vary with these—Akhnaten is very contemporary, productions of Turandot sometimes feature some pretty heckin’ yikes orientalism. 

If you want to listen to opera music:

WQXR is NYC’s Classical Music Station. In addition to their regular classical music stream (which is also very good) they have a separate stream of just opera music called Operavore. (I also love New Sounds, but the streams vary wildly and its definitely an acquired taste.)

The Met broadcasts a series of live Sunday radio transmissions every year starting in the spring, available online and also via WQXR.

The Chicago Lyric Opera has a bunch of their live streams archived online.

I have also made a playlist where I’ll be adding all the songs featured in my Emmrook fics. :)

If you want to watch an opera stream online:

OperaVision

There’s this incredible list from OperaWire

But there’s also this site, where you can find pretty much anything

The Met also has it’s own paid streaming service, which is SPENSIVE on the subscription model, but if there’s something you really want to see and can’t find elsewhere, they allow you to rent single titles for $4.99 each.

I do strongly recommend, if you have any interest at all and have the opportunity, to go see an opera in person. For me it makes such a difference to be there in person, and it’s not as expensive as you might think! Plus, since opera is a dying art and opera houses are desperate for new audiences (at least, in America) there are usually a number of discounted ticket programs. (Again, the list below is super USA centric, I’m so sorry—and of those below, I’ve only been to the Met myself.)

The Metropolitan Opera is the biggest opera company in the US in terms of literally the number of operas they put on a year. Other than a brief break in February, the opera is pretty much in session 5 nights a week, from October through the end of May. 

Family Circle. I love the family circle. I’ve spent so much time in the Family Circle. The acoustics ARE genuinely better up here than they are in other parts of the house, and depending on the opera, tickets in the Family Circle typically go between $26-45 dollars each.

Rush Tickets are available every day online—these are usually seats in the orchestra. I can’t remember exactly but I think these are always $25. 

If you’re feeling ~opulent and looking for a very special date night, the Met also runs a program called Fridays Under 40. It’s a special priced Orchestra ticket for people under 40. Many of the dates also include little parties where they usually have photo booths, charcuterie, etc., and opportunities to meet some of the cast.

The Detroit Opera offers student rush tickets, although it looks like you have to be at the box office in person to get them. 

The Chicago Lyric Opera has discounts for students and 50% off rush tickets.

The San Francisco Opera has a great offer for first-time opera attendees who live in the Bay Area - $20 for two great seats

The L.A. Opera also offers student rush discount tickets, and $30 tickets for attendees under 30 years of age.

I am not aware of any discounts for the Santa Fe Opera but it looks so cool and it’s on my bucket list to go one day <3

Dallas Opera offers student discounts and discounts for attendees 21-45 (although it looks like they’re aksing for a membership fee for the 21-45 program—boooo Dallas Opera)

Not super clear on the specifics, but Houston Grand Opera also offers some kind of Under 40 discount on select performances

Opera Philadelphia, which recently appointed my all-time-favorite opera singer Anthony Roth Constanzo as their director, offers $10 rush tickets and student discounts

Tips for your first time at the opera, if you do go:

A thing I did not know before I started going to the opera is that even though they are sung in foreign languages, there are almost always subtitles. At the Met, these are transmitted to the chair back in front of you and available in a variety of other languages. Other houses often project the titles above or at the side of the stage.

If you don’t want to read and listen at the same time, synopses are almost always available in your program or ahead of time.

The food and drink is expensive and almost always not worth it. When I go to the Met with my friends, I regularly bring in alcohol minis as well as little cheese/meat/fruit plates in tupperware in my purse. We eat these outside the theater at intermission. No one has every batted an eye at me. (Mileage may vary at other theaters.)

I know opera has a Reputation, and I definitely was a little worried at first that I would look out of place and people would be snide to me. I have never found this to be the case. The only reason someone will be an asshole to you is if you have your phone out or are talking during the performance—don’t do that. Keep it in your pocket until intermission and silence your notifications. 

Crawl into my dms to talk to me about opera at any time, I will happily yap your ear off