The last days of the American icon Walt Disney form a powerful
and poignant subject for Philip Glass's latest opera, which was
filmed at its first performances in Madrid in January 2013.
Phelim McDermott's spectacular production is worthy of Disney's
own visual imagination and its definitive influence on American
culture, while in the pit is the conductor Dennis Russell Davies,
an experienced and authoritative champion of the composer's
hypnotically beautiful music, which gives wings to Rudy
Wurlitzer's operatic transformation of Peter Stephan Jungk's
novel, using both fact and fiction to peer into Disney's troubled
psyche as illness forces him to confront his mortality.
Press Reviews
" ... one of the crowning events of the past year's
globe-trotting celebration of Mr. Glass's 75th birthday. The
subtle, moody score, at war between its propulsive and serene
impulses, felt more than equal in quality to the festive
occasion. While criticisms of Mr. Glass's music as cookie-cutter
have always been misguided, “The Perfect American” finds him in
especially unpredictable form, experimenting with sonorities,
textures and pacing. Led by the Glass veteran Dennis Russell
Davies with careful attention to both its underlying pulse and
its twists of temperament, the opera opens with an ominous, low
murmur punctuated by sharp, syncopated percussion snaps. The
sound gradually expands through the orchestra and warms into
something that, under Mr. Davies, has more gentle swing than the
relentless forward motion generally associated with Mr. Glass. "
(The New York Times)
"Baritone Christopher Purves has captured in Disney the
charisma, arrogance and humanity of the man, and it's already a
candidate for one of the most important opera performances of the
year. He makes racist or anti-Semitic remarks sound not like
tirades but like attitudes that were all too common at the time,
especially around Los Angeles. One of the points of ""The Perfect
American"" is to show us how much times have changed. The rest of
the mostly excellent large cast includes David Pittsinger as Roy
Disney, Donald Kaasch as Dantine, Janis Kelly as Disney's nurse
Hazel George, Marie McLaughlin as his wife, Lillian, and John
Easterlin as Warhol. Rosie Lomas made a strong impression in the
high-lying parts of the owl-girl Lucy and Josh, the boy in the
hospital. And Zachary James had a touch of Daniel Day-Lewis in
his Lincoln. Dennis Russell Davies, who has led the premieres of
most of Glass' operas and symphonies, once more made sure of tone
and detail." (Los Angeles Times)
"The score is pleasant, easy to listen to, and masterfully
orchestrated. There are plenty outstanding passages which
perfectly meets one's expectations… it is one of Glass’ very best
operas. Phelim McDermott's production ... is excellent. Dennis
Russell Davies ... gave a wholly convincing interpretation ...The
orchestra of the Teatro Real played along excellently and the
performance from the chorus was top notch." (Seen and Heard
International)
Cast
Christopher Purves (Walt Disney)
David Pittsinger (Roy Disney)
Donald Kaasch (Dantine)
Janis Kelly (Hazel George)
Marie McLaughlin (Lillian Disney)
Sarah Tynan (Sharon)
Chorus & Orchestra of Teatro Real, Madrid; Dennis Russell Davies
Production
Company: Teatro Real
Stage Director: Phelim McDermott
Disc Information
Catalogue Number: OA1117D
Date of Performance: 2013
Running Time: 120 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic
Label: Opus Arte