Name: The Perfect American
Start: 2013-01-22T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2013-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Teatro Real

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Organization

Baritone

Christopher Purves

Walt Disney

Bass

Zachary James

Abraham Lincoln

Bass-baritone

David Pittsinger

Roy Disney

Tenor

Donald Kaasch

Wilhelm Dantine

Soprano

Janis Kelly

Hazel George

Marie McLaughlin

Lillian Disney

Sarah Tynan

Sharon

John Easterlin

Andy Warhol

Dirigent

Dennis Russell Davies

Regissör

Phelim McDermott

Scenograf

Dan Potra

Kostym designer

Koreograf

Ben Wright

Körledare

Andrés Máspero

Juan Noval-Moro

Chuck

A doctor

Silent

Funeral Employee

Ljus designer

Jon Clark

Video designer

Leo Warner

Nazan Fikret

Diane

Rosie Lomas

Lucy

Josh

Teatro Real de Madrid

Others

Coro Intermezzo

Orchestra

Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid

engelska

The Perfect American

Madrid

Spanien

Teatro Real

The Perfect American by Philip Glass, from Teatro Real, Madrid, 2013. Directed by János Darvas, conductor Dennis Russell Davies. Starring Christopher Purves, Walt Disney; David Pittsinger, Roy Disney; Donald Kaasch, Dantine; Janis Kelly, Hazel George; Marie McLaughlin, Lilian Disney; Sarah Tynan, Sharon; Rosie Lomas, Lucy/Josh; Zachary James, Abraham Lincoln/A morgue employee.Performed in English.

Accused of being a racist and an anti-Semite (although without conclusive proof of the latter), Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966) was the creator of the largest animated film industry, whose products have reached universal diffusion. The beings of the Disney factory are animals to which a systematic prosopopoeia is applied, and whose humanized dimension has contributed decisively to configure the imaginary of the most sweetened 'American dream' in the interwar period.
Author of twenty-four operas, Philip Glass was one of the creators of American minimalism, along with La Monte Young, Steve Reich and Terry Riley, an aesthetic from which he gradually distanced himself in search of a simpler writing and a less complex form. Pulsating, with a strong insistence on very marked rhythms, Glass's music has obvious correlations with rock and pop, and hence the Baltimore musician's occasional collaboration with artists such as Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega or Laurie Anderson.
The meeting between Glass and Disney was predictable and inevitable: they are two highly representative exponents of a certain American aesthetic.

In 2013 at Madrid’s Teatro Real, Philip Glass presented the world premiere of his most recent creation, the opera The Perfect American (with a libretto by Rudy Wurlitzer based on Peter Stephan Jungk’s novel of the same name). A fictionalized account of the last months in the life of Walt Disney, the opera explores the state of mind of this extremely influential 20th century cultural icon. His biggest concerns at that pivotal moment? A despondent Walt Disney laments the fact that the science of cryogenics will not enable him to live forever as he had hoped...

Though at first glance Walt seems like the happy owner of a magic wand that can grant all of his wishes, it soon becomes clear that he is as tortured as Wilhelm Dantine, an illustrator who worked for him, responsible for Sleeping Beauty among other animated features. Fascinated by the petulant megalomania of a man who identified with Mickey Mouse, Dantine desperately seeks Disney’s approval, risking his own ruin. In this opera, the universe of this “perfect American” is recreated by the magical presence of people close to Walt Disney: his wife Lillian, his confidante Hazel, his brother Roy, his children Dian and Sharon, and his close collaborators.

Recorded live at the Teatro Real Madrid, legendary composer Philip Glass's opera "The Perfect American", imagines the final months of the life of Walt Disney - the person who has, more than any other, influenced the current world of consumers. Children nowadays only see mice and ducks as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, thanks to the image invented for them by Walt Disney factory. In opposition to the world of happiness he devised, the existence of this perfect American was marked by an unhappy youth and a personality whose “political correctness” outdid that of even Richard Nixon. From the hand of Dennis Russell Davies, who has conducted almost all the premieres of Glass’s operas, and the stage director Phelim McDermott, we will be penetrating into the nightmare of a happy world.

No expense was spared for this premiere, and the results can be clearly heard and seen. First-class singers in even the smallest roles (Zachary James!), elaborate scenery (including cryptic video projections), expressive costumes and vast backdrops all come together to create an impressive operatic event

"The Perfect American", with libretto by Rudy Wurlitzer based on Peter Stephan Jungk’s work, imagining the final months of the life of Walt Disney - the person who has, more than any other, influenced the current world of consumers.

Children nowadays only see mice and ducks as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, thanks to the image invented for them by Walt Disney factory. In opposition to the world of happiness he devised, the existence of this perfect American was marked by an unhappy youth and a personality whose “political correctness” outdid that of even Richard Nixon.

From the hand of Dennis Russell Davies, who has conducted almost all the premieres of Glass’s operas, and the stage director Phelim McDermott, we will be penetrating into the nightmare of a happy world. World Premiere,commission of the Teatro Real De Madrid and English National Opera of London.

The Perfect American Glass

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Watch full performance here: The Perfect American (2013)

The Perfect American - Preview clip

At the age of 75, Philip Glass, one of the leading figures in 20th century music, is composing a new work for the Teatro Real, where its world premiere will take place. This is the first opera dedicated to a figure – Walt Disney – who like no other has influenced the world of current consumption and is inspired by the novel The Perfect American, by Peter Stephan Jungk: children now only see mice and ducks as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, through the image invented of them by the Walt Disney factory. In opposition to the brave new world he envisioned, the existence of this perfect American was marked by an unhappy youth and a personality of "political correctness" superior even to that of Richard Nixon. In his dream factory, only men could draw. The women limited themselves to coloring the drawings. From the hand of Dennis Russell Davies, the musical director who has directed almost all the premieres of the Glass operas, and the stage director Phelim McDermott, we will enter the nightmare of a brave new world.

English

Föreställningskrediter (Medverkande & produktionsteam )

Medverkande

Besättning

Ensemble