British press applauds new production of Satyagraha

A groundbreaking new production of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha, co-produced with the Met, received prolonged ovations from the Coliseum's capacity audience at its London premiere last week. Now the British press has weighed in with reviews of the new staging.

“Phelim McDermott, directing, with Julian Crouch as assistant director and set designer, have created a masterwork of theatrical intensity and integrity,” reported The Times of London. “Image after image is etched indelibly on the memory, in its masterly fusion of the aural and the visual.”

The Guardian deemed the production “a thing of wonder,” noting that “the whole thing serves as a monumental affirmation of human dignity at a time when many have begun to question its very existence—and for that, we must be infinitely grateful.”

“Glass's theme is Gandhi and here—arguably more than in any of his other stage works—his style finds a soulmate in the opera's central character,” wrote The Financial Times. “The result is an atmospheric, visually imaginative show.”

The ENO/Met co-production of Satyagraha has its Met premiere on April 11, 2008, with Richard Croft as Gandhi and conductor Dante Anzolini making his company debut.

Read More about Satyagraha's London Premiere or See the Scenes from our Satyagraha Photo Gallery