Monsters of Grace is a multimedia chamber opera in 13 short acts directed by Robert Wilson, with music by Philip Glass and libretto from the works of 13th-century Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Rumi. The title is said to be a reference to Wilson's corruption of a line from Hamlet: "Angels and ministers of grace defend us!" (1.4.39). It premiered in its finished form on September 9, 1998, at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia. The opera was performed with live...
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Monsters of Grace is a multimedia chamber opera in 13 short acts directed by Robert Wilson, with music by Philip Glass and libretto from the works of 13th-century Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Rumi. The title is said to be a reference to Wilson's corruption of a line from Hamlet: "Angels and ministers of grace defend us!" (1.4.39). It premiered in its finished form on September 9, 1998, at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia. The opera was performed with live music by the Philip Glass Ensemble while a 73-minute computer-animated film in 3D was projected above the musicians. The audience wore polarized glasses to view the effect.
Although the work was initially greatly anticipated, it met with mixed reviews by critics (it was booed by some audience members following an April 1999 performance in Toronto, Ontario), and Wilson himself has remarked negatively about the project in interviews. Originally, Wilson intended the fantastical scenarios he envisioned to actually be staged. When he realized the...
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