“Satyagraha” shimmers on the opera stage

“Satyagraha.” Photo by Cory Weaver/LA Opera
A fantasia or meditation on the life of Mohandas Gandhi might not seem like the ideal choice for an opera, but “Satyagraha,” which Philip Glass composed nearly 40 years ago (it premiered in 1980), is musically spellbinding. It is also, in this co-production of the English National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, with Improbable Productions providing the icing, visually stimulating as well. But it doesn’t stop there. Gracefully conducted by Grant Gershon, and with a standout Sean Pannikar in the lead role as Gandhi, “Satyagraha” is making an impressive debut at LA Opera where it’s being staged through Nov. 11 in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
“Satyagraha” is a term, coined by Gandhi, that is being translated here as “truth force,” but it can also mean “holding onto truth,” used to imply or urge resistance through non-violence. If this sounds a bit like Martin Luther King, Jr., well, just you wait.
Philip Glass is prominent (with John Adams, Tobias Picker, etc.) among living American opera composers. But Glass has been especially visible in Los Angeles for a long time. The Philip Glass Ensemble often used to perform original film scores live at screenings of “Koyaanisqatsi,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Dracula,” and other works, many times at Royce Hall or the Wadsworth Theatre. It was always a thrill for those who attended. As for the operas, I’d say that Long Beach Opera has been at the forefront, with “The Perfect American” a couple of years back and “In the Penal Colony” slated for next April and May. LA Opera finally got on the bandwagon when it presented “Einstein on the Beach” in 2013 and “Akhnaten” in 2016.

Morris Robinson (front center) as Parsi Rustomji. Photo by Cory Weaver/LA Opera
The vocal text, adapted from the “Bhagavad Gita” by Constance DeJong, who also wrote the book of the opera with the composer, is sung in Sanskrit, which probably few of us are conversant in. However, with the exception of title cards when there are scene changes (three in each of the first two acts, one in the third), and isolated lines from the “Bhagavad Gita,” there are no projected supertitles. If you’ve been alerted to this beforehand, you’ll immerse yourself in the synopsis, because “Satyagraha” isn’t a straightforward story. And while supertitles would certainly be helpful in some ways, it’s hard to argue that they wouldn’t be a distraction, and that aesthetically they would ruin the gorgeous look of the production.

Sean Pannikar (center) as Gandhi. Photo by Cory Weaver/LA Opera

J’Nai Bridges as Kasturbai, Morris Robinson as Parsi Rustomji, Sean Pannikar as Gandhi, and Erica Petrocelli as Mrs. Naidoo. Photo by Cory Weaver/LA Opera
That’s why one should familiarize oneself with the synopsis beforehand.

Niru Liu as Mrs. Alexander. Photo by Cory Weaver/LA Opera

Sean Pannikar (center, in white) as Gandhi. Photo by Cory Weaver/LA Opera

Sean Pannikar as Gandhi. Photo by Cory Weaver/LA Opera
As an opera, “Satyagraha” comes across as more promising and uplifting than what would later transpire in Gandhi’s own life. There would be disappointments (perhaps Reverend King, in the background in the final scene, foreshadows this). In his introduction to “Gandhi on Non-Violence,” Thomas Merton wrote: “He saw that his followers had not reached the inner unity that he had realized in himself, and that their satyagraha was to a great extent a pretense, since they believed it to be a means to achieve unity and freedom, while he saw that it must necessarily be the fruit of inner freedom.”
We would be much poorer without a man of peace and goodwill like Mohandas Gandhi, and the opera reminds us of this at a time when such a reminder is sorely needed.
There are more fine operas by Philip Glass that LA Opera could stage in future seasons. I hope they add a few of them to their repertoire sooner than later.
Satyagraha is onstage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles at the Music Center. Remaining performances, Thursday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 4 at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $19. Call (213) 972-8001 or go to LAOpera.org. ER