This collaboration with playwright David Henry Hwang and visual artist Jerome Sirlin premiered in a Viennese airport hangar in 1988, and it beats John Adams. Since Glass took to the stage and screen as his main career in the 1980s, he's repeated chord changes and arrangements to the point of hackwork. Even here, in fact, bits of dramatic musical emphasis are as fussy as his usual orchestral soundtrack work, some of them featuring Linda Ronstadt's high ooh-ing. Moments of pure schlock are crafted from the same old ostinatos, obbligatos, and harmonies once lit up by the electric Philip Glass Ensemble. But most of it works. For one thing, it contains more chord changes than the usual Glass stage or work. Another reason is that this is the last score Glass recorded exclusively with electric keyboards and woodwinds. The composer blends his numerous motifs into one galactic "Grey Cloud Over New York," rendered without a moment's hesitation by PGE vets Martin Goldray,Jack Kripl, Richard Peck, and Jon Gibson. They immediately reprise the nervous title overture into the relaxed schmaltz of "A Normal Man Running." With the sinister voice sampling in "Labyrinth" as a lone reminder that this is a piece for the stage, this it's one of Glass' superior stand-alone works. ~ John Young, All Music Guide
Philip Glass (Keyboards), Philip Glass (Main Performer), Philip Glass (Realization), Linda Ronstadt (Vocals), Jon Gibson (Synthesizer), Jon Gibson (Flute), Jon Gibson (Saxophone), Blaise Dupuy (Assistant Engineer), Martin Goldray (Director), Martin Goldray (Keyboards), Martin Goldray (Music Direction), Miles Green (Sound Effects), Miles Green (Engineer), Miles Green (Design), Miles Green (Synthesizer Arrangements), Rory Johnston (Executive Producer), Jack Kripl (Synthesizer), Jack Kripl (Flute), Jack Kripl (Saxophone), Jack Leahy (Engineer), Bob Ludwig (Mastering), Kurt Munkasci (Producer), Richard Peck (Saxophone), Michael Riesman (Conductor), Michael Riesman (Vocal Conductor), Michael Riesman (Brass Conductor), Jerome Sirlin (Set Design), Jerome Sirlin (Artwork), Jerome Sirlin (Realization), Jedediah Wheeler (Producer), Jennifer Clark (Design), Jennifer Clark (Cover Design), David Henry Hwang (Realization)
1000 Airplanes on the Roof is a melodrama in one act by Philip Glass which featured text by David Henry Hwang and projections by Jerome Sirlin. It is described by Glass as "a science fiction music drama".
The work was commissioned by the Donau Festival, Krems an der Donau, The American Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia, and West Berlin City Council in 1988. The opera premiered on July 15, 1988, at the Vienna Airport in Hangar #3. The performance featured vocals by Linda Ronstadt and was conducted by Michael Riesman. The US premiere took place in September 1988 at The American Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia and went on to play in 40 US cities, including New York, Boston and Chicago.
The drama is set in New York City with a sole character, "M", who recalls encounters with extraterrestrial life forms, including their message:
"It is better to forget, it is pointless to remember. No one will believe you. You will have spoken a heresy. You will be outcast."
In the staged production, "M" performs in the midst of a three dimensional, holographic set. In the classic sense of the word melodrama, the role is performed by an actor in a spoken monologue over music. Although in the world premiere, "M" was played by a male actor, the character was played alternately by female actor Jodie Long and male actor Patrick O'Connell in many of the US performances.
Recording
Philip Glass: 1000 Airplanes on the Roof (The Philip Glass Ensemble and Linda Ronstadt; Martin Goldray, Music Direction), 1992. Virgin 91065-2
Book
The libretto and images of the original set are published in:
Philip Glass, David Henry Hwang and Jerome Sirlin (Introduction by John Howell), 1001 Airplanes on the Roof, Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith Book, 1989 ISBN 0879053437
1000 Airplanes on the Roof (1988, with Glass and Sirlin) ·The Voyage (1992, with Glass) ·The Silver River (1997, with Sheng) ·Aida (2000, with Woolverton & Falls, John and Rice, from Verdi) ·Flower Drum Song (2001, with Rodgers and Hammerstein, from Fields, Hammerstein, and Lee) ·Ainadamar (2003, with Golijov) ·The Sound of a Voice (2004, with Glass) ·Tarzan (2006, with Collins, from Burroughs) ·Alice in Wonderland (2007, with Chin, from Carroll) ·The Fly (2008, with Shore)
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