Akhnaten Opera by Philip Glass

ACT I (Year 1 of Akhnaten's Reign Thebes.                                                The opera begins with an orchestral Prelude.  The curtain rises towards the end of the Prelude,  revealing the Scribe in the funeral setting. He  delivers the Refrain, Verse 1 and Verse 2 of the text  as the Prelude is completed. In the moments of silence  before the funeral begins, he continues his speech  through Verse 3)  Prelude   (Text: Recited by the Scribe from the Pyramid Texts  of the Old Kingdom)  SCRIBE  Refrain  Open are the double doors of the horizon Unlocked are its bolts Verse 1 Clouds darken the sky The stars rain down The constellations stagger The bones of the hell hounds tremble The porters are silent When they see this king Dawning as a soul Refrain (repeat above)  Verse 2 Men fall Their name is not Seize thou this king by his arm Take this king to the sky That he not die on earth Among men Refrain (repeat above)  Verse 3 He flies who flies This king flies away from you Ye mortals He is not of the earth He is of the sky He flaps his wings like a zeret bird He goes to the sky He goes to the sky On the wind On the wind Scene 1: Funeral of Amenhotep III  (The scene presents the funeral of Akhnaten's father,  Amenhotep III. As the starting point of the opera, it  represents the historical moment immediately before  the "Amarna period" or the reign of Akhnaten and  depicts the society in which the reforms of Akhnaten, reforms which appeared so extreme that they can  be called revolutionary, took place. The action of  the scene centers on the funeral rites of the New  Empire of the 18th Dynasty. It is dominated by the  Amon priests and appears as ritual of extraordinary  traditional character drawn from The Egyptian Book  of the Dead. The funeral cortege enters downstage  led by two drummers and followed by a small body  of Amon priests who in turn are led by Aye, father  of Nefertiti, advisor to the recently dead pharaoh,  and the Pharaoh to be) FUNERAL CHORUS (Text sung in Egyptian by the from Budge,  The Egyptian Book of the Dead) Ankh ankh, en mitak Yewk er heh en heh Aha en heh (As the music goes to the cellos alone, the deceased  Amenhotep III enters behind the procession. He  appears to be headless and is holding his head in  his hands. The music for orchestra, small chorus and  solo bass voice (Aye) resumes)  SMALL CHORUS (Text sung in Egyptian by from Budge, The  Egyptian Book of the Dead) Ya inen makhent en Ra, rud akit em mehit em khentik er she nerserser em netcher khert (During the next section for orchestra alone, the  funeral cortege, Amon priests and Amenhotep III,  moves upstage. Akhnaten and the people of Thebes  join Aye downstage. In the final section of the funeral,  the people of Thebes and Aye join the orchestra in a  last salute to the departing Amenhotep III)  AY, CHORUS Ya, inen makhent en Ra, etc. Ankh ankh, en mitak, etc.  Scene2: The Coronation of Akhnaten  (The short opening to the second scene show Akhnaten  alone as the Scribe, Aye and the people of Thebes leave  and the funeral cortege departs. Akhnaten's attendants  appear and, by changing his costume, prepare him to  receive the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.  There is not singing or narration in this section. The next section for orchestra accompanies the  appearance of the Scribe, the Amon High Priest,  Aye and Horemhab as well as the people of Thebes.  Akhnaten has remained with his attendants. The following section includes the trio of Amon High  Priest, Aye and Horemhab with orchestra. The  dramatic intent of this moment is to prepare  Akhnaten to receive the double crown)  AMON HIGH PRIEST, HOREMHAB AYE, LARGE CHORUS (Text: Sung in Egyptian by from Budge,  An Egyptian Reading Book) Ye-nedj hrak yemi em hetepu Neb aut yeb sekhem kha-u Neb wereret ka shuti Nefer seshed ka hedjet Mertu netcheru maanek Sekhi men em weptek (The opening music of the scene recurs as the Scribe  announces the names and titles of the new Pharaoh.  During  this speech  Akhnaten receives  the  double  crown from  the  Amon  High  Priest  assisted by Aye  and Horemhab)  SCRIBE (Text Recited from a list of Akhnaten's titles) Live the Horus, Strong-Bull-Appearing-as-Justice; He of the Two Ladies, Establishing Laws and causing the Two-Lands to be Pacified; Horus of Gold,  Mighty-of-Arm-when-He-Smites-the-Asiatics; King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nefer Kheperu Ra Wa en Ra, Son of Neb-maet-Ra (Lord of the Truth like Ra) Son of Ra, Amenhotep (Amon is pleased) Hek Wase (Ruler of Thebes), Given Life. Mighty Bull, Lofty of Plumes; Favorite of the Two Godesses, Great in Kingship in Karnak; Golden Hawk,  wearer of Diadems in the Southern Heliopolos; King of Upper and Lower Egypt. Beautiful-is-the-Being of Ra, The Only-One-of-Ra, Son of the Sun, Peace-of-Amon, Divine Ruler of Thebes; Great in Duration, Living-for-Ever-and-Ever, Beloved of Amon-Ra, Lord of Heaven. AMON HIGH PRIEST, HOREMHAB AYE, LARGE CHORUS (Text: Sung in Egyptian by from Budge,  An Egyptian Reading Book) Ye-nedj hrak yemi em hetepu Neb aut yeb sekhem kha-u Neb wereret ka shuti Nefer seshed ka hedjet Mertu netcheru maanek Sekhi men em weptek Scene 3: The Window of Appearances  (A windowed balcony of the palace used for  state appearances. The music from the opening  of the coronation scene is heard again, played  on large bells and providing a musical and  dramatic transition to what follows. Akhnaten  is joined by Nefertiti and his mother, Queen Tye.  They approach the Window of Appearances and  sing, first a solo, then duet, then trio through  the window. It is a hymn of acceptance and resolve  and, in spirit, announces a new era)  AKHNATEN: (Text sung in Egyptian from Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians) Tut wu-a yeri enti Wa-a wa-u yeri wenenet Perer en rem em yertif Kheper netcheru tep ref AKHENATEN, TYE Yeri semu se-ankh menmen Khet en ankhu en henmemet Yeri ankh-ti remu en yetru Apdu genekh pet AKHNATEN, NEFERTITI: Redi nefu en enti em suhet Se-ankh apnentu yeri ankhti khenus Djedfet puyu mitet yeri Yeri kherti penu em babasen TYE, AKHNATEN, NEFERTITI: Se-ankh puyu em khet nebet Hrak yeri Enen er a-u (The music continues with full orchestra. Tye and  Nefertiti leave Akhnaten alone. He stands gazing  at the distant funeral cortege floating on barques  across a mythical river to the Land of the Dead)  ACT II  (Years 5 To 15 Thebes and Akhetaten)  Scene 1:The Temple  (The scene begins with a short introduction for  orchestra. We then see an Amon temple and a  small group of Amon priests led by their High  Priest. They sing a hymn to Amon)  AMON HIGH PRIEST, AMON PRIESTS (Text sung in Egyptian from Gardiner,  "The So-Called Tomb of Queen Tye", Journal of Egyptian Archaeology) Amen men khet nebet Ya-u-nek em em djed Sen er ayu Nek henu nek en En wered ek imen (The following orchestral section introduces Akhnaten,  Queen Tye and a small party of followers, Aten priests,  soldiers, etc, of the new order. After surrounding the  temple, Atenists, led by Akhnaten and Queen Tye, attack  it. Here we see Akhnaten for the first time as the rebel  he was, venting his hatred if the old order on the Amon  temple. The attack is complete, and the roof of the  temple is pulled off as the light of "the Aten" pours  into what once was the "holy of holies." The attackers  sing a vocalise, no words being necessary here)  Scene 2: Akhnaten and Nefertiti  (An orchestral transition prepares the scene, which  is devoted entirely to a duet between Akhnaten and  Nefertiti. With the introduction of the solo trombone, the Scribe  begins reciting a poem. The first time we hear the poem  it is as if addressed to a god. With the entrance of the strings, the poem is heard  again, this time spoken as an exchange between two  lovers. During this second reading, Akhnaten and  Nefertiti appear. There follows the duet between the  two, not alone together. The vocal text is the same  poem sung in Egyptian. At the end of the duet the music returns to the orchestra  alone. There is a brief pause, then Akhnaten and  Nefertiti resume singing while behind them is seen the  funeral cortege in a later stage of its journey, this time  ascending on wings of large birds to the heavenly land  of Ra) SCRIBE (Text recited and then sung in Egyptian, a love poem  found in a royal mummy of the Armarna period, from  Journal of Egyptian Archæology, translated by Sir Alan  Gardiner) Sesenet neftu nedjem Per em rek Peteri nefruk em menet Ta-i nehet sedj emi Kheruk nedjem en mehit Renpu ha-i em ankh en mertuk. Di-ek eni awik kher ka-ek Shesepi su ankhi yemef I ashek reni er heh Ben hehif em rek Scene 3: The City  (The Scribe speaks the first part of this scene alone,  without musical accompaniment. His speech is taken  from the boundary markers or stelæ of Akhnaten's new  city, Akhetaten, The Horizon of the Aten. During his  speech, Akhetaten - a new city of light and open spaces  that represents architecturally and visually the spirit of  the epoch of Akhnaten - appears behind him)  SCRIBE (Text recited from the boundary markers found in  the valley at Tel-el-Amarna, in Breasted, A History  of Egypt)  Stela 1 And his majesty said unto them, "Ye behold the  City of the Horizon of the Aten, which the Aten  has desired me to make for him as a monument  in the great name of my majesty forever. For it  was the Aten, my Father, that brought me to this  City of the Horizon. There was not a noble who  directed me to it; there was not any man in the  whole land who led me to it, saying, 'It is fitting  for his majesty that he make a City of the Horizon  of Aten in this place.' Nay, but it was the Aten,  my Father, that directed me to make it for him.  Behold the Pharaoh found that this site belonged  not to a god, nor to a goddess, it belonged not to  a prince nor to a princess. There was no right for  any man to act as owner of it. Stela 2 I will make the City of the Horizon of the Aten for  the Aten, my Father, in this place. I will not make the  city south of it, north of it, west of it or east of it. I  will not pass beyond the southern boundary stone  southward, neither will I pass beyond the northern  boundary stone northward to make for him a City  of the Horizon there; neither will I make for him  a city on the western side. Nay, but I will make  the City of the Horizon for the Aten, my Father,  upon the east side, the place for which he did  enclose for his own self with cliffs, and made a  plain in the midst of it that I might sacrifice to him  thereon: this is it. Neither shall the Queen say unto me, Behold there is  a goodly place for the City of the Horizon in another  place', and I harken unto her. Neither shall any noble  nor any man in the whole land say unto me, `Behold  there is a goodly place for the City of the Horizon in  another place', and I harken unto them. Whether it be  downstream or southward or westward or eastward, I  will not say, `I will abandon this City of the Horizon. Dance   (The dance, which immediately follows the brass  fanfare, contrasts with the heavy traditional ritual  of the temple scene which opened this act. Musicians,  triangle, wood block, tambourine, appear on stage with  dancers, as well as Akhnaten and principal members of  his entourage, in a dance that marks the celebration  and inauguration of the city of Akhetaten)  Scene 4: Hymn  (The music that follows the dance is taken from the  orchestral introduction to the coronation scene and  serves as preparation for Akhnaten's "Hymn to the  Aten". At its conclusion, Akhnaten is left alone. The "Hymn to the Aten" is a central moment of the  opera. In it, Akhnaten espouses in his own words  the inspiration for his religious and social reforms.  The Hymn is sung in the language of the audience)  Hymn to the Aten  AKHNATEN (Text sung in English from Winton Thomas's  English translation published in Documents  from Old Testament Times) Thou dost appear beautiful On the horizon of heaven Oh, living Aten He who was the first to live When thou hast risen on the Eastern Horizon Thou art fair, great, dazzling, High above every land Thy rays encompass the land To the very end of all thou hast made. All the beasts are satisfied with their pasture Trees and plants are verdant Birds fly from their nests, wings spread Flocks skip with their feet All that fly and alight Live when thou hast arisen. How manifold is that which thou hast made Thou sole God There is no other like thee Thou didst create the earth According to thy will Being alone, everything on earth Which walks and flies on high. Thy rays nourish the fields When thou dost rise They live and thrive for thee Thou makest the seasons to nourish All thou hast made The winter to cool The heat that they may taste thee. There is no other that knows thee Save thy son, Akhnaten For thou hast made him skilled In thy plans and thy might Thou dost raise him up for thy son Who comes forth from thyself. (At the close of the Hymn, Akhnaten leaves the stage  deserted, and the act ends with distant voices singing)  CHORUS (Text sung in Hebrew by Offstage Chorus, from  Psalm 104, Hebrew Bible, Masoretic text) Ma rab-bu ma-a-se-kha ha-shem Ku-lam be-khokh-ma a-sita Ma-le-a ha-a-rets kin-ya-ne-kha O-te or ka-sal-ma No-te sha-ma-yim ka-yi-ri-a Ta-shet kho-shekh vi-hi lay-la Bo tir-mis kol khay-to ya-ar (repeat first three lines)  ACT III  (Year 17 And The Present - Akhetaten)  Scene 1: The Family  (The stage is divided, one side showing a room in the  palace in which can be seen Akhnaten, Nefertiti and  their Six Daughters. Outside the palace, on the other  side of the stage, are the people of Egypt, soldiers,  outlawed priests of Amon and the Scribe. The opening  of the scene depicts Akhnaten and his family in a  moment of intimacy, oblivious to the crowd outside.  As they sing to each other a sweet, wordless song, it  is apparent that in their closeness they have become  isolated from the outside world. The focus shifts to the people outside the palace.  The Scribe, drawing on tablets known as the Amarna  Letters that were sent to Akhnaten from Syrian princes, begins to incite the crowd, which presses toward  the palace and becomes increasingly restless)  SCRIBE (Text recited from the Amarna Letters as cited  in Mercer, The Tel-el-Amarna Tablets)  Letter No. 1: I have written repeatedly for troops, but they  were not given and the king did not listen to  the word of his servant. And I sent my messenger  to the palace, but he returned empty-handed -  he brought no troops. And when the people  of my house saw this, they rediculed me like  the governors, my brethren, and dispised me. Letter No. 2: The king's whole land, which has begun hostilities  with me, will be lost. Behold the territory of Seir,  as far as Carmel; its princes are wholly lost; and  hostilities prevail against me. As long as ships were  upon the sea the strong arm of the king occupied  Naharin and Kash, but now the Apiru are occupying  the king's cities. There remains not one prince to  my lord, the king; every one is ruined. Let the king  take care of his land and let him send troops. For  if no troops come in this year, the whole territory  of my lord, the king, will perish. If there are no  troops in this year, let the king send his officer to  fetch me and his brothers, that we may die with  our lord, the king. Letter No. 3: Verily, they father did not march forth nor inspect  the lands of the vassal-princes. And when thou  ascended the throne of thy father's house,  Abdashirta's sons took the king's lands for  themselves. Creatures of the king of Mittani  are they, and of the king of Babylon and of  the king of the Hittites. Letter No. 4 Who formerly could have plundered Tunip without  being plundered by Thutmose III? The gods of the  king of Egypt, my lord, dwell in Tunip. May my lord  ask his old men if this not be so. Now, however, we  belong no more to our lord, the king of Egypt. And  now Tunip, thy city, weeps and her tears are flowing  and there is not help for us. For twenty years we have  been sending to our lord, the king of Egypt, but there  has not come to us a word - no, not one. (The scene shifts back to the palace. This time  Akhnaten is alone with his two eldest daughters.  They continue to sing, appearing more withdrawn  and isolated from the events outside)  Scene 2: Attack and Fall  (Horemhab, Aye and the Amon High Priest push to the  front of the crowd and also begin to rouse the people,  Large Chorus. The principals and chorus sing a text  taken from the Amarna Letters. Soon the palace is  surrounded. Finally, the mob bursts through the palace doors and  windows in a wave of shouts, overwhelming Akhnaten  and his remaining family and carying them off)  HIGH PRIEST, AY HOREMHAB, CHORUS (Text sung in Akkadian from Mercer, The  Tel-el-Amarna Tablets) Lim-lik-mi sha-ri a-na ma-ti-shu Khal-kat mat sha-ri Ga-ba-sha Tsa-na-ta-ni nu-kur-tu a-na ya-*** A-di ma-ta-ti She-eri Gin-Ti-kir-mil shal-nu a-na gab-bi kha-zi-a-nu-ti u nu-kur-tu a-na ya-***. Ip-sha-ti e-nu-ma a-mel a-mi-ri u-l a-mar i-na sha-ri be-li-ya ki nu-kur-tu a-na mukh-khi-ya shak-na-ti E-nu-ma e-lip-pa i-na lib-bi tam-ti kat sha-ri dan-na-tu Ti-lik-ki Nakh-ri-ma u kapa-si u i-nan-na a-la-ni sha-ri Ti-li-ki-u Kha-bi-ru Ya-nu-mi ish-ten kha-zi-a-nu a-na sha-ri be-li-ya khal-ku gab-bu Scene 3: The Ruins  (In the silence at the close of the last scene, the  Scribe appears out of the chaos to announce the  end of Akhnaten's reign)  SCRIBE (Text recited from Aye's tomb) The sun of him who knew thee not Has set, O Amon. But, as for him who knows thee, He shines. The temple of him who assailed Thee is in darkness, While the whole earth is in Sunlight. Who so puts thee in his heart, O Amon, Lo, his sun hath risen. (The next section for orchestra and the Scribe is  a reprise, in shortened form, of the opening Prelude.  It serves as a transition to the present day and is  divided as follows: The Scribe describes the rebuilding of the Amon  temples after the fall of Akhnaten)  SCRIBE (Text recited from Tutankhamen's tomb) The new ruler, performing benefactions for his  father Amon and all the gods, has made what was  ruined to endure as a monument for the ages of  eternity, and he has expelled the great criminal and  justice was established. He surpassed what has been  done previously. He fashioned his father Amon upon  thirteen carrying poles, his holy image being of fine  gold, lapis lazuli, and every august costly stone,  whereas the majesty of this august god had been  upon eleven carrying poles. All the property of the temples has been doubled and  tripled and quadrupled in silver, gold, lapis lazuli,  every kind of august costly stone, royal linen, white  linen, fine linen, olive oil, gum, fat, incense, myrrh,  without limit to any good thing. His majesty, Life!  Prosperity! Health! has built their barques upon the  river of new cedar from the terraces. They make the  river shine. (The orchestral music becomes very full and no action  is indicated. Finally the city of Akhetaten appears as it  exists in the present: a ruined city, recently excavated,  the walls barely three feet high at most. Several groups of tourists wander through the ruins  taking photos, exploring, looking about. The last group of tourists is led by the Scribe, now  appearing as a twentieth-century tour guide describing  to the group what they are seeing)  SCRIBE (Text recited from Frommer's Guide to Egypt, and  Fodor's Egypt) To reach Tel-el-Amarna, drive eight miles south  of Mallawi to the point where you cross the Nile.  On the east side of the Nile the distance is less than  a mile and can be covered on foot or on donkey. Behind the present village, at the ancient site of  Tel-el-Amarna, the ruins known as the palace of  Nefertiti are among the very few remnants of the  Akhnaten period. Tablets in cuneiform writing,  which contain correspondence between Egypt and  Syria, were found here and are now the the Cairo  Museum. (To see any sights on the Eastern bank  of the river you must cross by ferry which carries  cars along with the usual donkey carts and local  traffic. The ferry docking station is located at the  southern end of the town. You should arrive there  at least one-half hour before the 6:00 AM crossing.  The ferry does a brisk business and you will need  every available second for sight seeing. There is nothing left of this glorious city of temples and  palaces. The mud brick buildings have long since  crumbled and little remains of the immense stone  temples but the outlines of their floor plans. In addition  to the tombs and ruins of the city, there are several  stelæ scattered around the plain which mark the limits  of the land belonging to the city, most of them are too  widely scattered to visit and are also in bad condition. Scene 4: Epilogue  (All the tourists have left. The ruined city is empty.  The ghosts of Akhnaten and the other principals appear  moving about their now-dead city. Singing parts are  taken by Akhnaten, Nefertiti and Queen Tye, but they  sing no words. At first they seem not to know that they  and their city all are dead and now a part of the past.  They become aware of the funeral cortege of  Akhnaten's father (Amenhotep III) moving across the  background. They form a procession of their own and,  as the opera ends, can be seen moving off toward the  first funeral group still on its journey to the heavenly  land of Ra)