Einstein on the Beach at the Barbican

By Paul Kilbey, 06 May 2012

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Reviewed at Barbican Theatre, London on 4 May 2012

Glass, Einstein on the Beach

Robert Wilson, Director

Philip Glass Ensemble

Michael Riesman, Conductor

Lucinda Childs, Choreography

Reaching for the light: Arvo Pärt and Robert Wilson's Adam's Passion

Alissa Balocco, 31st March

For the first time in Italy the opera that brings together the spiritual music of the Estonian composer and the minimalist direction of Robert Wilson.

****1

Classic Robert Wilson: Turandot opens Canadian Opera Company season

John Gilks, 28th September

Director Robert Wilson and conductor Carlo Rizzi combine effectively to create a visually striking and musically memorable Turandot that emphasizes the hieratic and the mythical with a notable absence of unnecessary histrionics.

****1

Norma in Zurich: superb vocalists trapped in a minimalist staging

Sarah Batschelet, 2nd June

A production which has Robert Wilson's signature all over it, but feels like a wagon in front of the horse.

***11

Bob Wilson's cool minimalist Butterfly is back in Amsterdam

Nicolas Nguyen, 23rd April

Robert Wilson's Madama Butterfly is back in Amsterdam starring rising star Elena Stikhina as the doomed Cio-Cio-San.

***11

Quiet tragedy: Robert Wilson's Otello in Baden-Baden

Ako Imamura, 16th April

Zubin Mehta conducts Verdi's Otello in an iconic Robert Wilson production of stylized theater where less is more. The effect was mesmerizing.

****1

Wilson's lunar Trouvère the antithesis of grand opéra

Renato Verga, 29th September

When they asked Wilson to stage an opera by Verdi, the Texan director replied "I'll never do it!". Now he is at his fourth Verdi's production.

***11

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Paul Kilbey

Paul was Reviews Editor at Bachtrack from 2012 to February 2014. He has written on music and culture for publications including Culture Wars, the Huffington Post, the Independent and the Guardian. He holds BA and MPhil degrees in music from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and is particularly passionate about contemporary music of all types. His website is here.