Hydrogen Jukebox
| Hydrogen Jukebox | |
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| Chamber opera by Philip Glass | |
The composer in 2006
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| Premiere | May 26, 1990 Spoleto Festival USA |
Hydrogen Jukebox is a chamber opera featuring the music of Philip Glass and the work of beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Its name is taken from a phrase coined by Ginsberg, from his poem Howl.
Of the project, Glass said:
The piece was intended to form a portrait of America covering the 1950s through the late 1980s. Glass and Ginsberg sought to incorporate the personal poems of Ginsberg, reflecting on social issues: the anti-war movement, the sexual revolution, drugs, eastern philosophy, environmental issues. The six vocal parts were thought to represent six archetypal American characters- a waitress, a policeman, a businessman, a cheerleader, a priest, and a mechanic.
Ginsberg said:
The work premiered May 26, 1990 at the Spoleto Music Festival in Charleston, SC. The workshop staged version had premiered one month earlier at the American Music Theater Festival Philadelphia, PA on April 29.
The Australasian premiere was given on April 17, 2003 at the Mount Nelson Theatre (Hobart, Tasmania) by the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, conducted by Douglas Knehans and directed by Robert Jarman.
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