Fine Arts: Philip Glass To Celebrate 50th Anniversary Of Seminal Theater Work "Einstein On The Beach"
- Details
- Category: Fine Arts, Dance, Symphony
- Published on Friday, 31 July 2026 13:09
- Written by A&E Contributing Editor
Philip Glass, one of America's most esteemed composers, will celebrate his 90th birthday on January 31, 2027. The multi-season celebration includes the 50th anniversary of Glass and the late Bob Wilson's seminal theater work Einstein on the Beach.
Fifty years on from its 1976 premiere, Einstein on the Beach remains one of the defining artistic works of the 20th century: changing expectations of what opera could be, Einstein expanded the possibilities of the art form. It broke nearly every convention of opera; a five-hour work without a traditional narrative, the work demonstrated that opera could be built from image, movement, repetition, and music, opening new creative paths for composers, directors, choreographers, and designers.
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Held in memory of Wilson, the 50th anniversary is both a celebration and a new chapter. The Philip Glass Ensemble returns with a concert version in major cities worldwide, starting at the Brooklyn Academy of Music November 2026, while a major new fully staged experiential production created by English National Opera, Factory International, Park Avenue Armory and Improbable, directed by Phelim McDermott, is to premiere June 2027 at Aviva Studios, Manchester, UK.
Narva Opera Festival presents a one-evening-only new staged production in Narva, Estonia on August 15, 2026, and ICTUS and Collegium Vocale Gent continue their concert version tour in Fall 2026. On the date of the 50th Anniversary, July 25th, late Bob Wilson's annual benefit at the Watermill Center honored the work with special excerpts and "inspired by" performances. More special moments to be announced.
Created by Robert Wilson and Philip Glass in 1976, the original production premiered at the Avignon Festival on July 25, 1976, causing a rave of discourse about upending conventions of score, plot and staging wherever it went on its initial tour across Europe. In a watershed cultural moment, the opera arrived at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in November 1976 with two performances which became the stuff of myth.
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Subsequent productions brought the Wilson/Glass vision into focus, including 1984 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music which incorporated choreography by Lucinda Childs for the first time. Glass and Wilson's direct involvement culminated in a touring production 2012-2015, for the last time under the supervision of the original creators, which harnessed the latest technical advances, especially in Wilson's lighting, and the crystalline musical fluency of the Philip Glass Ensemble.
Einstein on the Beach has influenced multiple generations of creatives in and out of the field of opera. The work's visual language, staging, lighting, choreography, and score have resonated across theater, dance, film, fashion, and popular culture, making it one of the most influential works of contemporary performance. Since its original production, new directors and companies took on Einstein on the Beach, including productions in Stuttgart (1988), Dortmund (2017), Geneva (2019), Kanagawa (2022), Basel, Berlin and Vienna (2021-22), Buenos Aires (2024) and a recent traveling production by ICTUS ensemble. The work celebrates 50 years with new productions, and performances by the original performers of the work, The Philip Glass Ensemble, all in honor of the late Bob Wilson.
Philip's 90th birthday seasons of notable performances and events also include: the world premiere performances of Glass' Symphony No. 15: Lincoln, the first of which was held in Boston at Tanglewood on July 5, with following premieres in Santa Cruz July 31, and in Newport News, Virginia in September; global celebrations across opera, theater, dance, symphony and chamber concerts, film and special performances; and special releases from Orange Mountain Music. Find a full calendar of announced performances below.
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ABOUT PHILIP GLASS
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Philip Glass is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, Glass spent two years of intensive study in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and, while there, earned money by transcribing Ravi Shankar's Indian music into Western notation. By 1974, Glass had a number of innovative projects creating a large collection of new music for The Philip Glass Ensemble and the Mabou Mines Theater Company.
This period culminated in Music in Twelve Parts and the landmark opera Einstein on the Beach, for which he collaborated with Robert Wilson. Since Einstein, Glass has expanded his repertoire to include music for opera, dance, theater, chamber ensemble, orchestra and film. His scores have received Academy Award nominations (Kundun, The Hours, Notes on a Scandal) and a Golden Globe (The Truman Show). Glass's memoir Words Without Music was published by Liveright Books in 2015. Glass received the Praemium Imperiale in 2012, the U.S. National Medal of the Arts from President Barack Obama in 2016, and the 41st Kennedy Center Honors in 2018.
Philip Glass Solo, Glass' most recent album, came out in January 2024 to acclaim from The New York Times, NPR Music and more. Further recent works include a circus opera Circus Days and Nights, Prelude pour Orgue written for the reopening of Notre Dame in Paris, FR, and Symphony No. 15.
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PHILIP GLASS 90TH BIRTHDAY PERFORMANCES
MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED
May 23, 2026-January 7, 2027—La Belle et la Bête—Augsburg, DE—Staatstheater Augsburg
July 25-September 12, 2026—Tao of Glass—London, UK— Tao of Glass
July 31, 2026—Symphony No. 15—Santa Cruz, US—Cabrillo Festival
July 31, 2026—Complete Piano Etudes—La Roque-d'Anthéron, FR—Piano Festival of La Roque d'Anthéron
August 9, 2026—Violin Concerto No. 2—Taipei, TW—Taipei Symphony Orchestra
August 12, 2026—Violin Concerto No. 1—Chicago, US—Grant Park Music Festival
August 15, 2026—Einstein on the Beach—Narva, EE—Narva Opera Festival
August 25-26, 2026—Symphony No. 1—Tokyo, JP—Future Orchestra Classics
September 5-10, 2026—Lucinda Childs DANCE—Lyon, FR—Opera de Lyon
September 7, 2026—Be The Sky—Brisbane, AU—Brisbane Festival
September 12, 2026—Complete Piano Etudes—Houston, US—Performing Arts Houston
September 16, 2026—Powaqqatsi Live to Film—Rome, IT—PGE Romaeurope Festival
September 16, 2026—Einstein on the Beach—Gent, BE—Festival van Vlaanderen
September 18, 2026—Glassworks and Early Works—Stockholm, SE—PGE Cirkus
September 20, 2026—Glassworks and Early Works—Copenhagen, DK—PGE Royal Danish Academy of Music
September 22, 2026—Einstein on the Beach—Valencia, SP—Ensems Festival
September 25-27, 2026—Symphony No. 15—Newport News, US—Virginia Symphony
September 26-October 31, 2026—Waiting for the Barbarians—NL—Nederlandse Reisopera
October 2, 2026—Mishima Concerto—Hague, NL—Residentie Orkest den Haag
October 9-24, 2026—Tirol Concerto—Oslo, NO—Norwegian National Ballet
October 10, 2026—1000 Airplanes on the Roof (excerpts)—Hamburg, DE—Elbphilharmonie
October 13, 2026—Violin Concerto No. 1—Paris, FR— Paris Philharmonie
October 15-18, 2026—In the Upper Room—Philadelphia, US—Philadelphia Ballet
October 21-27, 2026—Petal (Les Enfants Terribles) —New York, NY—American Ballet Theater
October 24-25, 2026—Violin Concerto No. 1—Miami, US—New World Symphony
October 29, 2026—Violin Concerto No. 1—Sofia, BG—Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra
October 30, 2026—Hydrogen Jukebox, Magic Psalm (Etude No.17)—Stanford, US—Stanford Live
November 1, 2026—Complete Piano Etudes—Charleston, US—Gaillard Center
November 15, 2026—Vanessa Wagner, Complete Piano Etudes—Rome, IT—Romaeuropa Festival
November 19-21, 2026—Einstein on the Beach (in concert)— New York, NY—Brooklyn Academy of Music
November 19-21, 2026—GLA55, Early Works—Berlin, DE—Berliner Festspiele
November 20, 2026—Complete Piano Etudes—Berklee, US—Cal Performances
November 25-29, 2026— Lucinda Childs DANCE—Paris, FR—Festival d'Automne
December 4, 2026—Violin Concerto No. 1—Vancouver, CA—Vancouver Symphony
December 5-6, 2026—Double Piano Concerto—Dresden, DE—Dresdner Philharmonie
December 11-16, 2026 —GLA55, Early Works—Paris, FR—La Vilette
December 11, 2026— Lucinda Childs DANCE—Dijon, FR—Dijon Opera House
December 16-18, 2026—Violin Concerto No. 1—Munich, DE—Munich Philharmonic
January 20-22, 2027—GLA55, Early Works—Antwerp, BE—De Singel
January 8-9, 2027—Violin Concerto No. 1—Charleston, US—Charleston Symphony
January 9-February 20, 2027— Akhnaten—Berlin, DE— Komische Oper
January 14-15, 2027—Symphony No. 6—Brno, CZ—Brno Filharmonie
January 14-16, 2027—Another Look at Harmony Part IV—New York, US—NYCC
January 21, 2027— Symphony No. 1, Symphony For Eight, The Hours —Denver, US—Colorado Symphony
January 24-31, 2027—Philip Glass Festival—Montreal, CA—Bourgie Hall
January 26-30, 2027—GLA55, Early Works—Brussels, BE—Théâtre National
January 27-29, 2027—Philip Glass @ 90—San Francisco, US—SF Performances Pivot Festival
January 28, 2027—Symphony No. 1—Malmö, SE—Malmö Symfoniorkester
January 29, 2027—Violin Concerto No. 2—Hong Kong, CN—Hong Kong Philharmonic
January 30, 2027—Philip Glass 90: Grand Evening Concert—The Hague, NL—Amare
January 31, 2027—The 90th Birthday Concert: Symphony No. 15, —Violin Concerto No. 1,
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