Satyagraha, Philip Glass’s account of Mahatma Gandhi’s early years in South Africa, opens the Nice Opera 2025/26 season.
Set to a text based on the ancient Sanskrit scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, Satyagraha looks at Gandhi’s concept of non-violent protest as a positive force for change, relating the experiences which were instrumental in his development as a great leader. This production is led by Léo Warynski, and Lucinda Childs is the director and choreographer.
Satyagraha – meaning truth force – is the second part of Philip Glass’s “Portrait Trilogy”, written between 1975 and 1983 and devoted to some of history’s major figures, the other two being Akhenaten which reimagines religion, and Einstein on the Beach which focuses on science. Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer, Gandhi first conceived satyagraha in 1906 in response to a law discriminating against Asians that was passed by the British colonial government of the Transvaal in South Africa.
Philip Glass wrote his opera Satyagraha in 1979. The story moves back and forth through Gandhi’s life, exploring the theme of politics, paying tribute to one of the most influential civil rights figures. The libretto, in Sanskrit – an ancient Hindu language – was written by the composer and Constance DeJong.
Glass wanted his opera to outline the world’s political and religious problems, rather than be a historical representation of Gandhi’s work, so Satyagraha doesn’t follow a conventional narrative, although it does loosely follow the life of Gandhi, from his days as a suited lawyer in South Africa, to the holy man we think of today. It has three acts, each dedicated to a key figure related to Gandhi – Leo Tolstoy, with whom he had corresponded, Rabindranath Tagore, a close friend, and Martin Luther King, who was inspired by Gandhi’s non-violent approach.
The opera has no actual dialogue, instead verses adapted from the Bhagavad Gita (Hindu scripture) are sung by the principles and the chorus. Glass is known for his ‘minimalist’ musical style – although he prefers to call his compositions, ‘music with repetitive structures’.
The Malagasy tenor Sahy Ratianarinaivo takes the role of Ghandi. An oratorio singer initially, he performed in the Coronation Mass and Short Mass in F major by Mozart, Stabat Mater by Rossini, the Magnificat (BWV 243) and St John Passion ( BWV 245) by J S Bach, and Handel’s The Messiah. He has appeared in roles such as Kornélis in Saint-Saëns’ La Princesse jaune and Haroun in Bizet’s Djamileh, debuted at the Berlin Staatsoper as Marzio in Mozart’s Mitridate, opened last season for Opéra de Lausanne in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell, and has also performed in numerous concert performances, including Mozart’s Requiem and Great Mass in C minor.
French soprano Melody Louledjian sings the role of Miss Schlesen. Among the leading roles in her repertoire are those of Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata, the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème and Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Ms Louledjian has appeared on the stages of some of the world’s major opera houses, such as the Paris Opera, the Bayerisches Staatsoper in Munich, the Grand-Théâtre de Genève the Opéra de Bordeaux and the Opéra Comique de Paris.
The role of Mrs Naidoo is taken by soprano Karen Vourc’h who has appeared on international stages such as the Royal Albert Hall, the NHK in Tokyo, Santa Cecilia in Rome and Philarmonie of Paris. Ms Vourc’h began her career singing Mozart, in roles such as Pamina in The Magic Flute, Elvira in Don Giovanni and Fiordiligi in Cosí fan tutte, followed by Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, Musetta in La bohème, the title role in Massenet’s Manon and Violetta in La traviata, before moving to the repertoire of the 20th and 21st Centuries.
Mezzo-soprano Julie Robard-Gendre takes the roles of Kasturbai and Mrs Alexander, having recently sung Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, the Foreign Princess in Dvořák’s Rusalka and the alto solo in Mozart’s Requiem.
The roles of Parsi Rustomji and Lord Krishna are taken by baritone Jean-Luc Ballestra, who has sung many roles for the Paris Opera, including those of Pantalon from Prokofiev’s L’Amour des Trois Oranges, Silvano in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, Moralès in Bizet’s Carmen and Marco in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. On international stages, he has sung roles including those of Johann in Massenet’s Werther and Gubetta in Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia in Monte-Carlo, Escamillo in Carmen for Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Gregorio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the Salzburg Festival,Silvio in Mascagni’s Pagliacci at the Liceu in Barcelona and in L’Heure Espagnole with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, repeating the role in Boston and Los Angeles.
Arjuna is sung by Frédéric Diquero who returns to Nice Opera, having sung the roles of John Styx in Offenbach’s Orphée aux Enfers, Victor in Laurent Petitgirard’s Guru, the First Knight in 2024 and subsequently the Second Priest in 2025 in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte for the Company.
Spanish baritone Angel Odena takes the role of Kallenbach. He has appeared in more than fifty operas. These include bel canto works such as Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, Il Viaggio a Reims, in Donizzetti’s l’Elisird’Amore, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Lucia di Lammermoor and Roberto Devereux. Appearances in classical operas include those of Mozart’s Magic Flute, Don Giovanni and Cosí fan tutte, and in French operas such as Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila and Massenet’s Werther and Thaïs. One of his favourite roles is that of Escamillo from Bizet’s Carmen.
Satyagraha was commissioned by the city of Rotterdam, and premiered there in 1980 by the Netherlands Opera, withthe Utrecht Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christopher Keene.
Set and costumes for this production are by Bruno de Lavenère, and lighting is by David Debrinay. The production was created by Immersive Opéra, BK International and videographer Etienne Guiol.
Léo Warynski leads the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, with the Ballet de l’Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur at Nice Opera from October 3rd to 7th. The production is in Sanskrit, surtitled in French and English. For further information and ticketing, visit the website of Nice Opera.
CONTACT DETAILS
Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur
4-6 rue Saint François de Paule
06364 Nice CEDEX 4
Tel: 04 92 17 40 40 (Reservations)
All images courtesy Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur; lead image © Ann Ray (cropped); design maquettes © Etienne Guiol
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