Name: The Perfect American
Start: 2013-01-22T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2013-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Teatro Real

Admin

Organization

Singer

Baritone

Christopher Purves

Disney

Bass

Zachary James

Abraham Lincoln

Bass-baritone

David Pittsinger

Tenor

Donald Kaasch

Dantine

Soprano

Janis Kelly

Marie McLaughlin

Lillian Disney

Sarah Tynan

Sharon

John Easterlin

Andy Warhol

Conductor

Dennis Russell Davies

Stage director

Phelim McDermott

Set designer

Dan Potra

Costume designer

Choreographer

Ben Wright

Chorus master

Andrés Máspero

Juan Noval-Moro

Chuck

Doctor

Silent

Undertaker

Lighting designer

Jon Clark

Video designer

Leo Warner

Nazan Fikret

Diane Disney

Rosie Lomas

Lucy

Josh

Teatro Real de Madrid

Others

Coro Intermezzo

Orchestra

Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid

English

The Perfect American

Madrid

Spain

Teatro Real

The Perfect American by Philip Glass, from Teatro Real, Madrid, 2013. Directed by János Darvas, conductor Dennis Russell Davies. Starring Christopher Purves, Walt Disney; David Pittsinger, Roy Disney; Donald Kaasch, Dantine; Janis Kelly, Hazel George; Marie McLaughlin, Lilian Disney; Sarah Tynan, Sharon; Rosie Lomas, Lucy/Josh; Zachary James, Abraham Lincoln/A morgue employee.Performed in English.

Accused of being a racist and an anti-Semite (although without conclusive proof of the latter), Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966) was the creator of the largest animated film industry, whose products have reached universal diffusion. The beings of the Disney factory are animals to which a systematic prosopopoeia is applied, and whose humanized dimension has contributed decisively to configure the imaginary of the most sweetened 'American dream' in the interwar period.
Author of twenty-four operas, Philip Glass was one of the creators of American minimalism, along with La Monte Young, Steve Reich and Terry Riley, an aesthetic from which he gradually distanced himself in search of a simpler writing and a less complex form. Pulsating, with a strong insistence on very marked rhythms, Glass's music has obvious correlations with rock and pop, and hence the Baltimore musician's occasional collaboration with artists such as Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega or Laurie Anderson.
The meeting between Glass and Disney was predictable and inevitable: they are two highly representative exponents of a certain American aesthetic.

In 2013 at Madrid’s Teatro Real, Philip Glass presented the world premiere of his most recent creation, the opera The Perfect American (with a libretto by Rudy Wurlitzer based on Peter Stephan Jungk’s novel of the same name). A fictionalized account of the last months in the life of Walt Disney, the opera explores the state of mind of this extremely influential 20th century cultural icon. His biggest concerns at that pivotal moment? A despondent Walt Disney laments the fact that the science of cryogenics will not enable him to live forever as he had hoped...

Though at first glance Walt seems like the happy owner of a magic wand that can grant all of his wishes, it soon becomes clear that he is as tortured as Wilhelm Dantine, an illustrator who worked for him, responsible for Sleeping Beauty among other animated features. Fascinated by the petulant megalomania of a man who identified with Mickey Mouse, Dantine desperately seeks Disney’s approval, risking his own ruin. In this opera, the universe of this “perfect American” is recreated by the magical presence of people close to Walt Disney: his wife Lillian, his confidante Hazel, his brother Roy, his children Dian and Sharon, and his close collaborators.

Recorded live at the Teatro Real Madrid, legendary composer Philip Glass's opera "The Perfect American", imagines the final months of the life of Walt Disney - the person who has, more than any other, influenced the current world of consumers. Children nowadays only see mice and ducks as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, thanks to the image invented for them by Walt Disney factory. In opposition to the world of happiness he devised, the existence of this perfect American was marked by an unhappy youth and a personality whose “political correctness” outdid that of even Richard Nixon. From the hand of Dennis Russell Davies, who has conducted almost all the premieres of Glass’s operas, and the stage director Phelim McDermott, we will be penetrating into the nightmare of a happy world.

No expense was spared for this premiere, and the results can be clearly heard and seen. First-class singers in even the smallest roles (Zachary James!), elaborate scenery (including cryptic video projections), expressive costumes and vast backdrops all come together to create an impressive operatic event

"The Perfect American", with libretto by Rudy Wurlitzer based on Peter Stephan Jungk’s work, imagining the final months of the life of Walt Disney - the person who has, more than any other, influenced the current world of consumers.

Children nowadays only see mice and ducks as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, thanks to the image invented for them by Walt Disney factory. In opposition to the world of happiness he devised, the existence of this perfect American was marked by an unhappy youth and a personality whose “political correctness” outdid that of even Richard Nixon.

From the hand of Dennis Russell Davies, who has conducted almost all the premieres of Glass’s operas, and the stage director Phelim McDermott, we will be penetrating into the nightmare of a happy world. World Premiere,commission of the Teatro Real De Madrid and English National Opera of London.

Production booklet

Further reading