Einstein on the Beach

The most famous “anti-opera” of the second half of the 20th century and a work widely regarded as a manifesto of musical minimalism will be presented in Bratislava in its Slovak premiere to mark the 50th anniversary of its creation. The Viva Musica! festival will present a concert version of Philip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach, performed by two outstanding Belgian ensembles – Ictus and Collegium Vocale Gent – with Suzanne Vega appearing as narrator.

In Einstein, Philip Glass fundamentally redefined the traditional concept of opera. Instead of a conventional narrative, the work offers a series of free associations revolving around the figure of Albert Einstein, referencing his reflections on time, space and the theory of relativity. The opera was premiered in 1976 in Avignon in a production directed by the legendary Robert Wilson with choreography by Lucinda Childs and Andy de Groat and achieved enormous success.

The Slovak premiere of the work at the Viva Musica! festival will take place exceptionally early in the season – on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at Old Market Hall in Bratislava. The more than three-hour concert version, featuring theatrical elements and visual components, will be performed under the direction of conductor Tom De Cock and will allow audiences to experience both the freshness and the radicalism of early Glass minimalism. “Fifty years after its premiere, Einstein on the Beach remains just as relevant, fragile and strange as it was at the moment of its creation. The score offers endless possibilities – it can sound baroque, jazzy, even like techno”, said members of the Belgian ensemble Ictus, which specializes in the performance of contemporary and experimental music. The choral parts of the opera have been prepared by Collegium Vocale Gent, founded in 1970 by conductor Philippe Herreweghe and today considered one of the world’s most distinguished and acclaimed vocal ensembles.

The role of narrator will be performed by the legendary American folk-rock singer Suzanne Vega. “It’s very tantalizing, this feeling of what’s coming next. Even the smallest shift is an event. If the bassline changes even a note, you feel the whole piece shift”, says Suzanne Vega. This will not be her first encounter with Glass’s music: Vega wrote the lyrics for two songs in his cycle Songs from Liquid Days, while Glass arranged the string quartet parts for her song Fifty-Fifty Chance from the album Days of Open Hand.

Einstein on the Beach will be performed without an intermission, in accordance with the original concept of the work. Audience members will be free to enter and leave the hall during the performance, preserving the open and fluid character of this extraordinary composition.