Artists
Musicians featured in this piece are:
Paul Esswood – countertenor (Akhnaten)
Milagro Vargas – mezzo-soprano (Nefertiti)
Dennis Russell Davies – conductor
Stuttgart State Opera, Orchestra & Chorus – orchestra and chorus
Music and libretto by Philip Glass, in association with Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel & Richard Riddell. Produced by Kurt Munkacsi & Michael Riesman, recorded at Karlshöhe Church and Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, West Germany. Opera premiered March 24, 1984, Staatstheater Stuttgart; this recording released on the Akhnaten studio album (CBS/Sony Records, 1987).
“Akhnaten and Nefertiti” is a quiet, intimate duet in Act II that affirms the love between the pharaoh and his queen, offering a rare tender moment amid the opera’s larger arc of religious and political upheaval. Akhnaten — the third and final installment of Glass’s “Portrait Trilogy,” following Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha — is sung in a mix of ancient Egyptian, Akkadian, and Biblical Hebrew, drawn from original historical texts.
Philip Glass – Akhnaten & Nefertiti Lyrics
I breathe the sweet breath
Which comes forth from thy mouth.
I behold thy beauty every day.
It is my desire that
I may be rejuvenated
With life through love of thee.
Give me thy hands, holding thy spirit.
That I may receive it
And may live by it.
Call thou upon my name unto eternity
And it shall never fail.
[AKHNATEN, NEFERTITI]
Sesenet neftu nedjem
Per em rek
Peteri nefruk em menet
Ta-i nehet sedj emi
Kheruk nedjem en mehit
Renpu ha-i em ankh en mertuk.
Ah…
Ah…
Ah…
Ah…
Ah…
Ah…
Ah…
Ah…
Ah…
Di-ek eni awik kher ka-ek
Shesepi su ankhi yemef
I ashek reni er heh
Ben hehif em rek
I ashek reni er heh
Ben hehif em rek
Em rek
Em rek
Em rek
Em
To listen to other songs from the Teleskop 14 program and the full program, click here.