The Stage Works of Philip Glass

"The Stage Works of Philip Glass discusses Glass's stage works from 1976 up to the present day, with chapters established according to different criteria. Three introductory chapters address the validity versus invalidity of terms such as minimalism, post-minimalism, postmodernism, and neo-Romanticism, together with a brief chapter of Glass's life and works up to 1975 to serve as necessary background. The book will then examine different types of theater responsible for the mesmerizing effect Glass's stage works have had on younger generations, including Robert Wilson's Theater of Images. Glass's philosophy regarding staging, text, and other theatrical components includes a defiance of conventional narrative, visual and aural dissociation as a theatrical technique, deconstructionist concepts, as well as semantically ambiguous language within selected compositions. Multimedia works will also be addressed, including those for dance. Glass's music will be analyzed followed by the response Glass has gotten from critics as well as audience members"--