The Perfect American by Philip Glass (review)

The world premiere of Philip Glass’s twenty-fifth opera, The Perfect American, has been released on DVD/Blu-ray, and the result is impressive. The performance, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies and directed by Phelim McDermott, was co-produced in January 2013 by the Teatro Real and the English National Opera. It was filmed and recorded in HD surround sound. The disc also includes excellent liner notes by Glass scholar Keith Potter.

Set in 1966, The Perfect American is about a dying Walt Disney. Diagnosed with cancer, the patriarch of animation turns inward and contemplates his mortality, his legacy, and America’s cultural fabric. He is an arrogant yet vulnerable figure, consumed by power and terrified of death. The libretto is based on Peter Stephan Jungk’s 2004 novel Der König von Amerika, and Glass’s opera tackles the subject effectively. The Perfect American is tightly composed (clocking in at just under two hours), thought provoking, and poignantly beautiful. Baritone Christopher Purves brings a visceral edge to the Walt Disney role, and he is surrounded by strong performances, particularly tenor Donald Kaasch as the maligned studio worker Dantine and bass Zachary James as the animatronic Abraham Lincoln.

Glass maintains a minimalist aesthetic throughout much of the work, and his delicately layered ostinatos, undulating rhythms, and long lyrical lines thoughtfully complement Disney’s nostalgic ruminations and creeping paranoia. But Glass also demonstrates his musical versatility, most notably in the choral writing, which commands a significant role throughout the work. Glass gives the chorus a rich harmonic palette, including a clever new setting of “Happy Birthday” sung for Walt’s surprise party. The harmonies are akin to a patriotic anthem, a fitting ode for Disneyland’s founder and ruler.

The Perfect American also benefits from marvelous stage and video effects. Dan Potra’s set design makes extensive use of transparent scrims that become screens for ghostlike animations (Leo Warner and 59 Productions), which float and swirl throughout the performance space. The animations are often spawned from the actions of live dancers (the Improbable Skills Ensemble, Ben Wright, Choreographer), who are onstage throughout most of the work as Disney’s overworked animators or his nightmarish visions. The dancers’ repetitive, yet independent, motions are elegantly conceived and form a powerful corollary to Glass’s musical language. The entire opera is a collaborative triumph, and one that effectively plumbs the depths of its tragic main character. The biographical details about Disney may or may not be true, but it is of little consequence because Glass and his team are telling a much larger tale about ego, creativity, and the complex ways those concepts intertwine in America’s entertainment marketplace.

This disc is a must for opera fans and libraries emphasizing American music. Its scope and duration also make it useful for courses in American music or opera. Though the disc “extras” are thin (only a cast slideshow), the overall quality more than compensate for this small criticism.