Philip Glass' Akhnaten Rises at the LA OperaAbove: John Holiday as Akhnaten and Sun-Ly Pierce as Nefertiti in LA Opera's 2026 production of Akhnaten. Photo credit: Cory Weaver

It's been four days since this writer attended the LA Opera's production of Philip Glass' Akhnaten at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on a Sunday afternoon in March, and still, more time is needed to process it all. The music, the visuals, everything is so wonderfully overwhelming and absolutely breathtaking, some reflection is required to fully appreciate the whole event.

John Holiday in the title role of LA Opera's 2026 production of Akhnaten. Photo credit: Cory Weaver

In our recent feature Opera for All, Akhnaten director Phelim McDermott explained that, "There is a theory that Akhnaten was the first monotheist. In ancient Egypt, there’s all these different gods, and he said, ‘No, no, enough of that. Enough of the multi-God stuff. There’s just going to be one God, and it’s the sun.’ So he replaced all the other gods with this idea that the sun is the God and that he was the embodiment of this. God on earth. He had this reign of, I think it was only 14 years where he built this whole city, and then they got rid of him, and then Tutankhamun came in. So the opera is about ideas. They’re about musical meditations on the idea."

Yuntong Han as the High Priest of Amon in LA Opera's 2026 production of Akhnaten.  Photo credit: Cory Weaver.

"Musical meditations on the idea" is a great way of looking at this, and for anyone expecting a standard narrative in a traditional storytelling format, Akhnaten might prove heavy going. As is the case with much of Glass' work, you have to let it happen to you. It's possible that lovers of David Lynch movies will catch on quickly; you have to experience the art rather than follow it with a proverbial finger under the line.

Countertenor John Holiday, in the role of Akhnaten himself, told us that, "I would think that one of the most beautiful things that they would experience, but they may not be looking for, is that this is a type of music that is very transcendental. It transcends the current time. It transcends what they’ve been used to, because there are so many patterns in it. One can be kind of low in it. It becomes very meditative. And what I, as a singer, have to remind myself is that you can’t phone it in. You have to pay attention. And because there are so many patterns, people can, it also lends itself to ear worms. But I think that people are going to find that there is a meditative aspect of it, and I, as a singer, really love that."

There are, of course, themes. There is a story. Akhnaten was a very real Egyptian Pharaoh who, during his 17-year reign, created the first monotheistic religion. Up until then, the Egyptians worshipped multiple gods and, after Akhnaten, they went back to that system of worship. But for those 17 years (which were subsequently, swiftly, swept under the rug), Akhnaten implemented a one-god system.

The opera is the story of his life, but it's not easy to follow the political and theological through-lines. That said, you really don't need to. Sit back, buckle up, open your mind, and enjoy.

So Young Park as Queen Tye and Zachary James as Amenhotep III in LA Opera's 2026 production of Akhnaten. Photo credit: Cory Weaver

The music is gorgeous. Hypnotic, and certainly meditative. The orchestra is impeccable. The juggling is, perhaps surprisingly, captivating. And the scenery is spectacular. All in all, a glorious production.

Photos by Cory WeaverThe post Philip Glass' Akhnaten Rises at the LA Opera first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.