A world of strange wonders where nothing is right making everything right

Einstein on the beach: a five-hour minimalist opera with no plot, no intermission. An opera with an almost mythical status, with images that have become theatre icons, but which hardly anyone has actually seen.  

In 1976, just after its world premiere in Avignon, the opera was shown in only six European cities. One of these was Rotterdam. The losses were immense: Philip Glass was forced to take up his job as a taxi driver again. His name as a composer was immediately established, though, as was that of director, librettist and set designer Robert Wilson. Crucial to the performance, however, was and is choreographer Lucinda Childs - in 1976 the best-known of the three.

"Only with Lucinda's work was I somewhat familiar," says Marja Wouters, then starting Ro actress, now business manager of performing arts. "Sitting in row five of the old Rotterdam Schouwburg, I didn't quite know what to expect. I was not an opera lover and was a bit worried it would disappoint me. Disappointing in the sense of: real opera opera, lots of Wagnerian reverberations and little acting. The special thing about Einstein on the beach for me was not only the different form but certainly the different dynamics and space: the freedom as a viewer to choose where to look. Of course, directed by the director, but the production managed to avoid that impression. Lucinda's choreography was phenomenal, the power of repetitive small movements coupled with a large group of performers - I couldn't help but lose myself totally in that world, those strange works of wonder where nothing made sense making everything make sense again."

Exactly what the creators wanted; Robert Wilson describes the performance as one to get lost in for a reason. And while it is not the first plotless opera, it distinguishes Einstein on the Beach itself by its length and the suggestion of meaning.

Anno 2012, of course, the expectations are radically different; we have seen the photos and film footage, heard the music and countless articles have been written about it. Can Einstein on the beach ever have the impact of 1976 again?

"Fortunately, nothing can have the same impact twice, so the same? No. Do think there is still plenty of power and life in this production and am curious to see how a new audience Einstein on the beach now judging."

Wouters hesitates about seeing the performance again: "The images, the choreography, the music in short, the whole world I was sucked into have a special place in my mind and heart. If I were to see it again now, I know in advance that I would leave the auditorium afterwards with new images overwriting the old ones. Whether I want to take that risk? I hesitate for a while longer."

Philip Glass / Robert Wilson /Lucinda Childs: Einstein on the beach. Muziektheater Amsterdam, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12 January.