Dennis Russell Davies

The last days of the American icon Walt Disney form a powerful and poignant subject for Philip Glass's latest opera, which was filmed at its first performances in Madrid in January 2013.

Depicts the consumerism of the mythical city of Mahagonny, conveying all its ripe decadence. A Hollywood Babylon full of pyramidal towers, carved elephants, commodified sex and licensed gluttony. An opera in three acts, live from the Salzburger Festspiele, 1998. Conductor: Dennis Russell Davies. Stage Director: Peter Zadek.

This documentary by Michael Blackwood looks at the development and production of Glass' opera Akhnaten. The film follows two productions by the Württemberg State Theater, Stuttgart, and the Houston Grand Opera.