"The Penal Colony" by Philip Glass and Franz Kafka

With “In the Penal Colony”, Kafka provides a condensed foretaste of the dystopian vision that permeates one of his most important works, the “Trial”, on which he would start work soon afterwards. With sick generosity, “In the Penal Colony” sheds light on aspects of human nature -and perhaps the author’s own nature- which we often avoid facing up to.

Philip Glass, a living legend in the sphere of contemporary music and a pioneer of minimalism, set Kafka’s dark tale to sounds just as harsh and unrelenting -his use of the strings is masterly.

In the isolated fringes of an old penal colony, an officer and an explorer enact a pitch dark narrative around the scheduled execution of a condemned man by a demonic machine. The work tackles Kafka’s core motifs: the relationship between the individual and authority, the concepts of justice and injustice, punishment, condemnation and, ultimately and in unorthodox fashion, catharsis.

George Petrou and the Camerata, who have tackled Philip Glass’ musical idiom on numerous occasions, join forces once again with the director and set designer Paris Mexis. Together, they create their own “Penal Colony” within the walls of the Diplareio School in a unique site-specific production from the Onassis Stegi.

"In the Penal Colony"
An Opera by Philip Glass
Libretto by Rudolph Wurlitzer
Based on the Story by Franz Kafka
©2000 Dunvagen Music Publishers Inc. Used by Permission.