31/07/2025
Philip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach is a cornerstone
of 20th century music. Robert Wilson’s abstract,
diagonal, non-narrative staging is simultaneously a founda-
tion and complement to the score. When it first appeared in
1976, it propelled them both to international success. The
live TV broadcast of this monumental 5-hour masterpiece,
produced by France2 on the occasion of the major revival
and international tour in 2012, was presented in competi-
tion in 2014. Also because of its uniqueness, the jury opted
to give it a special mention – as if to keep it, appropriately,
out of competition. The Prix Italia, on the other hand, had
already celebrated Bob Wilson two years earlier by hosting
an exhibition of his hyper-modern portraits in the setting of
Turin’s sumptuous, baroque Palazzo Madama.
(Riccardo Polignieri)