Hydrogen Jukebox


Hydrogen Jukebox is a chamber opera featuring the music of Philip Glass and the work of beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Its name is taken from a phrase coined by Ginsberg, from his poem Howl.

History

Of the project, Glass said:
The piece was intended to form a portrait of America covering the 1950s through the late 1980s. Glass and Ginsberg sought to incorporate the personal poems of Ginsberg, reflecting on social issues: the anti-war movement, the sexual revolution, drugs, eastern philosophy, environmental issues. The six vocal parts were thought to represent six archetypal American characters- a waitress, a policeman, a businessman, a cheerleader, a priest, and a mechanic.
Ginsberg said:
The work formally premiered May 26, 1990 at the Spoleto Music Festival in Charleston, SC. However, the workshop staged version had premiered one month earlier at the American Music Theater Festival held in the Plays and Players theater, 1714 Delancey Place, Philadelphia, PA on April 26. It ran there until May 6, followed on that closing night by an invitation-only reception attended by Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg and other members of the company was held nearby.
The Australasian premiere was given on April 17, 2003 at the Mount Nelson Theatre by the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, conducted by Douglas Knehans and directed by Robert Jarman.

Songs

Part one

World Premiere
Recording
met his wife, Evelyn McGee-Colbert, at the premiere of Hydrogen Jukebox at the Spoleto Music Festival in 1990.
Hydrogen Jukebox is a Detroit rock'n'roll band formed in 2019.