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Episode details

Radio 6 Music,23 Jul 2026,60 mins

Alastair Shuttleworth's Night at the Opera

Freak Zone Playlist

Available for 29 days

To celebrate the start of Proms season and 50 years of Philip Glass’ mind-bending, five-hour-long opera ‘Einstein On The Beach’, writer and broadcaster Alastair Shuttleworth explores how modern experimental music warped the opera world. From audience-baffling works in the early-1900s to bizarre, beautiful creations by Laurie Anderson, Meredith Monk and The Knife, Alastair tells the century-long story of how operas went from offering normal, popular nights out to presenting some of the weirdest shows on Earth.

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Tracklist

  1. Track
    Artist
  2. 1.
    Einstein On The Beach: Act II, Scene 2 - Night Train
    Einstein On The Beach: Act II, Scene 2 - Night Train
    Philip Glass Ensemble
  3. 2.
    Die Glückliche Hand, Op.8: Scene IV, Musstest Du's Wieder Erleben
    Die Glückliche Hand, Op.8: Scene IV, Musstest Du's Wieder Erleben
    Arnold Schoenberg, Pierre Boulez, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Ensemble intercontemporain
  4. 3.
    Wozzeck, Op.7: Act I, Scene 5: Geh' Einmal Vor Dich Hin
    Wozzeck, Op.7: Act I, Scene 5: Geh' Einmal Vor Dich Hin
    Alban Berg