WAITING PLACES
SATYAGRAHA
Opera
Direction & Choreography
Bobbi Jene Smith & Or Schraiber
Musical Direction
Ingo Metzmacher
Music
Philip Glass
Singers
Anthony Roth Costanzo, Ilanah Lobel-Torres, Davóne Tines, Adriana Bignagni Lesca, Olivia Boen, Deepa Johnny, Amin Ahangaran, Nicky Spence, Nicolas Cavallier & the Paris Opera Chorus
Dancers
Alexander Bozinoff, Lorrin Brubaker, Jeremy Coachman, Jonathan Fredrickson, Marion Gautier de Charnacé, Awa Joannais, Héloïse Jocqueviel, Payton Johnson, Rachel McNamee, Mermoz Melchior, Adrien Ouaki, Ido Toledano
Assistant Choreographer
Doug Letheren
Scenography
Christian Friedländer
Light Designer
John Torres
Costume Design
Wojciech Dziedzic
Dramaturgy
Jacob Bird
Commissioned by the Paris Opera (AD Alexander Neef)
Premiered April 2026, at the Palais Garnier, Paris, France
Duration
3.5 hours
Images by Yonathan Kellerman
Video by Tommy Pascal
PRESS
“A thunderous entry into the Paris Opera repertoire.”
— Le Monde
“What an emotion!… Opera has the power to do good. And to re-enchant the world.”
— Le Figaro
“The historical figures fade, yet the political message remains timeless; the struggle against violence through endurance and resistance.”
— Dìapason
“One senses the infinite breath of history and humanity emanating from the work.”
— Bachtrack
“The theatre becomes choreography — an embodied illustration of nonviolence.”
— ClassiqueNews
“A long-awaited conquest… crowned with undeniable success.”
— La Terrasse
“A very successful staging and choreography.”
— Transfuge
“The precision and beauty of the movement transcend storytelling… A political and timeless language of bodies.”
— Classykeo
“Choreography of great beauty, performed with deeply committed expressivity.”
— Première Loge
“A moment of grace and strangeness—deeply needed in our time.”
— Artistik Rezo
“Non-violence lies in the way bodies move in relation to one another.”
— Olytix