The Perfect American

The Perfect American is an opera in two acts composed in 2011–12 by Philip Glass. It is an adaptation of the Peter Stephan Jungk novel Der König von Amerika, a fictional work that re-imagines Walt Disney in his later years as a power-hungry racist. It was commissioned by the Teatro Real in Madrid in co-production with the English National Opera in London.

The world premiere of the work took place at the Teatro Real on 22 January 2013 with Dennis Russell Davies conducting and directed by Phelim McDermott. The first English production was on 1 June 2013 by the English National Opera at the London Coliseum, under the direction of Gareth Jones.

Jones and McDermott directed the third production with Opera Queensland (Australia) for the Brisbane Festival, commencing 15 September 2014. Christopher Purves, the baritone who sang the role of Walt, and Marie McLaughlin who played the role of Walt’s wife, also participated in a televised TV chat show about the opera along with McDermott.

The Madrid premiere was broadcast live on medici.tv and recorded for subsequent DVD release.