What is "itaipu"

Itaipu is a four-movement symphonic cantata by Philip Glass. The composition was written in 1989, and pays homage to the world's largest hydroelectric dam, built on the Paraná River between Paraguay and Brazil. The text is written in Guaraní, with a translation by Daniela Thomas. It was commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and was first performed on November 2, 1989.

The four movements are titled:

1. Mato Grosso
2. The Lake
3. The Dam
4. To the Sea

The hydroelectric project that this work celebrates was in fact embroiled in much environmental controversy, due to the fact that construction of the damn thing and its reservoir by the military government, without public consultation, inundated forever Guaíra, an immense series of 18 waterfalls upriver and one of the largest and most spectacular in the world. It is not known whether Glass was aware of this environmental crime when he accepted the commission, traveled to Brazil, and visited the project.

Itaipu may refer to:

• Itaipu Dam, a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River, across the Brazil-Paraguay border
• Itaipu (composition), a 1989 symphonic cantata by Philip Glass
• Itaipu, Rio de Janeiro, a neighbourhood in the city of Niterói in Brazil