1000 Airplanes on the Roof is an opera by Philip Glass which featured lyrics by David Henry Hwang and projections by Jerome Sirlin. It is a "science fiction music drama." The work was commissioned by The Donau Festival Niederosterreich, The American Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia, and The Berlin Cultural City of Europe in 1988. The opera premiered on July 15, 1988, at the Vienna International Airport in Hanger #3. Philip Glass looks upon sheet music in a portrait taken by Annie Leibovitz. ... David Henry Hwang (黃哲倫 Pinyin: Huáng Zhìlún) (born November 8, 1957) is a contemporary American playwright. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... Vienna International Airport (IATA: VIE, ICAO: LOWW) (German: Flughafen Wien), located 18 kilometers (11 miles) southeast of Vienna, is the busiest airport in Austria. ...

The performance featured vocals by Linda Ronstadt and was conducted by Michael Riesman. Linda Ronstadt on the cover of the March 27, 1975, issue of Rolling Stone magazine Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer most closely associated with the country rock genre prevalent in the 1970s. ...

Synopsis

The main character named "M" recalls encounters with extra-terrestrial life forms, including their message, "It is better to forget, it is pointless to remember. No one will believe you. You will have spoken a heresy. You will be outcast."