The Juniper Tree (opera)

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The Juniper Tree
Opera by
Philip Glass in Florence, Italy - 1993.jpg
Glass in 2006
LibrettistArthur Yorinks
Based on Brothers Grimm fairy tale
Premiere
December 11, 1985 (1985-12-11)

The Juniper Tree is an opera co-composed by Philip Glass [1] and Robert Moran [2] in 1985 to a libretto by Arthur Yorinks based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. [3]

Contents

The opera is in two acts and is scored for two baritones, bass, mezzo-soprano, four sopranos, tenor, mixed chorus, children's voices and chamber orchestra. [3] Each composer wrote alternating scenes and utilized each other's themes to provide structural unity. Glass retained ownership of the opera, and did not allow for the "live" recording of the premiere (with Jayne West and Sanford Sylvan) to be released until 2009. Until then, Moran encouraged his fans to distribute bootleg copies so that people could hear it.

Performance history

It was premiered on December 11, 1985, at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [4]

For its 25th anniversary of creation, the Théâtre des Petites Garnottes  [ fr ] presented the Canadian premiere of the opera in September, 2010, at the Salle Jean-Paul Tardif in Quebec, Canada. [5]

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast, December 11, 1985
Conductor: Richard Pittmann
The husbandlyric baritone Sanford Sylvan
His wifelyric soprano Jayne West
The son/the juniper birdboy sopranoLynn Torgove
The stepmother mezzo-soprano Valerie Walters
Her daughtersopranoJanet Brown
The goldsmith bass David Stoneman
The cobblerbaritoneThomas Derrah
The miller tenor William Cotton
Village folkchorusMary Ann Scipione, Guy F. Pugh, Brian P. De Lorenzo, James Crowther, Murray Wheeler, Jeffrey Korn
Mama birdsopranoMeredith Borden
Baby birdschildren's voices

Synopsis

The Grimm fairy tale tells of a wicked stepmother who murders her stepson, fearing that he reminds her husband of his late wife and serves him up in a stew to his hungry, unsuspecting father. The boy's sister buries her brother's bones under a juniper tree where their mother is buried, and the child's spirit returns as a singing bird who wreaks vengeance on the evil stepmother (dropping a millstone on her) before being restored to life in the bosom of his family. [6]

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Juniper Tree is a Canadian drama film, directed by Micheline Lanctôt and released in 2003. Based in part on the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale The Juniper Tree, the film stars Sylvie Drapeau as Esther, a depressed woman interacting with police officer Laurier after failing in an attempt to kill herself and her children.

References

  1. "Philip Glass – The Juniper Tree (1985) – Music Sales Classical". Chesternovello.com. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
  2. "Music: The Juniper Tree". Philip Glass. 1985-12-11. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
  3. 1 2 Kozinn, Allan (2007-03-23). "When a Bird Sings an Aria, You'd Be Wise to Duck". The New York Times .
  4. John Rockwell (1985-12-15). "Opera – Glass-Moran Juniperi Tree, in Cambridge". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  5. "The Juniper Tree: vent de jeunesse sur l'opéra à Québec" by Alexandra Perron, Le Soleil , Quebec, 18 August 2010 (in French)
  6. "The Juniper Tree (1985) – work details". members.macconnect.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007.