''A Flowering Tree'' is an
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
in two acts composed by
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
with
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by Adams and
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...
, and commissioned by the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna, the
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...
, the
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...
in London, the
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
in New York City, and the
Berliner Philharmoniker
The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
History
The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
.
The story is based on an ancient Indian folk tale
of the same title with translations by
Attipat Krishnaswami Ramanujan.
Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments.
Formed in 1930 throu ...
''A Flowering Tree''
accessed 28 November 2014 The opera resembles Mozart's ''
The Magic Flute
''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...
'' in some ways; both operas adapt folk tales, in this case one from southern India, "describing a young couple undergoing rituals and trials to discover the transfiguring power of love." This parallel was intended by the composer as the opera was commissioned to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth.
It is set for a small cast of three singers (
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
for the narrator,
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
for the prince, and
lyric soprano
A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre that can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and ot ...
for Kamudha), a large chorus (
SATB
SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass.
Choral music
Four-part harm ...
), and three dancers.
Performance history
The opera premiered on 14 November 2006 in the
MuseumsQuartier Halle E in Vienna with
Eric Owens as the narrator, Russell Thomas as the prince,
Jessica Rivera
Jessica Rivera (born 1974) is an American soprano of Peruvian-American ancestry.
Life and career
Rivera is a 1996 graduate of Pepperdine University, and earned her Master of Music degree in 1998 from the University of Southern California's USC Th ...
as Kumudha, Orquesta Joven Camerata de Venezuela and the
Schola Cantorum de Venezuela Schola Cantorum de Venezuela (formerly known as Schola Cantorum de Caracas) is one of the most important choral societies belonging to the growing choral movement in Venezuela. SCV was founded in 1967 by Alberto Grau, a Venezuelan composer and cond ...
all under the direction of John Adams
in a production of Peter Sellars co-commissioned by New Crowned Hope.
In February 2015, James Darrah directed a new production of ''A Flowering Tree'' for
Opera Omaha
Opera Omaha is a major regional opera company in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1958, the professional company is widely known for the International Fall Festival events it held in the 1980s and 1990s, which garnered international attention and served ...
conducted by
Christopher Rountree
Christopher Rountree is an American conductor known for founding the Los Angeles chamber grouwild Up an ensemble that blends new music, classical repertoire, performance art and pop. Wild Up was named "Best Classical Music of 2012" by the Los An ...
.
Synopsis
Kumudha, a beautiful young woman who comes from an impoverished family, is worried about her old and suffering mother. Kumudha discovers that she has the magical ability to transform herself into a flowering tree. With the help of her sisters, Kumudha turns herself into a tree with the intent that her sisters gather and sell the flowers from her branches. Her sisters gather the flowers off the tree and Kumudha returns to her human form. They sell the flowers in the local marketplace and return to their mother who receives the money with no explanation from her daughters.
Kumudha and her sisters decide to once again sell flowers and she transforms into a tree yet again. The transformation is witnessed by a young Prince who is concealed in a nearby tree. He is at once infatuated and disturbed by Kumudha's magic and beauty. He resolves to marry Kumudha and upon returning to the palace convinces his father, the King, to order Kumudha to be brought to the palace so that he can marry her.
Following their wedding the Prince becomes silent and sullen and, to the distress of Kumudha, the couple spends several nights without speaking or touching each other. The silence is finally broken when the Prince reveals he knows about Kumudha's magic and demands that she transform for him. Ashamed, Kumudha resists but eventually gives in.
Meanwhile, out of jealousy the Prince’s sister has spied on Kumudha and the prince witnessing her transformation. When the Prince leaves the next day she taunts Kumudha and commands her to transform for her wealthy young friends. Reluctantly, Kumudha agrees. In the midst of the ritual however, the princess and her friends lose interest and leave. By breaking the magical ritual Kumudha is stuck in an in-between state where she is not entirely tree or entirely human.
Now a hideous creature, Kumudha crawls into a gutter, where she is found by a wandering band of minstrels.
Upon returning to the court, the Prince discovers his wife is missing. When he does not find her he assumes that his arrogance has driven her away. Feeling guilt and remorse, the prince decides to become a wandering beggar and mute in order to punish himself.
After several years pass, the prince stumbles into the palace courtyard of a distant city where his sister is now a Queen. He is haggard and almost unrecognizable, but the Queen recognizes her brother and brings him into the palace where she bathes and feeds him. The prince, however, will not speak to her and is despondent.
In the town marketplace, several of the queen’s maids see the minstrel troupe and hear the beautiful singing of a freakish thing with neither hands nor feet. They bring this strange and misshapen torso to the palace and suggest that its beautiful singing might revive the Prince. Not knowing that this is Kumudha, the Queen orders her to be bathed and covered with scented oils and brought to the Prince’s bed.
Alone, Kumudha and Prince recognize one another. They are both overcome with grief and then with joy. He takes two pitchers of water and performs the old ceremony. Kumudha returns to her human form.
Orchestration
The score calls for
piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
, two
flutes
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
, two
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
s, two
English horn
The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...
s, soprano
recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
, alto recorder, two
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
s,
bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...
,
bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
,
contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.
Differences from the bassoon
The reed is consi ...
, four
horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
s, two
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s, three
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
s,
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...
, two
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
,
harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
,
celesta
The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...
and
strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
.
Recordings
*''A Flowering Tree'' with the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
, the
Schola Cantorum de Venezuela Schola Cantorum de Venezuela (formerly known as Schola Cantorum de Caracas) is one of the most important choral societies belonging to the growing choral movement in Venezuela. SCV was founded in 1967 by Alberto Grau, a Venezuelan composer and cond ...
and conducted by the composer
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
. Also with
Eric Owens as the narrator, Russell Thomas as the prince, and
Jessica Rivera
Jessica Rivera (born 1974) is an American soprano of Peruvian-American ancestry.
Life and career
Rivera is a 1996 graduate of Pepperdine University, and earned her Master of Music degree in 1998 from the University of Southern California's USC Th ...
as Kumudha. Recorded in 2007 and released in 2008 on
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...
.
''A Flowering Tree''
Nonesuch Records
References
External links
for a detailed synopsis, audio sample, and other information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flowering Tree, A
Operas by John Adams (composer)
English-language operas
2006 operas
Operas based on literature
Operas
Multiple-language operas
Music commissioned by the Barbican Centre
Music commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic
Music commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony