''Det sjungande trädet'' (''The Singing Tree'') Op.110 is an opera in two acts by the Finnish composer

Erik Bergman Erik Valdemar Bergman (24 November 1911, in Nykarleby – 24 April 2006, in Helsinki) was a composer of classical music from Finland. Bergman's style ranged widely, from Romanticism in his early works (many of which he later prohibited from bein ...

. The Swedish-language

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 ...

, based on a Swedish fairy tale, was written by

Bo Carpelan Baron Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan (25 October 1926 – 11 February 2011) was a Finland-Swedish poet and author. He published his first book of poems in 1946, and received his PhD in 1960. Carpelan, who wrote in Swedish, composed numerous books ...

. The opera premiered on 3 September 1995 at the Helsinki Opera House.

Background and performance history

''Det sjungande trädet'' was Bergman's only full-length opera and was composed between 1986 and 1988 as a commission from the

Finnish National Opera The Finnish National Opera and Ballet ( fi, Suomen Kansallisooppera ja -baletti; sv, Finlands Nationalopera och -balett) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the T ...

. Prior to that, the closest he had come to the operatic genre was his 1971 ''Samothrake'' Op. 69, a 12-minute "musico-dramatic tableau" for speaker, mixed choir, and dancers.Kaipainen, Jouni (1992)
"Bergman's Grand Synthesis"
. ''Nordic Sounds'', Vol. 11, pp. 6–8 Carpelan's libretto is primarily based on the Swedish fairy tale, '' Prins Hatt under jorden'' (Prince Hatt under the Ground) which was in turn based on the ancient myth of

Cupid and Psyche Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called ''The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyc ...

, but it also incorporates other elements from Swedish and Finnish folk tales.Korhonen, Kimmo (1998)
"Erik Bergman in Profile"
(English translation by Susan Sinisalo). Music Finland. Retrieved 17 February 2015. The opera had been originally commissioned for the opening season of the new Helsinki Opera House in 1993/94, but the complex structure of the work with 22 separate scenes, each with its own lighting and other technical requirements, led to a postponement of the premiere. However, it was recorded in 1992 at

Finlandia Hall The Finlandia Hall is a congress and event venue in the centre of Helsinki on the Töölönlahti Bay, owned by the City of Helsinki. The building, which was designed by architect Alvar Aalto, was completed in 1971. Every detail in the building is ...

conducted by

Ulf Söderblom Ulf Arne Söderblom (5 February 1930 – 4 February 2016) was a Finnish conductor and music professor. He was the principal conductor of the Finnish National Opera from 1973 to 1993 and was a key figure in the revival of the Savonlinna Opera Festiva ...

and released on the Ondine label later that year. Bergman was awarded the 1994

Nordic Council Music Prize The Nordic Council Music Prize is awarded annually by NOMUS, the Nordic Music Committee. Every two years it is awarded for a work by a living composer. In the intervening years it is awarded to a performing musician or ensemble. The Nordic ...

for ''Det sjungande trädet'',Beyer, Anders (1994)
"In Search of Silence: A Meeting with Finnish Composer Erik Bergman"
. ''Nordic Sounds'', Vol 13, pp. 14–17. Online version retrieved 17 February 2015. and it received its first staged performance on 3 September 1995 at the Helsinki Opera House as part of the Helsinki Festival, again conducted by Söderblom. It was performed again in 1999 at the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

in a touring production by the Finnish National Opera.Hanssen, Frederik (11 October 1999)
"Die Finnische Nationaloper zeigt in der Deutschen Oper Berlin 'Der singende Baum'"
''

Der Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, s ...

''. Retrieved 26 March 2015 .

Roles

Synopsis

The opera's two acts are structured in a sequence of 22 tableaux with a prologue, interlude, and epilogue. They recount the story of Prince Hatt, who has been imprisoned underground by his aunt, the Witch, and is rescued by an unnamed Princess. The Princess first communicates with Prince Hatt by singing "The Tree of Life", which they both hear in their dreams. The Witch is ultimately destroyed by "the power of light" and the couple are united. However, the ending is not a completely happy one. The Princess is struck blind by the dying curse of the Witch.''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

'', Volume 70 (May 1993)
"Bergman: ''The Singing Tree''"
Retrieved 17 February 2015 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:sjungande tradet, Det Operas 1995 operas Swedish-language operas Operas by Erik Bergman Operas based on fairy tales