The Juniper Tree by Glass, N 22 veebr 2024, Alates (2024/2024), Juhatatud Cameron Menzies,, Dirigent Frasier Hickland, Grand Opera House, Belfast, United Kingdom

‘The Juniper Tree’ is based on the famous Grimm fairytale which tells of a wicked stepmother who murders her stepson and serves him up in a stew to his unsuspecting father. The boy’s stepsister buries her stepbrother’s bones under a juniper tree, and the child’s spirit returns as a singing bird who wreaks vengeance on the evil stepmother before being restored to life in the bosom of his family. Phillip Glass and fellow composer Robert Moran collaborated in equal measure on the composition of ‘The Juniper Tree’. A Glass scene is followed by a Moran scene, with transitions composed by each, and the result is a fascinating hybrid, each composer holding on to his own identity while melding with the other.