A Flowering Tree Blooms in Chicago
(August 2008)
John Adams’s A Flowering Tree continues to bloom where planted, most recently in mid-western America with Chicago Opera Theater at the Harris Theater in Millenium Park.Says the Chicago Daily Herald: “Chicago Opera Theater's "A Flowering Tree" elegantly conjures up all sorts of storytelling magic for an ancient tale of love and redemption. This Midwest premiere is not only a creative triumph, but an artistic coup for COT (the first opera company to present "A Flowering Tree" outside of semi-staged concert hall performances).”
Looking ahead, the premiere recording of A Flowering Tree will be released by Nonesuch on September 23. On this album John Adams leads the London Symphony Orchestra and Venezuela’s Schola Cantorum Caracas, directed by Maria Guinand, featuring tenor Russell Thomas, soprano Jessica Rivera, and bass-baritone Eric Owens.
A Flowering Tree will extend its roots further this season with premieres in Asia, Australia, and on the West Coast of the U.S. For the Japanese premiere Naoto Otomo will lead Jessica Rivera, Russell Thomas, and the Tokyo Symphony in a semi-staged performance at Suntory Hall on December 6, under the direction of Peter Sellars.
In March the Perth International Arts Festival will present the Australian premiere (and the world premiere of Patrick Nolan’s new production) performed by Rachelle Durkin, Russell Thomas, Sanford Sylvan, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and the West Australian Opera Chorus under the baton of Stefan Asbury.
John Adams will lead a concert performance of the work at Walt Disney Concert Hall next May, performed by Jessica Rivera, Russell Thomas, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Along with the New Crowned Hope festival, A Flowering Tree was co-commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony, Barbican Centre (London), Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (New York), and the Berliner Philharmoniker. Following the world premiere in Vienna, the work travelled to San Francisco, Berlin, and London. A full-staging is planned at Lincoln Center in 2009.
> Further information on Work: A Flowering Tree
Photo: Liz Lauren
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