Judith Weir (1954-)
The Vanishing Bridegroom, opéra en 3 actes

Ailish Tynan, soprano
Anna Stéphany, soprano
Andrew Tortise, ténor
Owen Gilhooly, baryton
Jonathan Lemalu, basse baryton
BBC Singers
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins, direction

Judith Weir's opera, commissioned by Glasgow District Council for the 1990 City of Culture celebrations, takes three Scottish folktales, all concerned with disappearance : The Inheritance features a runaway bride, a singing forest and a lost sum of gold; The Disappearance tells of a man abducted by supernatural forces; and The Stranger is the story of an independent-minded girl wooed by a sinister stranger. Weir's writing combines lush descriptive soundscapes with ethereal choruses and Gaelic folk melodies; the romanticism of the three tales is offset by the sardonic humour and down-to-earth attitude of their protagonists, and of the composer herself.