Sunday Afternoon at the Opera - Thomson: The Mother of Us All

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera host Keith Brown writes:

Before Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) wrote Four Saints in Three Acts (1924, with premiere right here in Hartford) and The Mother of Us All (1947) there was practically no such thing as a distinctively American form of opera. Both these lyric theater works have librettos by Gertrude Stein. A lifelong friendship developed between composer and writer, even though Stein otherwise wasn't interested in associating with musicians. Ostensibly, The Mother of Us All is about Susan B. Anthony's crusade to secure voting rights for American women. But don't try to look for a story line in this opera: there isn't any. There is, however, a dramatic cavalcade of figures drawn mostly from nineteenth century history. Besides that, running through Gertrude Stein's slightly wacky libretto is a covert commentary on her relationship with her life companion Alice B. Toklas and with others in their intellectual circle.

In celebration of the country's bicentennial, Santa Fe Opera produced The Mother of Us All in 1976. Their production was recorded for release through the American label New World. I broadcast the old original 1977 New World LP issue in 1986 and the CD reissue in 1991. After its premiere staging at Columbia University in New York City The Mother of Us All has been performed again and again by student or amateur ensembles. A new and excellent recording was made live in performance in 2013 by the Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater. Albany Records released it in 2014 on two compact discs.