Sunday Afternoon at the Opera - Boughton: The Immortal Hour

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera host Keith Brown writes:

Now comes the juncture in the old pagan Celtic calendar called Beltane or "May Night." The Germanic people know it as Walpurgisnacht, the witches' sabbath. The Eve of May Day is like Halloween in reverse. May Day is still celebrated in Europe with events like the crowning of a youthful "Queen of the May" with flowers, or socialist parades in the streets. The American Labor Day is definitely not that kind of red holiday. In operatic terms you need to think of the folkloric content of Rimsky-Korsakov's May Night (1880), which I have also broadcast at this time of year.

I have presented Rutland Boughton's The Immortal Hour (1914) three times before at Halloweentide, but its pagan Celtic content makes it appropriate at Beltane. The Immortal Hour ran for a thousand performances in London between 1922-25. That's the longest run of any "serious" opera in operatic history! The opera continued to be revived continually up to 1932. Then it disappeared for half a century. The composer (b. 1878), who wrote a pentalogy of operas on the legend of King Arthur, died in obscurity in 1960. Perhaps the magic of fairyland can explain the extraordinary popularity (for a while) of what ought to be regarded as a classic of English opera. The Immortal Hour is steeped in Irish fairy mythology. Those interested in wiccancraft are sure to like it. It is an iconic example of the artwork of the "Celtic Twilight," also exemplified in the poetry of Boughton's Irish contemporary, William Butler Yeats.

In the world premiere recording of The Immortal Hour, Alan Melville conducts the English Chamber Orchestra and Geoffrey Mitchell Choir. Recorded in 1983, the Hyperion label of the UK issued it first on LP in 1984 and subsequently on compact disc. It's the CD reissue I draw upon today for broadcast.