Merry Mount (opera)

In the forest. This follows the first scene at once. Bradford enters, followed by two Puritans who drag Marigold between them. One carries a dark lantern; the minister bids him open it and leave the couple together. He wishes, he says, to wrestle with her soul. The two men leave, and Bradford declares his love to Marigold, who responds with dismay and loathing. He threatens to kill her rather than see her with Lackland; he seizes her, and she strikes him. Lackland staggers in during their struggle. His costume is dishevelled and torn. He fights the minister, but breaks off when Tewke enters with other Puritans, who are armed and carry axes and lanterns. Lackland seizes an axe, but is immediately run through, to Tewke's dismay, by a pike carried by one of the Puritans. He dies in Marigold's arms; she kisses his brow, then stands and calls for vengeance and for her own death. Tewke orders her taken to the village as a prisoner, and his men exit, dragging her away and removing Lackland's body. Left alone with him, Tewke rebukes the minister, and urges his repentance. He leaves, and Bradford prays for divine aid. Exhausted by his anguish and his fight, he falls asleep to the sound of mystic voices, echoing his Amen.

Scene 3

Hell. While he sleeps, Bradford's dream of the Valley of Tophet is seen. An infernal glen with ramparts of sandstone, crags and molten stone, trickling down. Vapors arise from the cinders on the ground, meteorites smoulder and human bones glisten on the plain. The maypole has become a giant

Act III

Scene 1

The forest. Bradford lies asleep; Plentiful has covered him with her cloak, and crouches in terror at his side. A lantern lies on the ground; the scene is lit by moonlight. Bradford calls out in his sleep to Astoreth and tries to embrace Plentiful, who shrinks from him in horror. He awakens, and tells her that in his dream he was crowned Emperor of Hell. In fear they hurry away together.

Scene 2

The main street of the village. Indian war drums may be heard, and as the curtain rises Samoset and his braves are seen finishing a war dance. The church is completely gone; other structures are burning. An Indian drags in Love Brewster; she tries to scream, but is scalped. A shot is heard, and Samoset falls, dead. The Indians flee as the Puritans, some wounded, return. Love's grandmother is distraught to see her granddaughter's body, while Tewke and others cry out in biblical lament over the destruction that they see. Bradford appears, and the townsfolk turn to him for prayer and aid. But he is horrified at the realization of his curse, and tells them of his dream, and of his apostasy; he will never again pray. The Puritans lament the loss of their leader. Marigold, distraught and fatigued, appears, her festal dress torn. She recoils from the minister in horror. The Puritans heap abuses on her, calling her a witch and demanding her death. She tells them that she is no witch; happy once, her husband is dead, and she will be happy no more, but must soon join him. The people prepare to stone her, but stop when Bradford tears off his clerical bands and skullcap, revealing the mark of the Devil on his brow. He calls on his new master; flames engulf the village. Marigold swoons in fear, and Bradford seizes her, carrying her in his arms into the fire. In horror, the Puritans kneel in prayer, and the opera closes as they intone the Lord's Prayer.^[3]

Reception

Merry Mount was successful at its appearance – "A Stirring Ovation ... Reception of Hanson-Stokes Opera most Enthusiastic of 10 Years at Metropolitan", read the headline on page 1 of the second section of the Times

Less enthusiastic was Olin Downes, writing for the February 11 edition of the Times:

[T]he story is too cluttered up with incidental diversions. ... [T]he principal defect of this book lies ... in the inhumanity of Bradford. He is nothing but a maddened and perverted sadist. Our Puritan fore-fathers, despite all the present-day condemnation of "suppressions" and the like, were much more than that. They had very noble sides; they had superb heroism. There should be more conflicting impulse and action, and relieving traits, in this character, for us to believe in him.

... The music is at times conventionally and noisily effective. Otherwise, it displays neither originality nor any special aptitude for the theatre. Its strongest point is the choral writing. That is somewhat inappropriate, in the sense of dramatic verity, because we know that no Puritans sang these elaborate choruses, or anything much like them.^[2]

Critics were, however, nearly universal in their applause for the cast, especially for Tibbett. Sanborn, in his review, said:

"Merry Mount" is almost a one-part opera and that part is Wrestling Bradford. In it Mr. Tibbett exhibits once more his intelligence and skill as a singing actor, as well as splendid courage and endurance. The wooden angularity of his movements and gestures, however, was a mistaken exaggeration. That the terrific tessitura of his part interferes with his vocal security and freedom was, of course, not his fault.^[2]

Downes, for his part, wrote that

... The cast and orchestra were admirable. Mr. Tibbett had to shout his way, against prevailingly heavy orchestration, all through the opera, so that it was no wonder his tone showed sign of strain. He was nevertheless as effective as he possibly could be in an ineffective part. Mme. Ljungberg also shouted, but with evident care for the purpose and respect for the composer's intention and melodic line ... Mr. Johnson sang excellently with a fine quality. ... The chorus was superb, and Mr. Serafin, very plainly, had prepared the opera with the greatest care. (Times, February 11, 1934.)^[2]

Downes also found occasion to comment upon the makeup of the audience:

Another feature of the occasion was the uncommon character of the audience. On the social and musical side it was exceptionally representative, but it had also an element not often present in such force in this lyric theatre. For this was an audience more thoughtful and conservative than is customary in many places of public amusement.

Those who do not always patronize opera as an amusement were there. They listened and they looked with a special seriousness and interest. It is reasonable to believe that this substantial gathering in a theatre crowded to capacity was attracted by the nature of Mr. Stoke's subject ...

To other facts of the occasion should be added these: That the performance was repeatedly punctuated by applause; that after the first curtain there was a particular burst of approval for Lawrence Tibbett; that after the second curtain there were recalls after recalls for Dr. Hanson and for Mr. Stokes, who came back and forth with complete éclat, and showed clearly their approval of the audience! Enthusiasm grew. There was more applause after the second act-the Maypole scene-than after the first, and more after the third than after the second.^[2]

Later critics have not been kinder to Merry Mount; Paul Jackson, in his book Saturday Afternoons at the Old Met, writes that

[Hanson's] incessant drumbeat

monochromatic vocal writing for the principals ... Hanson is overfond of length choral vocalizations on "Ah"; too often the music calls to mind the trappings of a Hollywood soundtrack. After Bradford's penitential immolation, a final choral apotheosis, accompanied by the inevitable drums, brings the opera to a close. One must echo Johnson's lament that all their labors and money had "gone for nothing."^[5]

Even some members of the cast were disappointed in Merry Mount. Johnson, after two weeks' rehearsal, confessed that he was "pretty well fed up with it ... Merry Mount is a very pretentious, ineffective work,"[5] later calling his role "simply lousy."^[6]

The opera was given a further eight times during the season, including three tour performances; the last of these took place in Rochester, New York, where Hanson was director of the Eastman School of Music.

Subsequent performances

Despite its initial appearance of success, Merry Mount was dropped from the repertory after the 1933–34 season, and has not enjoyed many revivals since. Hanson compiled a suite for orchestra from excerpts of the piece which consists of the prelude, the children's dance from Act I, the love duet from Act II, and the prelude and ballet from Act II.^[7] This has enjoyed more popularity than the opera, and has received multiple recordings.

In April 2014, Merry Mount was revived in two performances at the

Tibbett recorded Bradford's first-act aria "Oh, 'tis an earth defiled" on 19 January 1934,[9] shortly before his performance of the role at the stage premiere. This was for many years the only excerpt of the opera that was commercially available.

In May 2007,