Deirdre of the Sorrows is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge in 1909. The play, based on Irish mythology, in particular the myths concerning Deirdre, Naoise, and Conchobar, was unfinished at the author's death on 24 March 1909. It was completed by W. B. Yeats and Synge's fiancée, Molly Allgood [1] and first performed at the Abbey Theatre by the Irish National Theatre Society on 13 January 1910, with Allgood as Deirdre. [2]
Act I: Lavarcham's house on Slieve Fuadh. Conchubor, the aging High King of Ulster, has charged Lavarcham to raise the child Deirdre to be his queen when she comes of age. Lavarcham finds that the now-beautiful Deirdre is a willful young woman, without interest in marrying an old man. Conchubor comes to Slieve Fuadh to bring Deirdre to his palace, Emain Macha, ignoring her pleas to remain in the countryside for another year. After he leaves, Naoise, son of Usna, and his brothers come to the cottage seeking Deirdre, and she tells them of her summons. Deirdre is aware of a prophecy that she will be the doom of the sons of Usna; nonetheless she asks Naoise to take her away from Ulster. He agrees, and Ainnle weds them in an impromptu ceremony.
Act II: Alban. Deirdre and the sons of Usna have lived happily on a remote island for seven years. Fergus arrives bearing an offer of peace from Conchubor, and asks Deirdre and Naoise to return with him to Emain Macha. Lavarcham warns Deirdre not to accept, and Owen, a spy in the service of Conchubor, intimidates Deirdre with suggestions that death awaits Naoise in Ulster. Naoise tells Fergus that he plans to live the rest of his life with Deirdre in Alban, but Deirdre convinces him to accept Conchubor's offer, reasoning that it is better to die young, at the peak of their love, than to grow old and live in the shadow of their past happiness.
Act III: A tent near Emain. Lavarcham arrives at Conchubor's tent and tries to convince him to give up his pursuit of Deirdre, claiming that she has grown old and lost her beauty. His soldiers arrive and contradict her claims, and he leaves just before Deirdre and Naoise enter. They discuss the possibility of their impending deaths until Conchubor returns. Deirdre nearly convinces him to put aside past grievances and let them live in peace when the sound of a battle between Conchubor's men and Naoise's brothers reaches them. Conchubor and Naoise go to join the fray and Naoise is killed. Fergus and his men arrive, enraged by the king's treachery, and set Emain Macha ablaze. Lavarcham tries to convince Deirdre to flee Ulster, and Conchubor tries to take her to a different castle, but she stays and mourns her dead lover and his brothers. In the end, Deirdre takes Naoise's dagger, stabs herself, and falls into his open grave, leaving Conchubor with nothing.
The play (along with Irish legend in general) enjoyed a vogue amongst composers in the earlier part of the 20th century [3] and many of them set Deirdre of the Sorrows to music. The first was Italo-Irish composer Michele Esposito in the cantata for soloists, mixed chorus and orchestra, Deirdre (1902) on a text by Thomas William Rolleston. Arnold Bax's orchestral tone poem Into the Twilight (1908) was originally conceived as the overture to a 5-act opera on the Deirdre theme that never materialised. [4]
A number of composers turned the subject into an opera including Fritz Hart, Geoffrey Molyneux Palmer, Cecil Gray, Havergal Brian, Healey Wlllan and Karl Rankl. Fritz Hart wrote two operas based on the theme: Deirdre of the Sorrows (1916) and Deirdre in Exile (1926), both produced in Melbourne, Australia. Palmer's Deirdre of the Sorrows (1925) to a libretto by William Mervyn Crofton was initially unfinished, then completed by Staf Gebruers around 1930, but never performed. Cecil Gray's opera Deirdre was his first, completed in 1937. It was never performed in its entirety, but Gray did extract from its third act the Symphonic Prelude for Orchestra (1945), which received several performances in England and the United States. [5]
Healey Willan's opera Deirdre was initially written for Canadian Radio in 1945 and revised for stage in 1965. [6] Havergal Brian's Symphony No. 6, (the Tragic) of 1948 is an orchestral prologue to an opera that Brian planned to make of the play. The opera was not started because of copyright issues. Karl Rankl completed his opera on the play in 1951, commissioned by the Arts Council for the Festival of Britain, though the BBC and Covent Garden failed to perform the piece. [7] Rafael Kubelik made preparations to perform the piece in the early 1950s, but the plans once again fell through, due, he said, to "politics". [8] Rankl eventually extracted an orchestral suite for large orchestra from the score in 1956. [9] The BBC finally performed excerpts from the opera in 1995. [3]
Other operas on the same theme include Marguerite Béclard d'Harcourt's Dierdane (after Synge's play, 1941), John J. Becker's Deirdre of the Sorrows (also after Synge, 1945), Fré Focke's Deirdre (1949), David Armstrong's Deirdre (1965), Curtis K. Hughes's Deirdre of the Sorrows (1996), and Frederick Frayling-Kelly's Deirdre (2009). [10]
After Esposito's cantata of 1902, other works in this genre include Eric Sweeney's Deirdre (1989), Andrew Ford's Deirdre of the Sorrows (1989), James MacMillan's The Prophecy (1997), Patrick Cassidy's Deirdre of the Sorrows (1998), and Bernard van Beurden's Deirdre (2002).
Irish composer Éamonn Ó Gallchobhair composed the ballet score Deirdre in 1940. Purely orchestral scores include Edric Cundell's symphonic poem The Tragedy of Deirdre (1922) and Rutland Boughton Deirdre: A Celtic Symphony (1927). [10]
County Armagh is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 1,327 km2 (512 sq mi) and has a population of 194,394 as of the 2021 census. County Armagh is known as the "Orchard County" because of its many apple orchards. The county is part of the historic province of Ulster.
Deirdre is a tragic heroine in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is also known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows".
Conchobarmac Nessa is the king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Emain Macha. He is usually said to be the son of the High King Fachtna Fáthach, although in some stories his father is the druid Cathbad, and he is usually known by his matronymic, mac Nessa: his mother is Ness, daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide, King of Ulster.
Cú Chulainn, is an Irish warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh, who is also his father. His mother is the mortal Deichtine, sister of king Conchobar mac Nessa.
Súaltammac Róich is the mortal father of the hero Cúchulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. His wife is Deichtine, sister of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster. His brother is Fergus mac Róich.
Fergus mac Róich/Róigh is an Irish hero and a character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Formerly the king of Ulster, he is tricked out of the kingship and betrayed by Conchobar mac Nessa, becomes the ally and lover of Conchobar's enemy, queen Medb of Connacht, and joins her expedition against Ulster in the Táin Bó Cúailnge. Fergus is described as being of huge size and sexual potency. This leads him into many a precarious situation as in the story of the Táin Bó Flidhais.
In Irish mythology, Naisi, Noíse or Noisiu was the nephew of King Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster, and a son of Uisneach. He is mentioned in the tale known as the Tragic Tale of the Sons of Uisnech, or Exiles of the Sons of Uisnech, usually found within the set of stories in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, part of the Ulster Cycle.
Edmund John Millington Synge was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best-known play The Playboy of the Western World was poorly received, due to its bleak ending, depiction of Irish peasants, and idealisation of parricide, leading to hostile audience reactions and riots in Dublin during its opening run at the Abbey Theatre, which he had co-founded with W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory. His other major works include In the Shadow of the Glen (1903), Riders to the Sea (1904), The Well of the Saints (1905), and The Tinker's Wedding (1909).
The Ulster Cycle, formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and Louth. It focuses on the mythical Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa and his court at Emain Macha, the hero Cú Chulainn, and their conflict with the Connachta and queen Medb. The longest and most important tale is the epic Táin Bó Cúailnge. The Ulster Cycle is one of the four 'cycles' of Irish mythology and legend, along with the Mythological Cycle, the Fianna Cycle and the Kings' Cycle.
Navan Fort is an ancient ceremonial monument near Armagh, Northern Ireland. According to tradition it was one of the great royal sites of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland and the capital of the Ulaidh. It is a large circular hilltop enclosure—marked by a bank and ditch—inside which is a circular mound and the remains of a ring barrow. Archeological investigations show that there were once buildings on the site, including a huge roundhouse-like structure that has been likened to a temple. In a ritual act, this timber structure was filled with stones, deliberately burnt down and then covered with earth to create the mound which stands today. It is believed that Navan was a pagan ceremonial site and was regarded as a sacred space. It features prominently in Irish mythology, especially in the tales of the Ulster Cycle. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, "the [Eamhain Mhacha] of myth and legend is a far grander and mysterious place than archeological excavation supports".
In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology Donn Cúailnge, the Brown Bull of Cooley, was an extremely fertile stud bull over whom the Táin Bó Cúailnge was fought.
Maire O'Neill was an Irish actress of stage and film. She holds a place in theatre history as the first actress to interpret the lead character of Pegeen Mike Flaherty in John Millington Synge's controversial masterpiece The Playboy of the Western World (1907).
Leabharcham was charged by the Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa with nursing Deirdre in seclusion until the girl was old enough to be his bride, after it was prophesied at Deirdre's birth: "The infant shall be fairest among the women of Ireland and shall wed a king but because of her shall death and ruin come upon the province of Ulster."
Deirdre Gribbin is a composer from Northern Ireland.
Karl Rankl was a British conductor and composer who was of Austrian birth. A pupil of the composers Schoenberg and Webern, he conducted at opera houses in Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia until fleeing from the Nazis and taking refuge in England in 1939.
A Cry from Heaven is a 2005 play by Irish playwright Vincent Woods. It retells the story of the beautiful Deirdre and the Sons of Usna which is one of the great tragedies of Irish myth. The birth of a girl heralded by omens of a vulture-shrouded sky begins the drama of King Conchobar mac Nessa and his obsession with Deirdre which led to a land divided. When Deirdre unites with her lover Naoise and goes into exile with the Sons of Usna, the stage is set for betrayal and bloodthirsty revenge that will plunge all Ulster into darkness. The play is drawn from material in the Ulster Cycle. Woods's poetic retelling of the myth of Deirdre transforms this timeless story into a compelling contemporary drama.
Riders to the Sea is a play written by Irish Literary Renaissance playwright John Millington Synge. It was first performed on 25 February 1904 at the Molesworth Hall, Dublin, by the Irish National Theater Society with Helen Laird playing Maurya. A one-act tragedy, the play is set at Inishmaan in the Aran Islands, and like all of Synge's plays it is noted for capturing the poetic dialogue of rural Ireland. The plot is based not on the traditional conflict of human wills but on the hopeless struggle of a people against the impersonal but relentless cruelty of the sea.
Serglige Con Culainn, also known as Oenét Emire is a narrative from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It tells of a curse that fell upon the warrior Cú Chulainn as a result of his attacking otherworldly women, and his eventual recovery by reluctantly agreeing to give military aid to those he had wronged. His developing relationship with one of the Otherworldly women, Fand, occasions his wife Emer's "only jealousy."
Táin Bó Flidhais, also known as the Mayo Táin, is a tale from the Ulster Cycle of early Irish literature. It is one of a group of works known as Táin Bó, or "cattle raid" stories, the best known of which is Táin Bó Cúailnge. Táin Bó Flidhais survives in two forms, a short version from the Old Irish period and a longer version found in the 15th century Glenmasan manuscript, which is held in the Advocates Library in Edinburgh. It is believed to be a copy of an earlier manuscript from the 12th century. The early version of Táin Bó Flidhais predates the Táin Bó Cúailnge. It is named for the heroine of the tale, Flidais.