''Deirdre of the Sorrows'' is a three-act play written by

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

playwright

John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) 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 ...

in 1909. The play, based on

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...

, in particular the myths concerning

Deirdre Deirdre ( , Irish: ; sga, Derdriu ) is the foremost tragic heroine in Irish legend and probably its best-known figure in modern times. She is known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle, the best-know ...

Naoise In Irish mythology, Naisi,"Deirdre and Naisi". In: Thomas, Edward. ''Celtic stories''. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 1911. pp. 48-60. Noíse or Noisiu (modern spelling: Naoise ) was the nephew of King Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster, and a son of U ...

, and

Conchobar ( is an old and famous Irish male name meaning "lover of canines". It is the source of the Irish names Conor, Connor, Connors, Conner, O'Connor, etc. It is a name borne by several figures from Irish history and legend, including: * Conchobar ...

, was unfinished at the author's death on 24 March 1909. It was completed by

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

and Synge's fiancée, Molly Allgood and first performed at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

by the

Irish National Theatre Society The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

on 13 January 1910, with Allgood as Deirdre.

Characters

*Deirdre, the beautiful, ill-fated heroine *Conchubor, High King of Ulster *Naisi, son of Usna, Deirdre's lover *Lavarcham, Deirdre's nurse *Fergus, a friend of Conchubor *Ainnle, brother of Naoise *Ardan, brother of Naoise *Owen, a spy for Conchubor *Old Woman, servant to Lavarcham

Plot synopsis

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 Navan Fort ( sga, Emain Macha ; ga, Eamhain Mhacha, label= Modern Irish ) 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 cap ...

, 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 Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. ...

. 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.

Musical settings

The play (along with Irish legend in general) enjoyed a vogue amongst composers in the earlier part of the 20th centuryLewis Foreman: ''The Quest for Deirdre'', BBC Radio 3, 31 October, 1995
/ref> and many of them set ''Deirdre of the Sorrows'' to music. The first was Italo-Irish composer

Michele Esposito Michele Esposito (29 September 1855 – 19 November 1929) was an Italian composer, conductor and pianist who spent most of his professional life in Dublin, Ireland. Training Esposito was born at Castellamare di Stabia, near Sorrento. As a boy ...

in the cantata for soloists, mixed chorus and orchestra, ''Deirdre'' (1902) on a text by Thomas William Rolleston.

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

'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. A number of composers turned the subject into an opera including

Fritz Hart Fritz Bennicke Hart (11 February 1874 – 9 July 1949) was an English composer, conductor, teacher and unpublished novelist, who spent considerable periods in Australia and Hawaii. Early life Hart was born at Brockley, Greenwich, England, eldest ...

Geoffrey Molyneux Palmer Geoffrey Molyneux Palmer (, 8 October 1882 – 29 November 1957) was an Irish composer, mainly of operas and vocal music, among them the first musical settings of poems by James Joyce. Biography Palmer was born of Protestant Irish parents in S ...

, Cecil Gray Havergal Brian, Healey Wlllan and

Karl Rankl Karl Rankl (1 October 1898 – 6 September 1968) 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 f ...

. 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. Healey Willan's opera ''Deirdre'' was initially written for Canadian Radio in 1945 and revised for stage in 1965. 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 The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

, though the BBC and Covent Garden failed to perform the piece.

Rafael Kubelik Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ' ...

made preparations to perform the piece in the early 1950s, but the plans once again fell through, due, he said, to "politics". Rankl eventually extracted an orchestral suite for large orchestra from the score in 1956.''Karl Rankl: Chronology and List of Works''
/ref> The BBC finally performed excerpts from the opera in 1995. Other operas on the same theme include

Marguerite Béclard d'Harcourt Marguerite Béclard d'Harcourt (24 February 1884 – 2 August 1964) was a French composer and ethno-musicologist. She was born in Paris and studied composition at the Schola Cantorum with Abel Decaux, Vincent d'Indy and Maurice Emmanuel. She ...

'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).Klein (2013). 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 Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

's ''The Prophecy'' (1997), Patrick Cassidy's ''Deirdre of the Sorrows'' (1998), and Bernard van Beurden's ''Deirdre'' (2002). Irish composer

Éamonn Ó Gallchobhair Éamonn Ó Gallchobhair (30 September 1906 – 27 December 1982) was an Irish composer, and a major representative of the conservative side in Irish art music. Life Ó Gallchobhair (anglicised "O'Gallagher") was born in Dundalk, County Louth, ...

composed the ballet score ''Deirdre'' in 1940. Purely orchestral scores include

Edric Cundell Edric Cundell (29 January 1893 – 19 March 1961) was a British music teacher, composer and conductor. Early life and academic career Born in London, Edric Cundell came from a musical family: his grandmother worked in Paris as an opera singer an ...

's symphonic poem ''The Tragedy of Deirdre'' (1922) and Rutland Boughton ''Deirdre: A Celtic Symphony'' (1927).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deirdre Of The Sorrows 1910 plays Plays by John Millington Synge Works based on the Ulster Cycle Plays adapted into operas Love stories Unfinished plays Unfinished literature completed by others