Here, in pretty awful sound, is the world staged premiere of Howard Hanson’s Merry Mount, performed at the Metropolitan Opera House on February 10, l934 (it had been performed in concert form the year before in Ann Arbor, Michigan). Based on a story by Hawthorne, it concerns a Puritan community in New England, its fanatical preacher named Wrestling Bradford, and its struggles with the devil. There’s plenty of choral writing – most of which distorts wildly on this recording – for Indians, Puritans, and Cavaliers in the service of King Charles, a terrific baritone role (Bradford), stunningly performed by Lawrence Tibbett, and many solo roles, most of which seem well done. Hanson’s style is very late Romantic and very conservative, but this work is short on memorable tunes and if the ensembles were effective in the theatre, they somehow lose something without the visual element. This is a curiousity, and fans of Tibbett will have to own it, but it’s not hard to see how and why this piece has become a footnote in the history of American opera. [Editor’s Note: This recording is not available for sale in the U.S.A.]
