The Lily of Killarney

"The Lily of Killarney" is an opera in three acts by Julius Benedict. The libretto, by John Oxenford and Dion Boucicault, is based on Boucicault's own play "The Colleen Bawn". The opera received its premiere at Covent Garden Theatre, London on Monday 10 February 1862. [The date of 8th February often given was in fact the premiere of Balfe's "The Puritan's Daughter"; Benedict's opera followed on Monday 10th (Grove Music Online) ]

Background

"The Lily of Killarney" became the most widely performed of Benedict's operas. It has been linked with Balfe's "The Bohemian Girl" and Wallace's "Maritana" as 'The English [sic] Ring'. [Burton, GMO] . Its convincing handling of Irish idiom is interesting considering Benedict's German-Jewish origins. Some of the opera's songs - notably "The moon hath raised her lamp above" and "Eily Mavourneen" - remain in the repertoire.

Roles

ynopsis

Killarney at the end of the 18th century. Creggan has married Eily (the 'colleen bawn' = Gaelic 'the fair maid') in secret. Corrigan threatens to disposess Creggan and his mother, who have mortgaged their lands to him, unless Creggan marries the heiress Ann Shute. Creggan's friend Danny offers to resolve the situation by killing Eily. Creggan demurs, but the unwitting Mrs. Creggan is persuaded by Danny to give a signal for Eily's death. But before he can kill her, Danny himself is accidentally shot by Myles (who is out hunting), to whom he confesses. Creggan is about to marry Ann when Corrigan arrives to arrest him for plotting Eily's death. Myles makes public Danny's confession, Creggan acknowledges Eily and Ann (in the most unlikely turn of all) undertakes to settle the Creggans' debts to Corrigan.

ources

*Nigel Burton, "The Lily of Killarney" in Grove Music Online
*"The Viking Opera Guide" ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)

Notes