Blind Mary, accompanied by a guitar, introduces the first of the nine scenes, in which Magnus is involved in a battle between the Norsemen and the Welsh. He prefers to fight with the words of Psalm 23 rather than arms, and his side is victorious. In Scene 2 he withstands the temptations of fame, marriage, kingship, religious retreat and armed force; the much shorter Scene 3 has Blind Mary, again with guitar, lamenting the state of an Orkney torn by civil war between Magnus and Håkon. Bishop and heralds then agree on a peace conference to take place on the island of Egilsay, whether Magnus is seen voyaging. In Scene 5; the great part of the scene is an aria in which he resolves to go ahead no matter what he fears might happen. The musical style then becomes much wilder as Håkon orders Magnus' execution, and in Scene 7 both action and music come forward to the present as journalists report on the political situation. Scene 8 is fully in the present, or the recent past: Håkon is a hysterical officer and Magnus merely a Prisoner, who quietly meets his fate. The last scene is Blind Mary's: she prays to Magnus for the return of her sight, and gains it, while the rest of the cast as monks add Magnus' name to the litany of northern saints.
Very interesting!😉❤️⚘️✝️
The recording starts to glitch out around 1:04:35 to the end.
An important work by Max. Desperately in need of a new production.
Blind Mary, accompanied by a guitar, introduces the first of the nine scenes, in which Magnus is involved in a battle between the Norsemen and the Welsh. He prefers to fight with the words of Psalm 23 rather than arms, and his side is victorious. In Scene 2 he withstands the temptations of fame, marriage, kingship, religious retreat and armed force; the much shorter Scene 3 has Blind Mary, again with guitar, lamenting the state of an Orkney torn by civil war between Magnus and Håkon. Bishop and heralds then agree on a peace conference to take place on the island of Egilsay, whether Magnus is seen voyaging. In Scene 5; the great part of the scene is an aria in which he resolves to go ahead no matter what he fears might happen. The musical style then becomes much wilder as Håkon orders Magnus' execution, and in Scene 7 both action and music come forward to the present as journalists report on the political situation. Scene 8 is fully in the present, or the recent past: Håkon is a hysterical officer and Magnus merely a Prisoner, who quietly meets his fate. The last scene is Blind Mary's: she prays to Magnus for the return of her sight, and gains it, while the rest of the cast as monks add Magnus' name to the litany of northern saints.