Dalua
Encyclopedia
The Immortal Hour is a play 1908 by Scottish playwright Fiona Macleod, a pseudonym of writer William Sharp
.
, the character of Dalua was the invention of Macleod. He is a brooding and fateful presence, known alternatively as the Amadan-Dhu, the Dark One, the Faery Fool. He claims to be even more ancient than the gods. It is through his movements and gestures that he affects the feelings and desires of the other characters and thus drives the fatal, hubris
tic pursuit of the Faery princess Etain
by the mortal king Eochaidh; later, at the end of the work, he steps in and touches the king, who consequently dies.
composer
Rutland Boughton
composed an opera of the same name
with a libretto
adapted from the play.
William Sharp (writer)
William Sharp was a Scottish writer, of poetry and literary biography in particular, who from 1893 wrote also as Fiona MacLeod, a pseudonym kept almost secret during his lifetime...
.
Dalua
Dalua is a character in the play. Although the play uses characters and settings from Celtic mythologyCeltic mythology
Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...
, the character of Dalua was the invention of Macleod. He is a brooding and fateful presence, known alternatively as the Amadan-Dhu, the Dark One, the Faery Fool. He claims to be even more ancient than the gods. It is through his movements and gestures that he affects the feelings and desires of the other characters and thus drives the fatal, hubris
Hubris
Hubris , also hybris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power....
tic pursuit of the Faery princess Etain
Étaín
Étaín is a figure of Irish mythology, best known as the heroine of Tochmarc Étaíne , one of the oldest and richest stories of the Mythological Cycle. She also figures in the Middle Irish Togail Bruidne Dá Derga . T. F...
by the mortal king Eochaidh; later, at the end of the work, he steps in and touches the king, who consequently dies.
Opera
The EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Rutland Boughton
Rutland Boughton
Rutland Boughton was an English composer who became well known in the early 20th century as a composer of opera and choral music....
composed an opera of the same name
The Immortal Hour
The Immortal Hour is an opera by English composer Rutland Boughton. Boughton adapted his own libretto from the works of Fiona MacLeod, a pseudonym of writer William Sharp....
with a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
adapted from the play.