The Mother of Us All

Operas by Virgil Thomson
Four Saints in Three Acts (1934) The Mother of Us All (1947) Lord Byron (1972)
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The Mother of Us All is an opera by Virgil Thomson to a libretto by Gertrude Stein. It chronicles the life of Susan B. Anthony, one of the major figures in the fight for women's suffrage in the United States. In fanciful style, it brings together characters, fictional and non-fictional, from different periods of American history. The opera premiered in 1947 at Columbia University’s Branders Matthews Hall with soprano Dorothy Dow‎ as Susan B. Anthony.

Characters

Susan B. Anthony, mezzo-soprano or dramatic soprano
Anne, contralto
Gertrude S., soprano
Virgil T., baritone
Daniel Webster, bass
Andrew Johnson, tenor
Thaddeus Stevens, tenor
Jo the Loiterer, tenor
Chris the Citizen, baritone
Indiana Elliot, contralto
Angel More, soprano
Henrietta M., soprano
Henry B., bass-baritone
Anthony Comstock, bass
John Adams (according to the score, “presumably John Quincy Adams”), tenor
Constance Fletcher, mezzo-soprano
Gloster Heming, baritone
Isabel Wentworth, mezzo-soprano
Anna Hope, contralto
Lillian Russell, soprano
Jenny Reefer, mezzo-soprano
Ulysses S. Grant, bass-baritone
Herman Atlan, high baritone
Donald Gallup, baritone
A.A. and T.T., page boys or postillions
Negro Man and Negro Woman
Indiana Elliot’s Brother, bass-baritone

Synopsis

Stein’s text for The Mother of Us All does not describe details of staging. Therefore, Thomson’s friend Maurice Grosser devised a scenario to facilitate staging the opera. Though Grosser stated that other scenarios were equally possible, his scenario is published in the printed score; this synopsis is based on it.

Act I

Scene 1. Susan B. Anthony and her devoted companion Anne are shown at home. Anne is knitting; Susan B. is pasting clippings into a scrapbook. Gertrude S. and Virgil T. also appear as narrators.

Scene 2. A political meeting takes place, at which Webster, Johnson, Adams, Grant, Comstock, and Stevens are all present. Jo the Loiterer and Chris the Citizen also appear, mocking the politicians’ solemnity. Susan B. introduces herself to the assembly, and she and Daniel Webster debate.

Scene 3. A public square in front of Susan B. Anthony’s house. Thaddeus Stevens argues with Andrew Johnson; there is a flowery love scene between John Adams and Constance Fletcher. Jenny Reefer begins waltzing with Herman Atlan, and everyone joins in the dance.

Scene 4. Susan B. Anthony meditates on the difficulties of her mission.

Scene 5. Jo the Loiterer and Indiana Elliot are to be married. As the wedding party gathers, various episodes unfold. John Adams courts Constance Fletcher, Daniel Webster (who is to perform the ceremony) addresses Angel More in sentimental language. Indiana’s brother bursts in, wishing to prevent the marriage, and Susan B. explains what marriage means to women. General Grant calls for order, and Jo teases him for his pomposity. It seems that the wedding is all but forgotten, but finally Daniel Webster blesses the couple and Susan B. foretells that all of their children, men and women, will have the vote.

Act II

Scene 1. Susan B.’s home. Susan B. is doing housework when she learns that she will be asked to address a political meeting. Jo the Loiterer complains that Indiana Elliot refuses to take his last name. When Susan B. is invited to speak, she declines, then agrees, hesitates again, but finally goes off to the meeting.

Scene 2. The meeting has taken place and Susan B. returns home triumphantly. She has spoken so convincingly that the politicians, now afraid of the women’s suffrage movement, have written the word “male” into the Constitution in order to make it impossible for women to vote.

Indiana Elliot has decided to take Jo’s last name, and he will take hers; they will become Jo Elliot and Indiana Loiterer.

Everyone congratulates Susan B. for her leadership.

Scene 3 (Epilogue). Some years later, a statue of Susan B. Anthony is to be unveiled at the U. S. Capitol. The characters gather for the ceremony, with Anne as guest of honor. Susan B. enters as a ghost, though Anne does not see her. Constance Fletcher appears, now almost blind. Other characters talk about woman suffrage, or burst in tipsily. The ceremony threatens to get out of hand.

Suddenly, Virgil T. unveils the statue. The women lay wreaths at the base of the pedestal. All slowly depart. Alone, Susan B. Anthony (as the statue) sings of the struggles and lessons of her long life.

Recordings

• Virgil Thomson: The Mother of Us All (Karen Beck, Sondra Stowe, Jimmie Lu Null, William Lewis, Steven Loewengart, Thomas Parker, Marla McDaniels, D'Artagnan Petty, Stephen Bryant, Ashley Putnam, et al.; Conductor: Raymond Leppard; Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Recorded in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1977. Label: New World Records

References

Virgil Thomson: Composer on the Aisle. Anthony Tommasini. W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-31858-3