Scheduled Sept. 20, 22.
NORTHAMPTON –The story of Dominic Daley and James Halligan, two Northampton Irish Catholic immigrants who were hanged for a murder they denied, lives on as an opera based on the novel, “The Garden of Martyrs,” by Michael C. White.
The novel is framed through the eyes of the Rev. Jean Lefebvre de Cheverus, a French priest who knew the convicts and got involved with their case in real life.
Daley and Halligan were exonerated on St. Patrick’s Day 1984.
The opera has music by Eric Sawyer, and libretto by Harley M. Erdman, both local professors.
The complete performance with The Springfield Symphony Orchestra and full staging is scheduled for Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 22 at 3 p.m. at the Academy of Music in Northampton, steps away from where much of the drama unfolded.
There are also two related events at the Springfield Museums. On Sept. 12 at 12:15 p.m., Kevin Rhodes, the symphony's music director, will present "Behind the Scenes of The Garden of Martyrs Opera" at the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts as part of the
museums' la carte series.
On Sept. 19 at 12:15 p.m. as part of the series, White will talk about his novel and the events that inspired it. White, author of a number of books, is program director of the master in fine arts in creative writing program at Connecticut's Fairfield University.
“It depicts actual events from local history, about 200 years ago, that carry a great deal of resonance and relevance today,” said Erdman, a professor of theater at the University of Massachusetts.
He said that time was a pivotal moment in Massachusetts history and that the “miscarriage of justice” led non-Irish people to reevaluate their attitudes and “be more accepting as a result of these circumstances.”
Contemporary relevancy lies in the fact that there are today other religious groups “who inspire anxiety,” Erdman said, noting that Muslims are sometimes perceived as “outsiders” and treated in prejudicial ways.
There is also a chapter on Daley, 34, and Halligan, 27,and the opera in The Republican's "An Irish Legacy: A History of the Irish in Western Massachusetts."
The men, who had fled oppression in their own country, were exonerated by a proclamation in 1984 by Gov. Michael Dukakis, thanks to the efforts of a now-deceased Northampton firefighter, John Carlon, and Westfield resident Jim Curran, who wrote the play, “They’re Irish! They’re Catholic!! They’re Guilty!!!,” based on the trial’s transcript.
According to such historical accounts, the two men were traveling on the Boston Post Road from Boston. Another man, Marcus Lyon, was robbed and killed along the same road in Wilbraham.
Accused of murder, they were incarcerated in Northampton. Although the commonwealth spent five months preparing its case, they were assigned defense attorneys only 48 hours before the trial. In what has been called a mockery of justice, their trial lasted only one day.
They were sentenced to be hanged and, as the presiding judge said, "their bodies dissected and anatomized."
Sawyer, a professor of music at Amherst College, has said that the story of Irish immigrants, and what happened to them in Northampton in 1806, speaks to a recurrent American theme of fear in the face of newcomers, and such stories of nationhood make natural operatic subjects.
“Adding to this the vivid characters (author) White creates, with their conflicts, heroism, humor and humanity, the story captivated us with its operatic potential.”
The opera score, though modern, seeks to create a plausible musical language for a story set in an early, somewhat unformed national culture, according to the two.
Irish music makes itself felt, including a few traditional songs but also the sounds of flutes, harps and uileann pipes, as well as dance forms such as the slip jig.
Erdman said it is “thrilling to hear people sing our words and music” and bring the story to life, and having the symphony orchestra participation will be “spectacular.”
After the Northampton world premiere performances, Erdman hopes “The Garden of Martyrs” will be performed elsewhere in the region and in Europe.
For more information, go to www.gardenofmartyrsopera.com.
Admission for the Springfield Museums' la carte events is $4 ($2 for members of the Springfield Museums); visitors are invited to bring lunch (cookies and coffee are provided).