Jeanie Deans (opera)

For other uses, see Jeanie Deans (disambiguation).

Cast list and contents of the opera

Jeanie Deans is an opera in four acts by Hamish MacCunn (1868–1916) set to a libretto by Joseph Bennett which is loosely based on Walter Scott's 1818 novel, The Heart of Midlothian and is named after its heroine, Jeanie Deans. The opera was commissioned by the Carl Rosa Opera Company and first produced at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh on 15 November 1894[1] to great acclaim.[2]

The ending of the opera, in which Jeanie's sister, Effie Deans is freed from Tolbooth prison, is not in Scott's novel. The crowd scene in fact refers back to the beginning of the novel where the Porteous Riots are described. The plot of the opera, therefore, ends with the freeing of Effie, and the lives of Jeanie and her sister afterwards are not dealt with.

  1. ^ "Hamish McCunn – A Short Biographical Sketch" by Stuart Scott, 2010, musicwebinternational.com. Retrieved 1 November 2023
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference JBS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).