Walter Meyer wrote: >Interestingly, the two hanged in the opera were denounced by different >parties for unrelated reasons. John Proctor was denounced by Abigail >Williams, w/ whom he had had an affair, after he sought to expose her >earlier denunciation of his wife as a scheme to enable her to marry him >herself. Rebecca Nurse, on the other hand, was denounced by Thomas Putnam >who lusted after her land, which would be forfeited if she were to be >hanged. Whether or not the denunciation of the other hanged victims were >based upon similarly corrupt motives, is not disclosed in the opera. It's treated more in the play, as I recall, though it's been a long time since I saw it. From what I recall, the play was partly Miller's response to the McCarthy hearings: anyone who's seen it or heard the opera will find that obvious. Though I live near enough to Danvers and Salem and have visited both, I'm no scholar on the subject, but it seems to me that Thomas Putnam was one of many witch hunters seeking to profit from land grabbing. According to many historians, this was one of the primary motives behind the trials--religious zeal certainly played a role--though I think some have disputed that. Most (maybe all) of the characters in the play/opera, really existed, as far as I know. Another interesting aside, if I recall correctly, is that much of this action occurred in what is now Danvers (though I think it was part of Salem at the time, or something like that). Finally, all this is from memory. By all means, check it out. It's a fascinating and tragic episode of American history. By the way, the movie is not bad at all, and the essentials of the play are there. Admittedly, no one looks like he/she is actually from that time. Wynona Ryder never looks anything less than fresh from the makeup table, but this is Hollywood, after all. >As for the music otherwise, it seemed unobtrusively appropriate, like well >written film music. Except for Tituba's song (sung by Annette Daniels), >and a hymn in the first act, all of the words could have been spoken as >well as sung as far as I was concerned. The work simply did not seem >musical to me. I had the pleasure of playing in the orchestra for this opera, and I enjoyed the experience very much. I also enjoyed it the one time I saw it from the audience. For me this opera works very well on stage. Indeed, I was told that Miller once said the play was better than his opera. There is one recording I know of from New York's City Center. It use to be on CRI LPs, I think. Now it's on Albany. Musically, I like it better than Walter did, but it really is an opera that should be seen. Roger Hecht