The Immortal Hour

opera by Boughton

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June 29, 2026

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The Immortal Hour is an opera by Rutland Boughton, an English composer known for his music dramas inspired by Arthurian legends. Boughton aimed to create a festival theatre for these works at Glastonbury.1

The Immortal Hour, composed in 1913, was Boughton's most successful opera, achieving 216 performances in London. It is described as a tuneful Romantic opera. Other operas by Boughton include The Queen of Cornwall (1924), The Lily Maid (1934), and Galahad (1944). Boughton was a proponent of the music drama theories of Richard Wagner.1

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Rutland Boughton
…was the tuneful Romantic opera The Immortal Hour (1913), which ran for 216 performances in London. His other operas include The Queen of Cornwall (1924), The Lily Maid (1934), and Galahad (1944). With Reginald Buckley, his partner in the Glastonbury scheme, he published a book, The Music Drama of the…
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…was the tuneful Romantic opera The Immortal Hour (1913), which ran for 216 performances in London. His other operas include The Queen of Cornwall (1924), The Lily Maid (1934), and Galahad (1944). With Reginald Buckley, his partner in the Glastonbury scheme, he published a book, The Music Drama of the…
Read More