Seagle Festival Performs a Groundbreaking New Opera

Seagle Festival is proud to present the second-ever production of a remarkable new opera by one of today's most performed contemporary opera composers.

"Mayo Buckner" tells the tragic true story of a young boy named Mayo, who was committed to the Iowa Home for the Feeble Minded in 1898. Despite his repeated requests for release, it wasn't until 1957, at the age of 67, that Mayo was properly tested and found to have an above-average IQ.

What happens to Mayo? See the show to witness the unfolding of his life.

About “Mayo Buckner.”

A chance encounter led composer Tom Cipullo to an obscure 50-year-old article in Life magazine. The article bore the title “A Lifetime Thrown Away by a Mistake and the subtitle Mental Homes Wrongly Hold Thousands Like Mayo Buckner.”

In other sources, he learned distressing facts about a neglected episode in American history. Eugenics, sometimes considered solely the province of totalitarian states, had a significant and tragic past in the United States.

Beginning at the dawn of the 20th century and continuing, remarkably, into the 1970s, thousands of unwanted American children were placed in institutions and held there, often for their entire lives.

Using early, flawed versions of IQ tests as well as a perverted view of Darwinian science, officials of many states incarcerated numerous “deficient” children to protect the nation from what officials described as “the menace of the feeble-minded.”

Mayo Hazeltine Buckner was committed to such an institution as a child and lived there for sixty years. At the age of 67, he was given a more modern intelligence test and was determined to have an IQ of 120.

An incredible musical journey.

Seagle Festival’s campus in Schroon Lake.

The opera follows Mayo Buckner’s life for 60 years, highlighting the impact of the Eugenics movement in early 20th-century America. It explores themes of injustice, dignity, and the human spirit within the context of institutionalization and societal prejudice.

The opera also touches on the infamous Buck v. Bell Supreme Court decision, which allowed for the forced sterilization of institutionalized individuals deemed "unfit". e:

The opera portrays Mayo's life within the institution, his interactions with other residents, and his eventual re-evaluation that revealed his above-average intelligence, despite being institutionalized for six decades.

It explores themes of injustice, societal prejudice, the importance of human dignity, and the resilience of the human spirit.

High praise from opera critics.

Opera journalists describe Tom Cipullo's music as having a "luminous score" with "vivid embodiments of the protagonist's mental states" by The Washington Post. The writing is angular and declamatory at times, but also incorporates "glowing melody" and "orchestral color" according to The New York Times.

The opera premiered at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in November 2018.

Seagle Performances and more information.

Seagle Festival will perform “Mayo Buckner (a life interrupted)” August 6, 7, and 9 at 7:30 pm. On August 8, catch a matinee performance at 2 pm.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Seagle Festival website.

Composer Tom Cipullo’s work “Mayo Buckner” will be performed at The Seagle.

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ADK Talks Podcast

We recently had the privilege to speak with the Seagle Festival’s artistic director, Darren Woods, and a recent operaetic alumna. Hear what happens when world-class opera collides with the rugged beauty of the Adirondacks.

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