The Magic Fountain: Lyric Drama in 3 Acts

The Spanish are sailing for La Florida to find and drink from the famed fountain of wisdom and youth. There is a hurricane-like storm and Solano finds himself alone on a beach with palm trees. Watawa, a maiden, comes to the ocean to bath and finds the shipwrecked sailor and rescues him. She agrees to guide him to the far-away fountain down in the Everglades. Will true love prevail?

Other than the Everglades, it is hard to identify specific locations in this story.

Mr. Delius is Florida's best-known classical composer. He was born in England in 1862 and moved to the Jacksonville area in 1884 to manage an orange plantation. He left in 1886 but several of his musical compositions were influenced by his short tenure in Duval County. He died in 1934 in France.

This is his second opera and was never published or performed during his lifetime. The first attempt to publish/perform this opera was in 1953, but was not actually performed and recorded until 1977.

For more information, please consult with the Jacksonville Public Library's Special Collections and the Jacksonville University's Special Collections.

SPECIAL ML50 .D35 M34 1979

This item is part of Special Collections and is accessible by appointment-only.

Eric Fenby, vocal score

The Magic Fountain: Lyric Drama in 3 Acts

London: Delius Trust

Paperback book

English
Operatic score in bass and treble clef

Historical
Play or Opera
Race Relations
Romance
Travel

Pre-St. Augustine

Purchased

Available to listen for free on Internet Archive.

McCarthy, Kevin. M. The Book Lover’s Guide to Florida. 1^st ed. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, 1992.

Delius, Frederick. The Magic Fountain: Lyric Drama in 3 Acts. Vocal Score by Eric Fenby. London: Delius Trust, 1979.