solo piano reductions of the opera's orchestration are frequently performed. Performance history The opera premiered on 7 May 1947 at Columbia University's Brander Matthews Hall with soprano Dorothy Dow as Susan B. Anthony. Soprano Shirlee Emmons was awarded an Obie Award for her portrayal of Susan B. Anthony in the 1956 Off-Broadway production. The opera was mounted at Carnegie Hall by the American Opera Society in 1964 with Johanna Meier as Susan B. Anthony, Betty Allen as Anne, Thomas Paul as Daniel Webster, and Enrico Di Giuseppe as John Quincy Adams. The Santa Fe Opera mounted the work in 1976 and released a recording of the work the following year on the New World Records label. The European premiere took place in Kensington Town Hall in London on 26 June 1979. The New York City Opera staged a production in 2000 with Lauren Flanigan as Susan B. Anthony. In 2003, San Francisco Opera opened its 80th anniversary season with a new production of The Mother of Us All, Luana DeVol assuming the role of Susan B. Anthony for the first time. Roles Synopsis Stein's text for The Mother of Us All does not describe details of staging. Therefore, Thomson's partner Maurice Grosser devised a scenario to facilitate staging the opera. Though Grosser stated that other scenarios were equally possible, his scenario is published in the printed score; this synopsis is based on it. Act 1 Scene 1. Susan B. Anthony and her devoted companion Anne are shown at home. Anne is knitting; Susan B. is pasting clippings into a scrapbook. Gertrude S. and Virgil T. also appear as narrators. Scene 2. A political meeting takes place, at which Webster, Johnson, Adams, Grant, Comstock, and Stevens are all present. Jo the Loiterer and Chris the Citizen also appear, mocking the politicians' solemnity. Susan B. introduces herself to the assembly, and she and Daniel Webster debate. Scene 3. A public square in front of Susan B. Anthony's house. Thaddeus Stevens argues with Andrew Johnson; there is a flowery love scene between John Adams and Constance Fletcher. Jenny Reefer begins waltzing with Herman Atlan, and everyone joins in the dance. Scene 4. Susan B. Anthony meditates on the difficulties of her mission. Scene 5. Jo the Loiterer and Indiana Elliot are to be married. As the wedding party gathers, various episodes unfold. John Adams courts Constance Fletcher, Daniel Webster (who is to perform