Synopsis

Act I

On the morning of Midsummer’s Day, a wedding party has assembled outside a woodland temple where Mark awaits his fiancée, Jenifer. Suddenly, the He-Ancient and She-Ancient appear, accompanied by a chorus of dancers. Mark asks the He-Ancient for a new dance in honor of his wedding, but the He-Ancient orders a repeat of the traditional dance. Jenifer arrives and cancels the wedding, claiming that she seeks truth and not love. The couple argues. Jenifer retreats up one of the temple’s spiral staircases while Mark falls into a cave. 

Jenifer’s father, King Fisher, arrives with his secretary, Bella, and is distraught to find Jenifer missing. He tells Bella to ask her boyfriend, Jack, to open the cave gates, hoping Jenifer might be inside. The Ancients emerge from the temple and warn the King Fisher and his crew not to interfere.  While an argument ensues, Jenifer and Mark appear and confront each other. Jenifer tells Mark that her soul is now free of earthly suffering, while Mark claims to have gained a new appreciation for earthly mortality. The two resolve to share their experiences; Jenifer descends into the cave while Mark enters the temple.

Act II

That afternoon, Bella proposes to Jack in honor of Midsummer’s Day. He accepts, and the couple sings of their love for one another.  Three violent ritual dances take place outside the temple.

Act III

At night, The King Fisher sends revelers to fetch the famous clairvoyant, Madame Sosostris, whom he will enlist to win Jenifer back from the Ancients. When the crowd returns with the veiled Sosostris, the King Fisher demands that she reveal Jenifer’s whereabouts. Sosostris tells King Fisher that Jenifer is in a field making love to a winged lion with the arms and face of a man. The King Fisher insists that Sosostris is lying and begins to peel away her veils. When he has peeled the last of the veils away, he finds a lotus flower which blossoms to reveal Mark and Jenifer. He aims his pistol at Mark, and the couple breaks from their meditative state to confront the King Fisher, causing him to have a heart attack and die. While the mournful crowd carries King Fisher’s body into the temple, the dancers emerge and perform a fourth ritual dance of human sacrifice. The ritual concludes as the lotus closes around Mark and Jenifer and bursts into flames. When the fire subsides, the Ancients are gone and the temple is in ruins.  Mark and Jenifer enter the clearing, prepared for their wedding. As the sun rises, the crowd celebrates the marriage.