MODERN 1900 –1950 237
British character in its setting
and themes. The hymns and other
choruses sung by the villagers, for
instance, bear the clear imprint of
the English oratorio tradition.
Derivative though the music
is in many ways, Smyth had
nonetheless achieved her objective
with The Wreckers. She had written
a viable British opera that could,
for the first time, bear comparison
with the works of the major
continental opera composers of thelate 19th and early 20th centuries.
Although imperfectly worked out,
the basic drama of the opera is
compelling with strong characters
and situations. It takes on serious
themes of greed, love, moral
conflict, and religious fanaticism.
At its best, as in the prelude to
the second act, “On the cliffs of
Cornwall,” the music is colorful
and atmospheric. Although
indebted to Wagner’s Siegfried,
the second-act duets between thelovers Thirza and Mark, torn
between passion and moral
responsibility, strike a new, raw
note in British operatic music.The premiere
Her work completed, it then took
Smyth two years to get The
Wreckers staged. The premiere,
when it eventually came, was in
Leipzig’s Neues Theater, Brewster’s
libretto having been translated
into German. To Smyth’s fury
the director had made cuts to the
third act, although the first-night
audience greeted the “mutilated”
version with thunderous applause.
After the director refused to
reinstate his cuts for subsequent
performances, an enraged
Smyth stormed into the theatre
early the next morning and
removed all the scores she could
find in the orchestra pit. There
would be no more performances
of The Wreckers in Leipzig.
Smyth then caught a train to
Prague, where another performance
was scheduled. This proved an
even greater disaster, since the
orchestra had not rehearsed
properly, leading to damning
reviews in the local press. The ❯❯The sea in opera
Wagner, The Flying Dutchman, 1841
The atmosphere of the North Sea breathes
throughout. The sea is there to be conquered
but ultimately emerges victorious.Bizet, The Pearl Fishers, 1863
The changing moods of the sea reflect the
ups and downs of the relationship between
two friends and their ultimate reconciliation.Ethel Smyth, The Wreckers, 1904
The orchestration evokes Cornish seascapes.
Powerful but impassive, the sea brings both
prosperity and discord to the village.Benjamin Britten, Peter Grimes, 1945
Four Interludes each represent a different
mood of the sea. The sea is a metaphor for
the struggle of the individual.Benjamin Britten, Billy Budd, 1951
The sea represents an implacable backdrop
to the turbulence of human affairs and a
final, peaceful resting place.Vaughan Williams, Riders to the Sea, 1932
The impressionistic music captures the
power of wind and ocean in this lament for
sons lost at sea set in an Irish fishing village.The whole English
attitude toward women
in fields of art is ludicrous ...
There is no sex in art. How
you play the violin, paint, or
compose is what matters.
Ethel SmythUS_232-239_Dame_Ethel_Smyth.indd 237 27/03/18 4:49 PM