Prom 13: Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers (24.07.22)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

18:30 Sunday 24 July 2022
Royal Albert Hall

Dame Ethel Smyth: The Wreckers


Pascoe.... Philip Horst (bass-baritone)
Lawrence.... James Rutherford (baritone)
Mark.... Rodrigo Porras Garulo (tenor)
Avis.... Lauren Fagan (soprano)
Harvey.... Donovan Singletary (baritone)
Tallan.... Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts (tenor)
Jack.... Marta Fontanals-Simmons (mezzo-soprano)
Thirza.... Karis Tucker (mezzo-soprano)

Glyndebourne Festival Opera
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Robin Ticciati (conductor)

Admired by Mahler and Britten and praised as a ‘masterpiece’ by Thomas Beecham, Ethel Smyth’s opera The Wreckers – a psychological drama of ‘wrecking, religion and love’ – was the pinnacle of the composer’s career.
With its sweeping musical soundscapes, passionate central love story and radical interrogation of fear, hypocrisy and mob violence, it’s a compelling piece of music-theatre, whose heroine is a mirror of her fascinating, unorthodox creator. Glyndebourne presents the opera for the first time with its original score and French libretto. Robin Ticciati conducts an exciting international cast in this semi staged performance.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

This was performed at the Proms in 1994, and was later released on CD (still available).

Ethel Smyth composed five other operas, so one day, perhaps, we may see/hear them too.

[PhilipT]

This was performed at the Proms in 1994 ..

Well, yes, except that in 1994 it was a concert performance in English, and this one is semi-staged in French.

I wonder how they'll do the lighting of the beacon. If they used the one in the Glyndebourne production the RAH Fire Officers would have a fit.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Sacre bleu. I said “never again “ on the Night At The Opera thread but went back on my promise and I’m listening.

I don’t think The Wreckers is much of an opera. Not one memorable tune - just a lot of surface effect. And a lot of spoken text.
Master Jacques was right about the French text - it doesn’t work for me and I can’t understand a word as the diction is pretty poor and Pascoe has a pretty pronounced wobble.
There’s quite a moody US production on YouTube which shows that the English libretto isn’t that bad. But there are so many other under performed British operas which are much better. Just that brief clip from The Knot Garden the other night had me wanting more…

[bluestateprommer]

This might be the YT video that EH refers to, c/o Bard Summerscape Opera:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mIyT62cBA4

It is rather odd to give this Prom a listen with no libretto on hand (can't find the French version on line, but I'm probably not trying enough) and only my very rusty high-school French from decades ago to try to follow the story, from occasional works that I catch. Fortunately, this particular link has a detailed plot synopsis that slightly mitigates the challenge:

https://operastory.co.uk/the-wreckers-by-ethel-smyth/

The plot, with all the hypocrisy with religious tinges of its characters (we in the USA know this all too well with too many of our politicians on this side of the pond), is actually quite interesting. It could have done with better music, to be sure. For all the mocking of critics and their reaction to the Glyndebourne production in the "A Night at the Opera" thread, that's a cheap shot and ignores those who are able to slip in criticism within the word and space limits of a newspaper review, like Tim Ashley in The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/may/22/the-wreckers-review-glyndebourne-festival-ethel-smyth

"The dramatic prominence of the chorus, together with Smyth’s exacting choral writing, are the chief claims to originality of a score that elsewhere all too frequently betrays its mix of influences....The resulting stylistic range is all too frequently too wide to suggest coherence or unity, though the last act is tauter than the rest of it."

Smyth turned up the volume to 11 pretty much from the outset, which doesn't help matters. Ticciati pretty much whips up a storm (pun slightly intended) from the get-go, with the LPO playing their hearts out. All this also doesn't help with the singers maintaining their vocal health over the evening (and maybe the long term?). However, I think that we can blame Dame Ethel for that, if Ticciati is following all those dynamic levels in the score and they are indeed hers. From what I can tell, the singers are certainly doing their best, as is the chorus, along with the LPO.

Even w/o yet hearing the rest of the work, Ashley's closer in his review sounds reasonable to me:

"By no means, I think, the neglected masterpiece that some have argued, but it’s hard to imagine it better done."

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yes that’s it BSP , thanks . From the Bard Summerscape Festival - something I knew nothing about which seems to do some remarkable work. I think their performance benefits from a more subtle approach. I like the moody setting though the tiny tapsters barrel wouldn’t last 5 minutes in Newlyn on a Friday night . It also looks proper Cornish which is quite an achievement.

[RichardB]

Just that brief clip from The Knot Garden the other night had me wanting more…

I wonder how long it will take for it to be accepted that The Knot Garden and King Priam are at least as worthy of production as any other operas written in the 20th century (ie. not just by British composers).

[Ein Heldenleben]

I wonder how long it will take for it to be accepted that The Knot Garden and King Priam are at least as worthy of production as any other operas written in the 20th century (ie. not just by British composers).

Yes indeed. There’s more music in 100 bars of either than 2 hours of many other 20th century operas that are more frequently performed.

[bluestateprommer]

Well, at least at the start of Act II, Dame Ethel at least dialed it down from 11 at the start, and even elsewhere in Act II, to her credit, even if still w/o much in the way of good tunes. Interesting to hear the interval discussion between Joan Passey and Kate Molleson that the legend of "wreckers" in Cornwall is actually in the realm of "alternative facts" (i.e. fiction) rather than historical reality.

In hindsight, one would have that among R3 presenters, their main aficionado of all things Cornish would have been the presenter for this Prom. However, presumably Petroc is in transit to Truro for the PCM tomorrow. Plus, he might have looked askance at one of the musical selections aired during this interval ;) .

Regarding King Priam, it might be necessary to shovel a ton of money to ENO, because Annelise Miskimmon shelved a scheduled staging of KP for next season. Maybe she could have contacted another company to share production costs, like Santa Fe Opera on this side of the pond, where I think KP would work fantastically well, IMVHO.

[Nick Armstrong]

at the start of Act II, Dame Ethel at least dialed it down from 11 at the start

[Ein Heldenleben]

Well, at least at the start of Act II, Dame Ethel at least dialed it down from 11 at the start, and even elsewhere in Act II, to her credit, even if still w/o much in the way of good tunes. Interesting to hear the interval discussion between Joan Passey and Kate Molleson that the legend of "wreckers" in Cornwall is actually in the realm of "alternative facts" (i.e. fiction) rather than historical reality.

In hindsight, one would have that among R3 presenters, their main aficionado of all things Cornish would have been the presenter for this Prom. However, presumably Petroc is in transit to Truro for the PCM tomorrow. Plus, he might have looked askance at one of the musical selections aired during this interval ;) .

Regarding King Priam, it might be necessary to shovel a ton of money to ENO, because Annelise Miskimmon shelved a scheduled staging of KP for next season. Maybe she could have contacted another company to share production costs, like Santa Fe Opera on this side of the pond, where I think KP would work fantastically well, IMVHO.

Yes the myth of deliberate “wrecking” i.e luring ships onto the rocks with lights tied round donkeys necks etc was laid to rest by Carolyn Pearce in her excellent book Cornish Wrecking, 1700-1860: Reality and Popular Myth. Wrecked ships were ransacked to supplement the starvation incomes of Cornish coastal villages but they weren’t lured to their deaths. The wrecking “tradition “ lives on - most notably in 2007 when the MSC Napoli ran aground at Branscombe . The locals ran off top of the range BMW motorbikes . And East Devon is a relatively wealthy part of the SouthWest .


Sadly from following Twitter it appears Petroc’s covid has flared up and he will not be presenting tomorrow.

You are right about King Priam - looks like an excellent opportunity misssed.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Sacre bleu. I said “never again “ on the Night At The Opera thread but went back on my promise and I’m listening.

I kept my resolve, and anyway have other things to do. The thread with comments from those of us who found the excursion to Glyndebourne a less than wonderful experience* can be found here:

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?24204-The-Wreckers-Glyndebourne

* I have to acknowledge one or two posters weren't damning in their response. Incidentally, I have learnt that my choir has programmed Smyth's Mass in D for performance next year. I thought I should give it an open minded listen (BBC SO Oramo, BBC S Chorus recording on Chandos). Having done so, its the same heavy handed orchestration/writing, lack of any decent melody and chorus engaged in ffff too excessively. Similar flaws, but at least its shorter. I often remark for a work we don't much like on initial rehearsal (often new commissions) that after getting to know it, we may find hidden appeal in the piece - somehow, I don't think that will be the case this time.

[bluestateprommer]

Yes the myth of deliberate “wrecking” i.e luring ships onto the rocks with lights tied round donkeys necks etc was laid to rest by Carolyn Pearce in her excellent book Cornish Wrecking, 1700-1860: Reality and Popular Myth. Wrecked ships were ransacked to supplement the starvation incomes of Cornish coastal villages but they weren’t lured to their deaths. The wrecking “tradition “ lives on - most notably in 2007 when the MSC Napoli ran aground at Branscombe . The locals ran off top of the range BMW motorbikes . And East Devon is a relatively wealthy part of the SouthWest .

Sadly from following Twitter it appears Petroc’s covid has flared up and he will not be presenting tomorrow.

You are right about King Priam - looks like an excellent opportunity misssed.

See what you mean about the 'wrecking' "tradition" (if you don't mind the use of double quotes here) and the 2007 Branscombe / MSC Napoli incident. Just found the wikipedia article on it, and it's an interesting read, a new subject to learn about.

But back to the opera: Act III turned out the best of the 3, IMVHO, so it kind of "got better" as it went along. Dame Ethel again turned things up to 11, but given that the plot involves an angry mob out for vengeance, that seemed appropriate. Plus, there seemed more a touch more variety in the emotional temperature in Act III, so that it wasn't all at 11 all the time. In that light, reading this from Claire Seymour's review of the Glyndebourne production is interesting:

https://operatoday.com/2022/05/ethel-smyths-the-wreckers-at-glyndebourne/

"The Wreckers presents pregnant dramatic themes, but Brewster’s libretto doesn’t offer persuasive characterisation or motivation. And, while the dramatic temperature is unwavering high, the action is not 'tragic'. Not a single character experiences internal conflict. And, 'right' and 'wrong' are never in doubt. Pasko propounds his defence of wrecking as God-ordained with the unbending self-belief of a religious martyr; even his request that the drumhead court spare Thurza is motivated by a twisted desire to make her live under the burden of sin and remorse. That she and Mark refuse to conform and adhere to the local 'moral code' doesn’t make them tragic figures, just victims. The opera is a pressure cooker and it sometimes feels that one more fever-pitched climax will push the melodrama beyond its bounds and into the realm of parody."

Still, for all the work's faults and my mixed feelings about it, I'm very glad to have heard this Proms relay, where everyone seems to have given their all. Presumably a DVD will emerge from the Glyndebourne performances at some point.

PS: For the future, if any other company wants to give The Wreckers another go, the late Amanda Holden prepared a fresh English translation in the mid 2000's.

https://www.amandaholden.org.uk/translations/opera-translations/783-2/

Sorry also to hear about Petroc being knocked out of presenting by testing positive. He was listed as presenter for some upcoming RAH Proms, so hope he recovers soon. Nicola Heywood Thomas looks to be stepping into the Truto presenter's chair tomorrow.

[Master Jacques]

Regarding King Priam, it might be necessary to shovel a ton of money to ENO, because Annelise Miskimmon shelved a scheduled staging of KP for next season. Maybe she could have contacted another company to share production costs, like Santa Fe Opera on this side of the pond, where I think KP would work fantastically well, IMVHO.

That was a disappointing decision, which does not augur well for the new management's duty towards the native product. As for English Touring Opera's scheduled revival of The Knot Garden, the management there have shelved the plan to get David Freeman in to reshape his ground-breaking staging from 30 years ago, to create a new touring production. That was put on hold during the covid lockdown and has now vanished without a word.

Tippett's operas (which have all the ingredients needed to stand the test of time, and only grow in artistic stature with passing years) are being shamefully neglected by our subsidised opera companies.

[Pulcinella]

That was a disappointing decision, which does not augur well for the new management's duty towards the native product. As for English Touring Opera's scheduled revival of The Knot Garden, the management there have shelved the plan to get David Freeman in to reshape his ground-breaking staging from 30 years ago, to create a new touring production. That was put on hold during the covid lockdown and has now vanished without a word.

Tippett's operas (which have all the ingredients needed to stand the test of time, and only grow in artistic stature with passing years) are being shamefully neglected by our subsidised opera companies.

And (understandably, I suppose) by the record companies.