3/5. The Opera Writing Years
Ethel Smyth 's first two operas, Fantasio and Der Wald, were in the German tradition. She found the inspiration for her third opera, The Wreckers, on a holiday to the Scilly Isles. It's probably her best-known opera, and is the first work on which she collaborated with one of the most personally and professionally influential people in her life, Henry Brewster. Afterthe First World War, Smyth's attitude to opera changed and she moved towards lighter subjects. The Boatswain's Mate, a comedy, was written in 1913-14, followed by Fete Galante ; her last opera was Entente Cordiale, described as a postwar comedy.
With the help of Odaline de la Martinez, Donald Macleod traces the line of development through her six operas.
The Wreckers (Prelude; Act 2, excerpt)
Anne-Marie Owens (mezzo), Mark Justin (tenor), Peter Sidhom (baritone), BBC Philharmonic, conductor Odaline de la Martinez
Mrs Water 's aria (The Boatswain's Mate)
Eiddwen Harrhy (soprano), Plymouth Festival Orchestra, conductor Philip Brunelle
Two Interlinked French Melodies; Interlude
(Entente Cordiale) Light Symphony Orchestra, conductor Adrian Boult
Repeated on Tuesday at 12 midnight