''The Boatswain's Mate'' is an
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
in one act (but in two parts) written by British composer and
suffragette
A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
Ethel Smyth
Dame Ethel Mary Smyth (; 22 April 18588 May 1944) was an English composer and a member of the women's suffrage movement. Her compositions include songs, works for piano, chamber music, orchestral works, choral works and operas.
Smyth tended t ...
in 1913–14 set to her own libretto, which was based on a story of the same name by
W. W. Jacobs
William Wymark Jacobs (8 September 1863 – 1 September 1943) was an English author of short fiction and drama. His best remembered story is "The Monkey's Paw". He was born in Wapping, London, on 8 September 1863, the son of William Gage Jacobs ...
.
[Banfield, p. 509]
It was Smyth's fourth opera, and it is sometimes claimed as a
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
opera. The piece centers around a humorous battle of the sexes featuring a feisty and resourceful heroine who outwits her scheming suitor (but perhaps falls for his accomplice—this is left to the speculation of the reader or audience).
In summary, the opera's score has been described by
Stephen Banfield
Stephen David Banfield (born 1951) is a musicologist, music historian and retired academic. He was Elgar Professor of Music at the University of Birmingham from 1992 to 2003, and then Stanley Hugh Badock Professor of Music at the University of Br ...
as "interspersed with spoken dialogue in part 1,
tis symphonically constructed around folksongs and Smyth's own ''March of the Women''; its pacing and orchestration are adroitly managed."
Performance history
From December 1913
[Collis (1984), pp. 132–133] to May 1914, Smyth stayed at a hotel in
Helwan
Helwan ( ar, حلوان ', , cop, ϩⲁⲗⲟⲩⲁⲛ, Halouan) is a city in Egypt and part of Greater Cairo, on the bank of the Nile, opposite the ruins of Memphis. Originally a southern suburb of Cairo, it served as the capital of the now de ...
, Egypt, in order to compose ''The Boatswain's Mate'' free from distractions,
[ although she kept up a continual correspondence with ]Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...
. The hotel, formerly the palace of Tewfik Pasha
Mohamed Tewfik Pasha ( ar, محمد توفيق باشا ''Muḥammad Tawfīq Bāshā''; April 30 or 15 November 1852 – 7 January 1892), also known as Tawfiq of Egypt, was khedive of Egypt and the Sudan between 1879 and 1892 and the sixth rule ...
, was suggested by her friend Ronald Storrs
Sir Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs (19 November 1881 – 1 November 1955) was an official in the British Foreign and Colonial Office. He served as Oriental Secretary in Cairo, Military Governor of Jerusalem, Governor of Cyprus, and Governor of No ...
, who was an official under Lord Kitchener in Cairo. On returning to Europe, Smyth arranged for the opera's premiere to take place at Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
in March 1915, as well as scheduling her earlier opera ''The Wreckers
The Wreckers were an American country music duo formed in 2005 by Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp, both of whom had solo recordings before the duo's foundation. In 2006, the duo released its debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'', which produ ...
'' for February 1915 in Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. However, these plans were overtaken by the outbreak of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
The first performance of ''The Boatswain's Mate'' eventually took place at the Shaftesbury Theatre
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue.
History
The theatre was d ...
, London, on 28 January 1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled.
* ...
under Smyth. Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...
entrusted the premiere to Eugene Goossens but on the day " e composer herself elected to conduct the première of her work—much to my annoyance, as I had taken all the preliminary orchestral rehearsals. At the last moment she took over the baton, thinking herself the Heaven-sent conductor she was not."
The opera uses a number of folk melodies, including "The Keeper" and "Lord Randall
"Lord Randall", or "Lord Randal", () is an Anglo- Scottish border ballad consisting of dialogue between a young Lord and his mother. Similar ballads can be found across Europe in many languages, including Danish, German, Magyar, Irish, Swed ...
", as well as "Bushes and Briars",["''The Boatswain's Mate''. Opera of a Country Inn." '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', 29 January 1916. p. 11. which provides the theme for the intermezzo
In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...
. The overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...
was based on Smyth's earlier composition, "The March of the Women
"The March of the Women" is a song composed by Ethel Smyth in 1910, to words by Cicely Hamilton. It became the official anthem of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and more widely the anthem of the women's suffrage movement throughou ...
". Reviews in ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' drew a distinction between the ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of English stage entertainment that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier '' comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Singspiel'', its disti ...
style of part 1,["The Aldwych Opera. ''The Boatswain's Mate'' Reheard." ''The Times'', 29 July 1916. p. 11.] with its light-hearted dialogue and songs,[ and the ]sung-through
A sung-through (also through-sung) musical, musical film, opera, or other work of performance art is one in which songs entirely or almost entirely replace any spoken dialogue. Conversations, speeches, and musings are communicated musically, for e ...
style of part 2,[ which they found heavy and less appropriate to the libretto.][ The chorus of agricultural labourers in part 1 was also praised.]["''The Boatswain's Mate''. Performance at the Old Vic." ''The Times'', 31 March 1922. p. 10.]["''The Boatswain's Mate''. Opening of the Old Vic Opera Season." ''The Times'', 6 October 1922. p. 7.]
The opera was performed with full orchestra and chorus a number of times at the Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
, Covent Garden, in the 1920s. Smyth's music subsequently went out of fashion and no productions had been recorded for more than 50 years until a chamber version of the opera was arranged by the Primavera Productions
Primavera Productions is a professional theatre company founded in 2003 by Tom Littler, who is also the Artistic Director. It is based in London, UK.
Primavera is particularly noted for its revivals of rarely performed plays, although this does n ...
theatre company at the Finborough Theatre
The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...
in London in June 2007.
In 2018, ''The Boatswain's Mate'' was performed at the Grimeborn
Grimeborn is an annual East London musical theatre and opera festival which coincides with the world famous East Sussex Glyndebourne Opera Festival. Founded by Arcola Theatre’s artistic director Mehmet Ergen in 2007, the festival is held at A ...
Festival, Arcola Theatre, London.
Roles
Synopsis
:Place: England
:Time: 20th century
Part One
Mrs Waters is a widow running a lonely country inn called "The Beehive". She has no wish to remarry. Among her customers is a retired boatswain
A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervi ...
, Harry Benn. After rejecting his latest offers of marriage, she goes off on an errand, leaving him minding the pub. He decides on a plot to win her heart, and sets it in motion when Ned Travers, a broke ex-soldier, comes in. Benn persuades him to pretend to burgle the inn, so that Benn can play the heroic rescuer.
Part Two
That night, Travers breaks in. Seeing Mrs Waters come down the stairs with a gun, he hides in a cupboard, and she locks him in. When she threatens to shoot, he tells her the truth and agrees to help her get revenge. She discharges the gun and screams for help, while Travers hides upstairs. Benn rushes in, but is horrified when she tells him she has killed the burglar. She sends Benn outside to dig a grave. Overcome with remorse, he gives himself up to a passing policeman. They come inside, only to find Travers alive and well, and depart in confusion. Mrs Waters is left alone with the charming Travers, and her opposition to marriage starts to weaken.
Recordings
On 2 October 1916, Smyth conducted excerpts from the opera with members of the original cast. From Part One, the overture (featuring Gilbert Barton and W. Gordon Walker, piccolos), “When rocked on the billows” (Courtice Pounds), “The Keeper” (Barton and Gordon Walker), “A friend and I were on a pier” (Frederick Ranalow), “Contrariness - What if I were young again” (Rosina Buckman). From Part Two, “Oh! dear, if I had known” (Buckman and Ranalow), “The first thing to do is get rid of the body” (Buckman, Pounds and Ranalow) and “When the sun is setting” (Buckman and Ranalow). The recordings were issued by His Master's Voice as “Overture” (parts 1 & 2, D. 445), “When rocked on the billows” (D. 446), “The Keeper” (D. 448), “A friend and I were on a pier” (D. 447), (a) “Contrariness” (b) “What if I were young again” (D. 448), “Oh! dear, if I had known” (D. 448), “The first thing to do is get rid of the body” (D. 447), “When the sun is setting” (D. 447).
The first complete, modern recording of the 75-minute opera was released by Retrospect Opera in July 2016, conducted by the Smyth interpreter and champion Odaline de la Martinez
Odaline de la Martinez (born 31 October 1949) is a Cuban-American composer and conductor, currently residing in the UK. She is the artistic director of Lontano, a London-based contemporary music ensemble which she co-founded in 1976 with New Zeala ...
. This two-CD release also includes transfers of all of the excerpts from the opera recorded by Smyth in 1916.
The overture features on recordings by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...
conducted by Ronald Corp
Ronald Geoffrey Corp, (born 4 January 1951) is a composer, conductor and Anglican priest. He is founder and artistic director of the New London Orchestra (NLO) and the New London Children's Choir. Corp is musical director of the London Chorus, a ...
(Dutton Laboratories, CDLX 7276), and by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisatio ...
conducted by Rumon Gamba
Rumon Gamba (born 24 November 1972) is a British conductor.
Biography
Gamba studied music at Durham University, and then went to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied conducting with Colin Metters, George Hurst and Sir Colin ...
(Chandos, CHAN 10898).
Two arias sung by Mrs Waters ("What if I were young again" and "Suppose you mean to do a given thing") have been recorded by EMI as part of a CD of Ethel Smyth's music.AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
British Composers: Ethel Smyth, EMI distribution 567426-2
Retrieved 1 March 2013.
References
Notes
Cited sources
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External links
*
Primavera Productions' description of the opera and its 2007 production
Performance details
Finborough Theatre
The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...
, 2007
Retrospect Opera: ''The Boatswain's Mate''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boatswains Mate, The
English-language operas
Operas by Ethel Smyth
English comic operas
1914 operas
Operas
Operas set in the British Isles
One-act operas