Dame Ethel Smyth’s one act opera Der Wald is certainly of some historical interest. It was the first opera by a woman given at the Metropolitan Opera. That was in 1903 and 113 years would pass before the Met did another one; Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de loin in 2016.
It’s about an hour log and in English (sort of). Musically it’s pretty good but the libretto is rather awful. The plot concerns a forester and his fiancée, a deer hidden in a well (and anyone who has seen Tosca knows what a good idea that is!), a vengeful aristocrat who happens to be the mistress of the local lord and a peddler. In a nut shell, the hero Heinrich chooses to be executed for poaching rather than “serve” the lady Iolanthe. I suppose that’s no dafter than a lot of opera plots but throw in a sort of archaic English that makes the libretto sound like it was written by a drunk Pre-Raphaelite and ’tis pity ’tis so twee. Continue reading
Here’s a preview of things to see/listen to next week. It’s Met in HD season again and the next two Saturdays have broadcasts. On the 7th it’s Bellini’s Norma with Sondra Radvanovsky and Joyce DiDonato. It’s a David McVicar production and no prizes for guessing what happens when you cross McVicar and druids. On the 14th it’s Die Zauberflöte with the Resident Groundhog conducting. It’s the Julie Taymor production but given in full in German rather than the abridged ‘for kids” version. The best thing about the cast is René Pape’s Sarastro.
operaramblings 