The Boatswain's Mate
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The Boatswain's Mate is a comic opera in two acts written by British composer and suffragette Ethel Smyth in 1914. It was Smyth's fourth and most unabashedly feminist opera. The piece centers around a humorous battle of the sexes featuring a feisty and resourceful heroine, based loosely on Emmeline Pankhurst, who outwits her scheming suitor.
It was performed with full orchestra and chorus a number of time at the Royal Opera House, 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 theatre company at the Finborough Theatre in London in June 2007. This will be a fully costumed (but set-less) production with performances on 17, 18, and 24 June and 1 and 2 July.
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[edit] Synopsis
Mrs Waters, a wealthy widow, has been inherited from her late husband a country pub called The Beehive. She has no wish to remarry. Among Mrs Waters's customers is a retired boatswain, Harry Benn. When Benn's offers of marriage are rejected by Mrs Waters, he decides on a plot to win her heart. He persuades his new friend, ne'er do well solder Ned Travers, to dress up as a burglar and terrify Mrs Waters so that she will fall in love with him. But the plan is defeated thanks to Mrs Waters's courage (and her shotgun).
[edit] Vocal Parts
Mrs Waters (soprano)
Harry Benn (tenor)
Ned Travers (baritone)
Policeman (bass-baritone)
Mary-Ann (actress)
Male Chorus
[edit] Recordings
No complete recording of the 75 minute opera exists. However, 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.
