A Buxton International Festival production.

Death was never going to confine the force of nature that was Ethel Smyth to obscurity for long.  A trailblazing composer, conductor and feminist; she was a breaker of windows for the suffragettes, and a breaker of glass ceilings for women musicians of the Victorian era. During her life she met discrimination towards her work with defiance.  She became the first woman to have an opera performed at the New York Met, she was the first woman composer to become a Dame, and in 2021 she was posthumously awarded her first Grammy.

Given that the tune for the suffragette’s anthem March of the Women is in the overture, it is perhaps unsurprising that The Boatswain’s Mate is often considered Smyth’s most ‘feminist’ opera. There’s also speculation that the protagonist is based on her great friend Emmeline Pankhurst.

The Boatswain’s Mate is a battle of the sexes, that centres on the feisty Mrs Waters, a widowed landlady who has no desire to remarry.  When one of her suitors, an ex-boatswain, attempts to ludicrously win her hand by concocting a fake robbery, she retaliates with aplomb. Smoking gun in hand, she proves she has no need for a knight in shining armour, but also perhaps that she’s not completely hardened to the idea of love.

Nick Bond directs, following his successes with Jonathan Dove’s The Enchanted Pig (2021) and assistant-directing La sonnambula (2023). The cast is led by soprano Elizabeth Findon and tenor Joshua Baxter. Rebecca Warren directs the Buxton Chamber Collective from the piano.

Music and libretto by Ethel Smyth, based on a story of the same name by W W Jacobs.

 

CAST

Elizabeth Findon Mrs Waters

Joshua Baxter Harry Benn

Theo Perry Ned Travers

Richard Woodall Policeman

Rebecca Anderson Mary Ann

 

CREATIVE TEAM

Rebecca Warren Musical Direction from the Piano

Nick Bond Director

Elliott Squire Designer

 

 

 

Click here to download the programme.

Dates

14, 19 Jul 2024

Price

£45

Concessions: £10 tickets are available for under 35 year olds who are part of the Friends of BIF's Next Gen Scheme.

Venue

Pavilion Arts Centre

Booking info

Dates, times & booking

  • Sun 14 Jul 2024 7.15pm - 8.35pm Sold Out
  • Fri 19 Jul 2024 7.15pm - 8.35pm Sold Out