Smyth's Der Wald and Respighi's Lucrezia review – Wagner's spirit presides over double bill

omg u gotta check out this new opera at guildhall school!!! they're doing these super rare works by ethel Smyth and ottorino respighi and i'm literally obsessed with the production of lucrezia... i mean, have u seen gabriella Giulietta Noble as la voce? she's giving me LIFE!!! 🙌 also, the way they've incorporated wagner's music into both works is so fascinating... like, u can really hear the influence in respighi's score 🎵 and stephen barlow's production of der wald is pretty cool too, even if the climax feels a bit lacking 😐 but overall, i think lucrezia is a total game-changer for operatic canon 🤩
 
omg u gotta check out this double bill at the guildhall school 🤩 - ethel smyth's der walde and ottorino respighi's lucrezia are both stunning, but in totally different ways! Der walde is like a dark & moody forest with these beautiful but troubled lovers, but the production could work on getting that last bit of energy to pop 🤔. on the other hand, lucrezia is like this gorgeous, haunting opera that just takes you under its spell - i loved how they used music from wagner's contemporaries to give it that extra edge 💥. all in all, both are super compelling & worth seeing, especially if u're into opera 🎶
 
🌫️ Opera season is already feeling like a slog. First off, Der Wald was premiered 120 years ago and it's still got some of the most outdated ideas about women and social class 🙄. I mean, a pseudo-Valkyrie riding around on a motorbike? Give me a break. And don't even get me started on the underwhelming climax... 😴

On the other hand, Lucrezia is actually kinda dark and twisted in its own way, like something straight out of an Agatha Christie novel 📚. But let's be real, it's still based on a true story about a woman who was basically raped by her own brother 👎. And the modern courtroom setting feels like a shallow attempt to make the plot more relatable... not buying it.

Overall, I'd say Lucrezia is a bit of a standout in this double bill, but only because it's so much better than Der Wald 😐.
 
OMG 🤩 u gotta see these operas!! Der Wald is soooo dark & romantic but like the orchestra needs to bring it up a notch 🎵 and respighi's lucrezia tho 😍 i loved how they put it in a modern courtroom setting, gabriella's performance as la voce was EVERYTHING 💁‍♀️ but i gotta agree wagner's influence is all over these scores, it's like u can feel his presence in the music 🌟 and respighi's lucrezia is defo the standout opera here, it's so compelling & dramatic 💥
 
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