Thurza, the minister's faithless wife, alone protests against their
cruelty and hypocrisy, and persuades her lover, a young fisherman, to
light fires in order to warn mariners from the dangerous coast. The
treachery, as it seems to the rest of the villagers, of Thurza and her
lover is discovered, and after a rough-and-ready trial they are left in
a cavern close to the sea to be overwhelmed by the rising tide. Miss
Smyth's music is spoken of as strongly dramatic, and marked by a keen
sense of characterisation.
The operas of Mr. Isidore de Lara, a composer who, in spite of his name,
is said to be of English extraction, may conveniently be mentioned
here. It is generally understood that the production of these works at
Covent Garden was due to causes other than their musical value, but in
any case they do not call for detailed criticism. Mr. de Lara's earlier
works, 'The Light of Asia,' 'Amy Robsart,' and 'Moina' failed
completely. There is better work in 'Messaline' (1899). The musical
ideas are poor in quality, but the score is put together in a
workmanlike manner, and the orchestration is often clever. The libretto,
which recounts the intrigues of the Empress Messalina with two brothers,
Hares and Helion, a singer and a gladiator, is in the highest degree
repellent, and it would need far better music than Mr. de Lara's to
reconcile a London audience to so outrageous a subject.
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