https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCINklHDhokzskRworH2jgfA
ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF THE YOUTUBE FILMS OF THE EXQUISITE OPERA LURLINE
Waterford-born William Vincent Wallace (1812–1865) was an extraordinary musical personality – composer, virtuoso on two instruments, and an intrepid adventurer with several hair-raising experiences to relate. Recognised as the first great instrumentalist to visit Australia where he was known as the ‘Australian Paganini’, he then travelled through South and North America, playing Irish music everywhere he went, before returning to London for the production of his first opera, Maritana, which was an outstanding success; despite all the plaudits, Maritana is virtually unknown today, even in Ireland.
Lurline was Wallace’s third opera – its first performance delayed by some years before its production on 23 February 1860 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden by the Pyne-Harrison English Opera Company with both Louisa Pyne and her husband William Harrison, in the leading roles. Like its predecessor, Lurline was pronounced a great triumph – and it continued its run in Dublin and the United States as well as Melbourne and Sydney. But, Lurline has also sunk without trace – its last performance probably took place in 1939 given by the Dublin Opera Society – a production dogged by bad luck when both the soprano and mezzo leads suffered laryngitis and had to speak most of their parts. The present performance project has had an equal share of bad luck as it should have taken place in 2022 but was cancelled at a late stage due to Covid before being rescheduled two years later. It seems its time to start rewriting Lurline’s performance history…
The National Symphony Orchestra Ireland is conducted by the highly-regarded Péter Halász, principal guest conductor of the Hungarian State Opera; this is Halász’s Irish debut. The cast is led by Irish soprano Rachel Kelly in the title role – ‘sheerly lustrous’ and ‘compelling’ (The Times); the Portuguese tenor, Luis Gomes as Count Rudolph – a ‘riveting performer’ with a ‘thrilling top register’ (The Guardian), Ashley Riches (Rhineberg, the river king) – the ‘rich and profoundly expressive bass-baritone’ (Opera Today) and the Irish mezzo-soprano Gemma Ní Bhriain (Ghiva) – ‘musicianly’ and ‘solid as a rock’ (Irish Times). Four further solo roles are sung by Thomas D. Hopkinson (Zelieck, the gnome), Rory Dunne (Baron Truenfels), Anna Brady (Liba) and William Pearson (Wilhelm).
An important aim of this production is to promote Wallace’s melodious and dramatic score to new generations of audiences worldwide through the free-to-view audio-visual materials. A previous recording of the opera was released by Victorian Opera Northwest (UK) in 2010, conducted by Maestro Richard Bonynge, who deserves great credit for his work on this lovely CD and his constant championship of Wallace’s music. For the present project, it was decided to perform the score without any cuts. As the work is almost three hours long this, in itself, presented particular challenges: – it’s a big sing for the principal cast particularly with the large orchestra on stage rather than in a pit but, on the other hand, it provided a golden opportunity to showcase Wallace’s complete score in its full glory. There was always the danger that the audience would tire and leave before the conclusion, yet all remained in their seats to the end when there was a spontaneous standing ovation.
Perhaps it was Wallace’s travels around the globe that drew him to the Lorelei story on which Lurline is based; it, in turn, attracted several other nineteenth-century composers. Clemens Brentano’s Zu Bacharach am Rheine (1802) is a chilling tale of the Rhine Maiden who lured sailors to a watery grave with her singing. The malevolent Lurline is mostly absent in Wallace’s opera but the heroine still retains her steely resolve demonstrating beneath her cold exterior a thoroughly-modern and confident woman who knows her own mind. When Lurline decides to save her love interest, Count Rudolph, from the conspirators who have determined to kill him, she weaves a spell through a dramatic incantation so the river rises and drowns them.
Lurline gives Rudolph a magic ring which allows him to survive underwater. This ring becomes the opera’s touchstone – it is lost and refound – prompting obvious (more modern) comparisons to The Lord of the Rings but, more specifically, to Wagner’s Ring cycle; Lurline actually anticipated Das Rheingold by some years in setting an operatic scene beneath the waters of the Rhine. It’s also hard to ignore some obvious Irish overtones in Wallace’s score, particularly through the trope of the harp which Lurline plays at pivotal moments – a detail completely absent from her Lorelei counterpart. Further folk elements may be traced in several numbers including Rudolph’s air: ‘Sweet form that in my dreamy gaze’ [clip 12] – given a folksy twist with a series of rising and falling thirds.
Wallace’s sumptuous orchestral writing is evident throughout. The overture is deftly composed [clip 1]; it was published separately in Paris where it remained a popular concert overture for many years. Further opportunities for the orchestra to shine include the horns and woodwind in the splendid hunting chorus ‘Come away to the chase’ [clip 17] and the introduction to Act 3 [clip 22] where Wallace uses the solo cello to poignant effect. He also gave the cello a memorable theme in the excellent Act 2 Finale [clip 20]. Another noteworthy aspect of his instrumentation is its constant underpinning of the drama in realistic recreations of the howling wind and lapping waters – this is expertly achieved in one of the stand-out numbers of the opera – Lurline’s cavatina, ‘The Night Winds’ [clip 5]. It seems likely that Wallace was drawn to the watery context of the Lorelei story and, with his travels around the globe, he was certainly familiar with stormy seas but its seems likely he was thinking of an oceanic environment rather than the river and further confusion exists in the libretto by Edward Fitzball (1793-1873) where coral caves make the backdrop to Act 2; such caves could not exist deep in the Rhine.
An array of sparkling numbers for Lurline include two early in the opera: ‘The naiad’s spell’ [clip 3] and ‘The night winds’, already mentioned – both real showstoppers. The crowning glory is Lurline’s magnificent grand scena in Act 3: ‘Sad as my soul’ [clip 26] with the beautiful ‘Sweet Spirit, Hear my Prayer’ a song which took on a life of its own, continuing to enjoy celebrity for many years to come. Lurline’s effective and dramatic incantation in Act 3 [clip 30] is also worthy of note - as it powerfully summons the waters of the Rhine to rise and drown Rudolph’s assailants.
The character of Rudolph is sympathetically drawn with great lyricism albeit with some naivety. Noteworthy highlights include ‘Home of my heart’ [clip 23], and ‘Oh Lurline, my naiad queen’[clip 29] as well as the air ‘Sweet form’, already mentioned. Rhineberg is a commanding and sometimes terrifying presence but is still given the opportunity to show his softer, more fatherly side. The dramatic ‘Suspicion tortures me’ is cleverly partnered with ‘The nectar cup’ [clips 18 & 19] to show the different aspects of his character. Ghiva, Lurline’s rival for Rudolph’s affections is a spoilt and scheming character – she makes an engaging foil in the comic partnership with her father, Baron Truenfels who, in turn, brings more than a drop of humour to the proceedings. In terms of the plot, Ghiva redeems herself at the end of the opera and her ballad, ‘Gentle troubadour’[clip 16] contains much pathos.
The Gnome has the most successful comic song, ‘The Drinking Song’ [clip 15] – a great buffo aria where his intoxication develops throughout adorned with hiccups and the rest! Liba provides support to Lurline and shares with her the rondo ‘Take this cup of sparkling wine’ [clip 13] which bears more than a passing resemblance to the much later G&S creation ‘Take a pair of sparkling eyes’. Perhaps, another assessment awaits into the influence of works such as Lurline on the Savoy operas… (but, this is another day’s work…!) Wilhelm is a friend to Rudolph sympathising with him at the failure of his marriage proposal to Ghiva; their duet ‘Here’s Lord Rudolph’ [clip 9] is an effective number ably supported by the male chorus.
Wallace utilises the chorus to excellent effect all the way through this opera, and it frequently forms the lynchpin to the narrative, interjecting with energy and drama at key moments. Among the most powerful are: ‘Sail, sail!’ [clip 4], ‘Drain the cup of pleasure’ [clip 8], ‘Come away to the chase’ [clip 17], and ’Gold and Wine’ [clip 24], while the touching ‘Ave Maria’ [clip 19], lamenting the loss of Count Rudolph (who is of course not dead but with Lurline in the deep waters of the Rhine), acts as a foil to the more dynamic numbers. All the finales, and in particular the one to Act 2, are noteworthy not least for Wallace’s rousing use of the chorus. In the end, Rudolph is carried down to Lurline’s golden palace deep in the waters of the Rhine where they live happily ever after while Rhineberg rises above the waves in majestic splendour to bring the opera to a close.
Wallace’s Lurline is full of dramatic imagination and beautiful music so it seems such a pity that it has not been staged for the best part of a century. Hopefully, some enthusiastic opera company will consider giving Lurline the staged performance it so justly deserves. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy exploring the full opera alongside the extensive collection of clips on the Heritage Music Productions YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCINklHDhokzskRworH2jgfA
and don’t forget to order your free CD box set of the full LURLINE from the SHOP
Una Hunt, Sept 2025.
My thanks to David Grant for providing the image of William Vincent Wallace
(Lithograph by D’Avignon for Bouquet of Melody, published by Wm. Hall & Son, New York 1851)
