Day 170
Benedict The Lilly of Killarney
Soloists
BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra
Stanford Robinson
This is the third of the operas forming the English Ring. Given that the other two were written by Irish men and this one has an Irish story and was written by a German-born composer the nickname seems completely inappropriate.
The only recording I could find was a very poor quality third-generation copy of a BBC broadcast from the 1960s so it was very hard to really appreciate the details of the score. But this was none the less a good opera. There are touches of Weber everywhere - not least in the choruses which do seem first cousins of the choruses in Oberon and Der Freischütz perhaps not surprising as Benedict was a pupil of Weber and later wrote a biography of him. There is some really effective dramatic music here without too much of the rum-ti-tum that one often finds in early romantic opera but also some beautiful lyric passages which have some delightful light touches. The most famous number from the opera is the duet The Moon hath raised her lamp above, a great favourite in parlour get togethers and ballad concerts - it is surprisingly effective in context and does linger in the memory long after it has been sung.
I'd really like to hear a good recording of this opera to have a chance to appreciate all of the detail - but until that comes along I am glad to have the opportunity to hear the work. Of the three operas in the English Ring I am clear that The Bohemian Girl is, by some distance, the weakest. Between this and Maritana I can't decided a preference. The latter is perhaps the strongest overall but The Lilly might well have some of the best individual moments.
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