Erica Jeal, The Guardian
Completed in 1932, when Vaughan Williams was already working on his
Fourth Symphony, Riders to the Sea is based on JM Synge's play about a
mother from the Aran Islands who gains release when her last surviving
son dies by drowning, like his five brothers before him. It lasts for
only 40 minutes, which is one reason it is so seldom heard: what on
earth to put alongside it?
ENO's solution is inspired.
Leave a comment