In 1877, after furious battles with her father, who was against the education of girls, Ethel Smyth was enrolled at the famous Leipzig Conservatory in Germany to study musical composition. Her public debut was in London in 1890 and in 1893, her Mass in D was performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Her work also gained popularity in mainland Europe and her first opera, "Der Wald" was premiered in Berlin in 1902. Her most successful opera, "The Wreckers" was first performed in 1906.
Ethel Smyth's work was influenced by the suffrage movement. In 1910 she attended her first suffrage rally and the following year she composed the suffrage battle-cry "March of the Women". She is reputed to have conducted this with a toothbrush while serving time in Holloway Prison. Ethel Smyth continued to compose major works until she was in her sixties, when poor hearing forced her to stop.
