No 8 — November 1977 Edited by Michael Walters
YET FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE
19 August 1977 Dear Michael, Thank you for sending me a further number of "Gilbertian Gossip". I thoroughly enjoy reading them, although to know what some producers get up to gives me the shudders. At the end of March last, I saw the Bath Operatic Society's production of Iolanthe, which was fairly good except for a huge bunch of Union Jacks which descended from the flies over Lord Mountararat to stress Good Queen Bess's Glorious Days. This was harmless compared to the encore of "If you go in", trio, when the Lord Chancellor came on cluttered with a bottle of beer and three glasses. In flinging his arm wide he threw the contents of one of the glasses over one of the lords. Cheap & very unfunny! Some producers should be sacked on the spot, even Kent Opera's. I was very surprised at his stupid changes, for I had previously read glowing reports of Kent Opera. With best wishes, Frank Bagguley.
RALPH MASON
On October 5th, John ("Ralph") Mason and his wife Ann Sessions entertained the Gilbert and Sullivan Society. The following items were performed: A Wand'ring Minstrel; T'is done, I am a Bride; I shipped d'ye see; I leant upon a Rock; Prithee Pretty Maiden; When first my old old love; O Goddess Wise; Is Life a Boon; A Lady Fair; Would You know the kind of Maid?; The Sun whose Rays; Were you not to Koko plighted; Free from his fetters Grim; The Battles Roar; Love feeds on many kinds of food; Hushed is the Bacon; If somebody there chanced to be; Oh is there not one maiden breast; Love is a plaintive song; A tenor all singers above; Take a pair of Sparkling Eyes. John was in excellent voice and linked the numbers with a delightfully informal and whimsically good–humoured banter. He was obviously enjoying himself too.
ANOTHER MOCK TRIAL
On Sunday October 9th at Questors Theatre, Ealing, Barnes & Richmond O.S. gave a musical trial for two performances, of which I attended the second. The American Musical Comedy was on trial for the murder of the British Musical Comedy. It was of course an excuse to present numbers from a wide range of musicals, (the "evidence"). Richard Matthiae at his most seasondly whimsical was the Judge, and Alan Titchmarsh was the prosecuting barrister. As always, he turned in a splendid performance.
MISCELLANY
In the G & S Journal 1926, Violet M. Brown pronounced that Gilbert's 6 best lyrics were, in her opinion:– 1. If you want a receipt; 2. Ghost Song; 3. Were I thy Bride; 4. He loves!; 5. To a garden full of posies; 6. Small titles & orders. Can I have comments please? [There were none! Ed.]
Some years ago I used to publish in THE SAVOYARD an annual census of the relative popularity of the operas based on the number of times they were performed by amateurs. (John Wolfson has kindly suggested that this census should be revived.) It is interesting to compare this with two censuses taken in 1926. The first of these was by George Heumen, who said that the order of popularity was as follows: 1. Gondoliers, 2. Yeomen, 3. Mikado, 4. Iolanthe, 5. Pirates, 6. Ruddigore, 7. Ida, 8. Utopia, 9. Trial, 10. Patience, 11. Pinafore, 12. Sorcerer. He added that The Mountebanks, The Emerald Isle and Haddon Hall were all being played but that few were attracted to them.
The second was a G & S Journal "Popularity Poll" compounded from private communications from members. This runs:– 1. Mikado, 2. Gondoliers, 3. Yeomen, 4. Iolanthe, 5. Patience, 6. Pinafore, 7. Pirates, 8. Ruddigore, 9. Ida, 10. Trial, 11. Sorcerer.
Selwyn's vitriolic crits of Cambridge University G & S Society productions have been a regular feature of these pages, and those who do not know him might be tempted to think that his personality was as vitriolic as his pen. Nothing could be further from the truth. I first "met" him by correspondence, and in the first few years of our acquaintenceship we met but seldom. It was a friendship that grew slowly but no less surely for that. He is one of the most regular and voluminous correspondents I know, so much so that I have now had to remove his correspondence files from the main series in my filing cabinet and give him a special box all to himself! When, a year or so ago, he spent two whole days in the Cambridge University library copying out for me by hand the entire 1ibretto of the m/s of Planche's first English translation of Marschner's "Der Vampyr", I realised the importance of having such friends. He is a very good pianist, and sympathetic accompanist. He says his greatest regret is that he can't sing but having heard him "try", I can say with authority that his voice is better than some amateur singers I have heard who rather fancy themselves.
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