QUAINTNESS REMAINDERED: Wally Mason tells Us that How Quaint the Ways of Paradox, an annotated G&S bibliography by Philip H. Dillard, which was reviewed in these pages some months ago, is available from Edward R. Hamilton, Booksellers, of Falls Village, CT 060315000. Hamilton deals in remaindered books, and is charging only $9.95 for this really pretty good little volume of facts order it as Book #745596 before they're all gone!
SASSM INDEX: An Index to the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society Magazine, Nos. 140, 19771995, by Geoffrey Dixon, published in association with the SASS, is now available. Send £6.00 post paid (US $10, post paid by airmail) by cheque made payable to G. Dixon, to Mr. G. Dixon, 93, Carcluie Crescent, Ayr, Scotland KA7 4SZ.
G&S PHOTOS: Mr. Dixon has also created The Gilbert & Sullivan Photofinder, An index to published illustrations of Savoy Opera, published by Rhosearn Press, 1995. It's a 270 page softcover volume, ISBN: 0 9525532 0 1, available for US $28 (airmail post. paid), in return for a cheque payable to G. Dixon and sent to Rhosearn Press, 93, Carcluie Crescent, Ayr, Scotland KA7 4SZ.
CDs SIGHTED: I just picked up a couple of CDs for $1.49 each at Odd Job Trading. They're called "Operetta Highlights" Vol 1 and 2 and include selections by Martyn Green, singing MajorGeneral Song, Little List and TitWillow; Nightmare Song and Flowers That Bloom. These were from a recording he did for Columbia Records in the 50s. The CDs also have Nelson Eddy and others doing the usual operetta stuff. I don't know if these discs are likely to turn up in Boston, but you've been alerted. They're Sony Music Special Products releases, 1993. FRANCES YASPRICA
"ARTHUR SULLIVAN" by Jacobs Remaindered (Still). An example of 'netting joys: Ralph MacPhail, the Savoynet administrator, placed the following on the net in late August: Yesterday's mail brought Catalog #61 from Berkshire Record Outlet Inc., Rte. 102 Pleasant Street, RR 1, Lee MA 012389804. In addition to LPs, Cassettes, and CDs of G&S and S interest (old D'Oyly Carte reissues, overtures, Sullivan Songs, etc.), they are offering, in their remaindered book section:
"B296: Jacobs, Arthur Arthur Sullivan A Victorian Musician Revised version of the composer's biography. 494 pages including musical illustrations + photos AMADEUS PRESS: HARDCOVER 1992 11.99." Address is above; 800 number is 18009921200 for orders ($15.00 minimum). Hours: Mon.Sat. 10:00 to 5:00 ET. FAX 14132434340. Internet Address: BerkRedOut @aol.com (from Titipu: ara@kiisnet.kiis.or.jp)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REVIEWS:
I faced a very unusual situation when I attended the College Light Opera Company's SORCERER. I left with the feeling that I had seen a very good performance. What made it unusual was that I have been accustomed to much better than that from CLOC!
The music was superb throughout, both the orchestra and the singing. Adam Burdick (Alexis) I have praised in my earlier review of MIKADO. But I had overlooked the excellent Laura Murphy (Aline), Laura Sosnowski (Constance), and Martin C. Hurt (Dr. Daly), who had been in the chorus for that earlier production.
Nick Paone (John Wellington Wells) was masterful in this role, as he has been in the others I have seen him in (Jack Point, KoKo, and others) over the past three years. His prestidigitation was well done, except that the flashes of light brought about by his incantation were too far removed from the area where he had been conjuring. But the rest of the cast suffered, in my estimation, from problems in directing. For example, Alexis sat Aline down on a seat at the corner of the stage, and then turned his back to her and sang a love song to the Music Director! The chemistry between the two was unconvincing, even apart from that.
The "Wild with adoration" duet between Sir Marmaduke and Lady Sangazure is intrinsically difficult to act convincingly, I think, but they came close. The setting was a minuet at the wedding banquet, with all but the singer going into a freeze during the asides. If they had been able to put a spotlight on the singer and dim the lights on the rest of the stage, it would have been even better.
There was one girl in the wedding party costumed as a preadolescent. This only distracted, making me wonder how they were going to pair her up. They took care of it satisfactorily, arranging for her to unobtrusively slip offstage as the others paired up. I can only conclude that she was costumed that way because the numbers were not even. And a serving girl carried in a huge ham, in "Now to the banquet we press", but she carried it as if it weighed nothing! All in all, very minor problems, but just not up to the extremely high standards CLOC had measured up to in the past. DICK FREEDMAN
Glimmerglass YEOMEN: I am writing to give you my thoughts after seeing a Sunday matinee performance of Glimmerglass Opera YEOMEN. After a very enjoyable IOLANTHE last year, I was disappointed in the YEOMEN production. The sets and costumes were shared with the Welsh National Opera production, which debuted earlier this year to mixed notices. The director, Tim Harris, who was imported from the WNO production, was new to Glimmerglass (and to me). He has directed some G&S and opera in the UK (including a D'Oyly Carte GONDOLIERS).
The set was awkward and cramped, giving the soloists and chorus little room to maneuver. The director had a number of principals (most notably Phoebe) clutching at the wall representing the "bloody tower." And numbers that were staged well, such as the "Merryman and his Maid" and "Hereupon we're both agreed" were unable to sustain much momentum into the subsequent scenes.
The performances were generally fine, although Marguerite Krull as Phoebe was hampered by bizarre instructions from the director early in Act I. The standout performer was Stephen Powell, who was a singing Jack Point. Unfortunately, his "death" scene was clumsily staged.
Nonetheless, it was great to hear the music performed by topnotch musicians in a wonderfully intimate setting in Cooperstown. I hope the next production (I'm hoping for PATIENCE or GONDOLIERS) will be directed by Dorothy Danner, who handled MIKADO and IOLANTHE so admirably
M. CAREY LEAHEY
BUXTON REVISITED: We've received much email from many sources concerning this year's Festival, its outcome, and plans for next year. The following is a hash of whatever We've received, without specific attribution. Thanks to Don Smith, Dick Freedman, Debra Hanggeli, Peter Zavon, and anyone else whose name We may have lost in Cyberspace mlc.
The Second International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival took place in Buxton, England from July 30 through August 13,1995. The Final Order of Performances, in chronological order, was:
30 July John Reed and His Friends
31 July PATIENCE [Wakefield G&S Society, Wakefield, UK]
1 Aug. PINAFORE [Houston G&S Society, Houston, Texas]
2 Aug. THE CHIEFTAIN [Dagger Lane Operatic Society, Hull, UK]
3 Aug. PIRATES [Manx G&S Society, Douglas, Isle of Man]
4 Aug. YEOMEN [Rose Hill Musical Society, UK]
5 Aug. SORCERER [Stars of the Original D'Oyly Carte Company]
6 Aug. RUDDIGORE [South Anglia Savoy Players, South Anglia, UK]
7 Aug. MIKADO [The Savoy Company, Philadelphia, PA, USA]
8 Aug. PIRATES [The Essex Group, Essex, England]
9 Aug. IDA [The Lamplighters, San Francisco, CA, USA]
10 Aug. IOLANTHE [Hancock County G&S Society, Maine, USA]
11 Aug. GONDOLIERS [Festival Production]
12 Aug. SORCERER [Stars of the Original D'Oyly Carte Company]
St. Mary's Roman Catholic High School was the first runnerup in last year's festival with their innovative GONDOLIERS. As they were not doing G&S this year, they were invited to participate as a fringe group, on 13 Aug., with Jesus Christ Superstar.
The winners of the various competitive categories at the Festival were presented during a Gala Awards Banquet in the style of the Oscar Awards, complete with video clips of the nominated performances. The International Festival Winner was determined by a point system based on maximum points assigned by the Adjudicator in predefined categories. The Adjudicator, David Turner, observed that in 1994 only one company accumulated 90 points or more, but this year (1995) four companies had done so.
International Festival Winner: The Lamplighters (San Francisco, CA) [Hooray for the USA!!!]
First RunnerUp: Houston G&S Society (Houston, TX)
Second RunnerUp: The Essex Group (Essex, England)
Best Overseas Society: The Lamplighters (San Francisco, CA)
Special Adjudicator's Award (discretionary) to Melissa Wortman for Costume Design in the Lamplighter's production of IDA
Best Female Performer: Sally Brown as Rose Maybud in RUDDIGORE
Best Male Performer: Paul Lazell as Roderick Murgatroyd in RUDDIGORE
Best Character Actress: Betsy Walker as Katisha in MIKADO
Best Character Actor: John Craige as Major General Stanley in PIRATES (Manx G&S)
Best Producer (Best Stage Director, in American terms): Barbara Heroux for the Lamplighter's IDA Best Musical Directors: Robert Linder for Houston G&S PINAFORE
Best Supporting Female: Lisa Young as Buttercup in PINAFORE
Best Supporting Male: Mick Wilson as Dick Dauntless in RUDDIGORE
Best Female Singer: Kimberly Lane as Josephine in PINAFORE
Best Male Singer: Baker Peeples as Hilarion in IDA
Best Choral Item: "Hail Poetry" from the Essex Group's PIRATES
Best Concerted Item: The Act II Madrigal, "Brightly Shines" from MIKADO
Space does not permit Us to list all the runnersup, but it should be known that nearly every show had at least one nomination in at least one category. This was clearly an excellent set of productions and when We think that performers, sets, costumes, etc., all had to "sail to this island, tossing in a manner frightful" and deal with jet lag before even thinking of setting up to perform well, We're impressed.
We're looking forward to Don Smith's Buxton Diary in the next Bray. mlc
NB: Next Year's Festival Starts in Philadelphia! Ian Smith, the Festival Director, is now on SavoyNet, and posted this message:
Here is how you apply to participate in next year's Festival simply fax Int + 44 1422 355604 or phone Int + 44 1422 539161 or write to me at The Old Vicarage, Haley Hill, Halifax HX3 6DR England with details of your show. Ideally I need a video of a recent production. However if, as Chicago are discussing, you decided to stage a composite production, it would be good to let me have videos of existing groups. And of course please remember that I will be crossing to the States in September/October and happy to meet with you at that time.
I am planning two of the original D'Oyly Carte productions for Philadelphia SORCERER and RUDDIGORE and I should be in a position to announce the cast in the coming days. I anticipate two performances of each (probably matinee and evening). The cast is looking very exciting.
The dates for 1996 are: Philadelphia: Saturday July 20th to Sunday July 28th. Buxton: Sunday August 4th to Sunday 18th inclusive.
[Is it time to plan a NEGASS trip to Philly? mlc]
:) :o :) ;o :) :o :) ;o :) :o :) ;o :) :o :) ;o :)
Strange SavoyNet Games: In case you think all Savoyards are dull dogs indeed, heavily debating deep topics, here's an example of normal SavoyNet silliness, sent to Us by Randi Kestin:
Cast for MUPPET MIKADO:
NankiPoo ... Kermit
Katisha ... Miss Piggy
(I think they should change names to KermiePoo and PiggySha; sing to yourself the line "I claim my perjured lover, KermiePoo!" and you'll see why.)
KoKo ... Fozzie
PoohBah ... Sam the Eagle
PishTush ... Gonzo
(I especially thrill to the idea of these last three performing "I Am So Proud"!!)
YumYum ... the Human Guest Star
PittiSing ... Carmilla (Gonzo's favorite Chicken, ends up with PishTush)
PeepBo ... another chicken
(This would yield, I think, a delicious "Three Little Maids". )
Mikado ... Animal
Now what about a Muppet TRIAL BY JURY?!?!?! BRIAN SWEENEY
:) :o :) ;o :) :o :) ;o :) :o :) ;o :) :o :) ;o :)
SAVOYNET: It's been a while since We published directions to Savoynet in the Bray it's about time for a refresher: The last We heard, you join by sending the message SUBSCRIBE SAVOYNET to listserv @bridgewater.edu. Email your contributions to the conversation to savoynet@bridgewater.edu.
~~~~~~~///////~~~~~~~~~~~~~///////~~~~~
CALENDAR:
The Connecticut G&SS will present SORCERER, directed by Bob Cumming with assistance and costume coordination by Lucy Weed (popular folks with the NEGASS cognoscenti), on 10/27 &28 at 8 PM, and 10/29 at 2 PM. Call 18008661606 for tix & info.
Auditions for the HarvardRadcliff G&S Society's Fall show, YEOMEN, will be held during the week of September 18, through Harvard's Common Casting process call the HarvardRadcliff Dramatic Club (4963030) for casting schedules and further details. Performances are planned for 11/3012/9. Eileen St. David, new NEGASS member and lauded director of Harvard's recent PATIENCE, will be directing YEOMEN as well. For more information contact Paul Galvez <pgalvez@fas.harvard.edu> (617) 4932862 or Paul Titterton <pftitter @fas.harvard.edu> (617) 4933119.
HRG&SS has also been rehearsing TRIAL all summer, We hear, with performances planned for Sept. 29 & 30 and Oct. 57. (Wayne Vargas should be wonderful as the Judge!) Call (617) 4964747 for more info.
The celebrated Hancock County G&S Society will perform in concert on October 7 at 7:30 PM, sponsored by the Monson Arts Council of Monson, MA. Call Susan Costa at (413) 2675178 or Barbara Keffer at (413)2674286 for more info.
Boston Conservatory will be staging RUDDIGORE October 1921 at 8 PM; 10/2122 at 2 PM, and 10/22 at 7 PM at 31 Heminway St. in Boston. Tix are $15 and $10. Call their box office at (617) 5363063 for more info.
The Savoyard Light Opera Co. will perform Romberg & Hammerstein's operetta, The New Moon [Yes We know it isn't] on November 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 & 19. Call (508) 3717562 for more info.
The MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players will present SORCERER November 11, 16, 17, & 18 at 8 PM, and November 12 & 18 at 2 PM in La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center, 84 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. Stage Director is Wayne Vargas (last year's MITG&SP Lord Chancellor, and previously director of IO at Harvard); Music Director is Bruce Miller (director of last year's IO at Holy Cross) with assistance from mlc; and producer is NEGASS's own Dick Freedman. Ticket prices range from $6 to $10. To order tickets call: (617) 2530191, email: savoyardsrequest@ mit.edu, or WWW form: http://www.mit. edu:8001/activities/gsp/reservations.html
The longstanding and excellent Amherst, MA, group, Valley Light Opera, plans PRINCESS IDA on 11/35 and 10 & 11. Call (413) 5488119 or 2539662 for more info. [Perhaps a group of potential Sudbury Savoyard auditionees ought to plan to attend together...]
Boston Academy of Music plans a double bill of TRIAL/SORCERER "set in the Roaring 20s and... presented as companion pieces with many of their characters in common." [We hope Aline isn't The Plaintiff!] The one performance will be 11/24 at 8 PM in Sanders Theater, Harvard U. Director: Richard Conrad; Conductor: Ernest Green. Familiar names in the cast (besides Richard himself) include David Murray, Mark Nemeskal and David Stoneman. Tix are $35, $25 and $15. Call (617) 2420055 for tix & info.
The Sudbury Savoyards will hold their annual "tworing circus" (Meet the Directors party) on November 20, in preparation for November 27 and 29th auditions for their March '96 production, PRINCESS IDA. Directors for this year's production are Jim Ravan (Music) and Marion Leeds Carroll (Staging). As usual, all proceeds will benefit the United Methodist Church's Fund for World Hunger. Call (508) 4438811 or email savoyard @sudbury.ultranet.com for more info.
LincolnSudburyConcordCarlisle residents: Check the catalog of the LSHS Adult Ed Program for news of A Savoyard Singalong on Monday evening, 10/28, to be presented by the Sudbury Savoyards.
We're told that the Huntington Theater Co. of BU will definitely produce IOLANTHE, dates being Jan. 5 Feb. 4, 1996. Call their box office at 2660800 for more info.
Dame Rumour Whispers that Curtain Call Theater in Braintree is planning MIKADO for 3/96. We called (617) 3565113 for further info, & got a tape but no human reply does anyone know more?
Noted by new member William S. Kelly: The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players will be on tour, performing PINAFORE May 11 at 2 PM and 8 PM at the Shubert in New Haven, CT. Phone numbers, anyone?
The Sudbury Savoyards have just launched their own newsletter, called The Sudbury Savoyards' Sandwich Board, and are talking about a small, nonmusical summer production in '96... more news as it breaks!
THE NEW ENGLAND GILBERT AND SULLIVAN SOCIETY
PO Box 367, Arlington, MA 021740004
President RICHARD FREEDMAN
(617) 6309525 ~ wk/voice mail: (508) 8804032
email: freedman.richard@mail.ndhm.gtegsc.com
Vice President PATRICIA BREWER: (617) 3233480
Secretary CAROL MAHONEY: (617) 6481720 Membership Officer BILL MAHONEY: (617) 6481720
Treasurer CARL WEGGEL: (508) 4740396 Program Chair SHELDON HOCHMAN: (508) 8427617 Editor MARION LEEDS CARROLL: (617) 6469115
email: mlcar@ibm.net
NEGASS membership dues are $15 and up. Please send membership inquiries to Bill Mahoney at NEGASS, PO. Box 367, Arlington, MA 021740004.
Marion
Page created 28 Nov 1996