Gondolieri

[mrissa]

The Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company's webpage is here. They're doing "Princess Ida" next year. I've never seen "Princess Ida" and don't know what it's about, but we'll probably go, based on "The Gondoliers."

The scorecard said that "The Gondoliers" was not very popular in the US initially, and while I enjoyed it, I can see why: for one thing, it mocks republican ideals (note the little-r), and while G&S plays mock whatever comes their way, I can see how the Queen's Navy or the House of Peers would be a lot more comfortable objects of mockery for Americans at the time than republican/egalitarian sentiments. Also, there are three sets of young leads, rather than one, with no reduction in supporting cast to accompany it, so instead of one leading soprano you effectively need three. If you were putting on that kind of play in a small community, that would be more of a problem. GSVLOC seemed to do a good job of drawing in talent, so I had no complaints with any of the casting.

Sometimes we were the only ones laughing at the funny bits. I don't know if the rest of the audience didn't get them or got them but didn't like them, but it did seem like a waste of good funny bits.

Last night my dreams were a livejournal fest: sosostris2012 and I were looking for buymeaclue and cristalia and pameladean, and tanaise was going around in some assigned and official mischief-maker role, giggling a lot, and I never did get any French fries. Which is just as well, because upon waking I can't think why I would have wanted any. (I did have champ and Guinness gravy last night, though. Mmmmmm. And vol au vent, and every time I have vol au vent, I think I should learn to make it myself. And half a piece of their Bushmill's cheesecake, happily split with markgritter.)

I'm reading Dorothy Dunnett's The Ringed Castle now, and I'm afraid it's about to eat my head.

Comments

[writingortyping.livejournal.com]

I was in a production of Princess Ida when I was a teenager. It's fun. Typical G&S silliness, though the music isnt' as solid as their more popular work.

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

Clearly, I'm being blatantly miss-represented in your dreams. Official mischief maker? Giggling a lot? Is there some sort of anti-defamation league I can appeal to here? I am MEAN. not giggly.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Perhaps giggling was a representation of meanness in the symbolic language of dreams? Maybe?

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

was it at least an evil giggle? Was I like, laughing at other's misfortunes?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

You were causing others' misfortunes. And laughing at them. But they were very small misfortunes.

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

Okay, I suppose that's better than nothing. But still. giggling?

[gwyneira.livejournal.com]

I love "The Gondoliers" - it's one of my three favorite Gilbert and Sullivan operettas (the other two being "The Mikado" and "Iolanthe").

I saw a well-done production of "Princess Ida" years ago, by the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society, plus I have a couple of recordings of it. It's an odd operetta, being a little more serious than most of their work. It's based on Tennyson's poem The Princess (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/791) and spoofs women's education. Oddly, though, the women (particularly Princess Ida, who runs a women's university) come off a lot better than the men, who are generally jerks or idiots (or both).