One of the ultimate odd couples in music history is “Gilbert and Sullivan.” The two names flow together so easily and unconsciously that you almost have to put a cork in your mouth in order to keep from saying both names. In fact, it sounds like one long name – like Acetaminophen. But it’s not one name and they weren’t one guy, or carbon copies of each other. They were two distinct individuals and from two very different worlds. The way I phrased it in some opening remarks for Sunday afternoon’s Gilbert & Sullivan concert at Carthage was this: imagine British choral composer John Rutter (responsible for some of the loveliest and least threatening music written for concert halls and church sanctuaries) joining forces with Seth Meyers, the head writer of Saturday Night Live . . . collaborating on some wild new musical spoofing Obama and Romney . . . or Reality T.V. . . . or Oprah Psychobabble. . . or some other familiar feature of our cultural landscape. That gives you at least a rough idea of what Gilbert & Sullivan were about and what an unlikely pair they were. And yet, somehow, they managed to hang in there to write more than a dozen operettas together- many of which are nearly as popular and revered today as they were when they were first written back in the late 19th century.
The opera section of music theater workshop has been exploring the works of Gilbert & Sullivan in preparation for a gala concert which was presented this past Sunday afternoon. The group of about 18 students ranged from experienced, skilled veterans to complete neophytes – and except for a couple of students, everyone in the group had little or no experience with Gilbert & Sullivan. So it has been quite an interesting adventure- but one which I hope most of the students have enjoyed. For me, one of the most enjoyable challenges was choosing music for each person to sing. There are so many possibilities to pick from- plus the thorny question of whether people should be assigned something that they can practically sing in their sleep (it fits them so ideally) or if they should be given something that will push them well beyond their comfort zone. In the end, the program ended up being a mix of both, with the less experienced singers treated a little more cautiously. We certainly drew from the big three: The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, and HMS Pinafore – but also included excerpts from Patience, Princess Ida, Yeoman of the Guard, Ruddigore, The Gondoliers, and Utopia Limited.
Once the music was selected, then it was Matt’s task to get everything staged, and this proved to be a project in which his inexhaustible genius for comedy could really shine. Matt was anxious not to mess around too much with things, especially after seeing a positively wretched “Mikado” production on PBS which demonstrated that even as fine a theater as the Guthrie is fully capable of a catastrophic artistic mistake. Whoever directed this production obviously felt like this show would not be the least bit amusing to modern audiences unless stupid, corny, pointless shtick was inserted into every crevice of the score. Matt was determined to not cross that line while still managing to keep everything fresh, and I for one think he did a terrific job. A couple of high points, in this regard:
“Death to the Invaders!” This is a hilarious chorus from their operetta Princess Ida, in which a girls’ school has to fend off the invasion of some young men who who can’t resist the temptation of so many pretty girls in one place. All of the workshop women sing this standing shoulder to shoulder, each of them holding something they’ve grabbed from their dormitory room to use as a “weapon.” For one person, it’s their curling iron. For someone else, it’s a toilet brush. For someone else, it might be a bag of pretzels – the kind of stuff a college student might conceivably have in their dorm room. It was a wonderful touch – great for an extra laugh, yet something which in no way distorted the essential truth of the chorus.
“O my Darling! O my Pet!” This is an excerpt from “The Gondoliers,” a wonderful show which Carthage did in its entirety a few years ago, while Dr. Sjoerdsma was still here- and it remains one of the best things I’ve ever seen on a Carthage stage. Two young men from Venice are brought to a faraway land under the assumption (mistaken, as it turns out) that one of them is the rightful heir to the throne – and until such time as it can be determined which one of them is to be the ruler, they are to rule as Co-Kings. Right before the two guys leave Venice, their girl friends talk to them and warn them to remain true and faithful in the face of whatever temptations they might face. One of them says:
“Now Marco dear, my wishes hear- while you’re away
It’s understood you will be good and not too gay.
To every trace of maiden grace you will be blind
and will not glance by any chance on womankind.
If you are wise, you’ll shut your eyes till we arrive
and not address a lady less than 45. . . “ etc.
And the way Matt staged it, as Giannetta is singing to Marco, she smiling sweetly but gripping his hand so tightly that it’s all he can do to keep from screaming in pain.
And then Tessa sings to her boyfriend, Giuseppe:
“You’ll lay your head upon your bed at set of sun.
You will not sing of anything to anyone.
You’ll sit and mope all day, I hope, and shed a tear
upon the life your little wife is passing here. . .” etc.
And as she sings her equally sweet-sounding music, she puts Giuseppe into a head vice that nearly strangles him.
And the refrain is: “And O my darling, O my pet,
whatever else you may forget,
in yonder isle beyond the sea,
do not forget you’ve married me!”
Our two girls, Alicia Petzoldt and Caitlin Barclay, sang their parts well – and carried out Matt’s blocking perfectly. And Jeff Jones and Max Dinan responded in kind with wonderful reactions that made it seem for all the world like they were really in pain- and fearing for their lives! And at the end of the duet, as the two guys are sitting side by side with their girl friends right behind them, they look about as scared as if they’d just stepped into an episode of “The Walking Dead.” I loved it loved it loved it . . . and so did the audience! <<<Pictured at the top>>>>>
“3 Little Maids” – One of the most famous of all Gilbert & Sullivan songs is “3 Little Maids from school are we, pert as a schoolgirl well may be, filled to the brim with girlish glee, 3 little maids from school. . . “ We had three charming ladies, Molly Mason, Angela Fuller and Allison Schafernak to sing this delightful crowd-pleaser from The Mikado.
And then Matt programmed it to be followed by a very similar- sounding trio from the aforementioned “Princess Ida” – except that in this case, it’s three guys dressed as girls, for the purpose of sneaking into the school. And we had Max, Nick Huff and Mike Anderle to do the honors . . . and to say that they threw themselves into the task at hand is putting mildly. They were riotously funny…. AND they sang the daylights out of it as well.
By the way, Nick Huff helped me out with something at the very top of the program. I thought it was important to share something with the audience that would be an example of Sir Arthur Sullivan WITHOUT W. S. Gilbert . . . to return to the metaphor from before, it would be like having the audience hear a straight ahead choral anthem by John Rutter before hearing the crazy things he composed with Seth Meyers. And I decided that the perfect choice for this would be a song by Arthur Sullivan that in its day was among the most familiar and beloved of all songs: The Lost Chord, in which someone is playing the organ and finds themselves nearly moved to tears by an incredibly beautiful chord- but then can’t seem to re-create it, until they realize that they likely will never hear that astoundingly beautiful chord again until they are in heaven someday. It’s quite a melodramatic, goopy song – but it’s wonderfully written for the voice, and Nick sang it gorgeously and without a hint of sarcasm. And once the audience had heard what Sullivan was like before Gilbert, it was in a position to better understand what the magic of Gilbert & Sullivan was and is all about.
The performance was in Siebert Chapel, which is a big and intimidating space- especially for a young, inexperienced singer- so Matt and I worried about some of the singers shrinking into themselves, looking terrified and being all but inaudible. But by and large, the students took the stage as if they belonged there, which was SO gratifying and exciting. And they managed to look like they were glad to be there and having fun …. which, for the most part, they were!
Our other big worry was that the program would be three hours long, and that by the end of it everyone in the audience would be wishing that Gilbert & Sullivan had never been born – or that Matt and I had never been born – or both! We simply hadn’t taken the time to run a stopwatch and figure out exactly how much music we had, so we could only hope that it wasn’t an obscenely lengthy program. And when I finished playing the last chord of music during the final bows, my watch said 4:23 . . . and we had started at 3:03. So do the math! The program was a great length – plenty long (especially without an intermission) and perhaps not leaving them wanting more – but leaving them fully satisfied without having been drowned in the delights of Gilbert and Sullivan.
So warm congratulations, men and women of the music theater workshop – who, by and large, not only came to love Gilbert and Sullivan themselves – – – but managed to create a few converts Sunday afternoon.
pictured at the top: Alicia Petzholdt and Caitlin Barclay, in no uncertain terms, tell their “boyfriends”, Jeff Jones and Max Dinan, to behave while they’re away. And they look scared enough not to even think about doing otherwise!
By the way, I cited these particular highlights because they were easy to describe . . . but there were all kinds of other numbers that were every bit as good. It’s a great feeling to look back on a concert like this and have too many highlights from which to choose! As problems go, that’s a pretty nice one to have.