THE
GONDOLIERS
National
Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, Buxton Opera House
IAN and
Neil Smith, founders of the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival that
graced the stage of Buxton Opera House for 20 years, will be glad that their
company’s return to its stage – albeit in a much smaller way – pulled a full
house for this show.
Their week,
which also includes The Mikado and HMS Pinafore, all of them directed by
G&S man-of-the-moment John Savournin, is but a pale shadow of the festival
in its heyday, and it has decamped to Harrogate last year and this.
But the
professional company they create for it each summer is put on the road as well,
and Buxton’s one of its stops.
Savournin
could never be accused of blowing the budget on set construction. His set is
semi-abstract and simple, providing a little shape to the stage, but not a lot
of atmosphere to evoke Venice Lido and knew his Italian dance
rhythms inside out. The show is one of his best creations and alive with dance
tunes, and what it needs above all is pretty near non-stop choreography.
Phillip Aiden has come up with the goods in that department and the cast dance
their socks off. Stephen Holroyd’s lighting is effective, too.
The musical
qualities were very high: crisp rhythms, gentle expressiveness, and exemplary
blend, particularly in the principals’ quartets and quintets. Conductor David
Steadman is an acknowledged master of the style, but I suspect credit should
also go in large measure to the assistant MD and repetiteur, Royal Northern
College of Music maestro James Hendry.
Two doughty
veterans of British G&S, Bruce Graham and Richard Gauntlett (as the Grand
Inquisitor and the Duke of Plaza-Toro) set a superb example of comic
performance and clear diction, and the younger members of a well-cast troupe
proved their worth in voice quality. I admired Robin Bailey’s Marco (tenor) and
Claire Lees’ Gianetta (soprano) in particular – him for Take A Pair of Sparkling
Eyes (always a hit song) and her for Kind Sir You Cannot Have The Heart,
beautifully poised.
Kevin
Greenlaw (Giuseppe), Una McMahon (Tessa), Elinor Jane Moran (Casilda) and Nick
Sales (Luiz) provided excellent support, and the chorus were magnificent.
****
Robert
Beale
No comments:
Post a Comment