Reviews: Yeoman and The Grand Duke

Richard D has sent us a link to a review by Rupert Christiansen of the Telegraph of the BBC Proms Yeomen of the Guard:

Here, outstandingly, we had the magisterial Felicity Palmer as Dame Carruthers, that expressive and stylish tenor Andrew Kennedy as Colonel Fairfax, and the assured Heather Shipp as the flirtatiously resourceful Phoebe Meryll. The most strikingly original interpretation came from Mark Stone, who played Jack Point younger and jauntier than usual, making his final collapse all the more moving for being unexpected.....

You can read the full review here. Don't forget that it's being broadcast on BBC2 this Saturday!

I also have another Rupert Christiansen Telegraph review of The Grand Duke at the Buxton International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival. Christiansen points out that this was 'a historic occasion: the first staged professional production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s final collaboration since its premiere in 1896'. As you might expect, the Grand Duke itself garners little praise:

After the opening, the pair never spoke to each other again. The result of these tensions is a rather plodding and joyless affair that gives the distinct impression of having been created on autopilot.

But he gives the company credit for doing:

a sterling job of trying to pump some life into the corpse, in front of a full house generous with its applause.

You can read the full Grand Duke review here.

Thank you Richard!

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Yeomen at the Proms and G&S in Welwyn

 Grossmith as the original Jack Point

There will be a performance of Yeomen of the Guard on Sunday 19th August as part of the BBC Proms. It's semi-staged and looks like a terrific cast of singers:

Leigh Melrose Lt Sir Richard Cholmondeley
Andrew Kennedy Colonel Fairfax
Lisa Milne Elsie Maynard
Victoria Simmonds Phoebe Meryll
Felicity Palmer Dame Carruthers
Mary Bevan Kate
Mark Richardson Sergeant Meryll
Tom Randle Leonard Meryll
Mark Stone Jack Point
Toby Stafford-Allen Wilfred Shadbolt

BBC Singers
BBC Concert Orchestra
Jane Glover conductor
Martin Duncan stage director

Full booking details are on the BBC Proms website.

There is also some local G&S coming soon to Welwyn:

This looks like a fun event for G&S fans. The World of Gilbert and Sullivan is on Saturday 23rd June, at St Mary's Church in Welwyn. This is a fundraiser for the Acorn Playgroup and Preschool and a chance to hear the Wandering Minstrels. If you haven't come across them before, there is more information here on their website.

'The Wandering Minstrels' is an highly accomplished group of six singers and a pianist who specialize in staging songs and scenes from the immortal Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Their concerts of Savoy classics, presented in period costume and performed in traditional style, are events to remember.'

Yeomen of the Guard at Stewartby

  ©Stewartby Operatic and Dramatic Society

Next week Stewartby Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society will be performing The Yeomen of the Guard at Stewartby Village Hall, with our own Alison Gibbs taking the part of Phoebe. The production forms part of Stewartby's Diamond Anniversary celebrations as they celebrate their 60th year.

The show opens on Tuesday 15th November and runs until Saturday 19th November, with tickets available for every night apart from Friday, which is now sold out. Performances start at 7.30pm.

Congratulations to Stewartby for 60 years of performing!

Does Jack Point really die?

 Grossmith as the original Jack Point

The Buxton Festival has prompted an article about The Yeomen of the Guard on the BBC News Website. It's worth reading for its interesting take on Sullivan and Jack Point, and audience reactions to the operetta's ambiguous ending:

Gilbert and Sullivan's Mystery Play
Trevor Timpson, BBC News, 16 Aug 2011

'It is 100 years since WS Gilbert died, aged 74, 10 years after Arthur Sullivan. From the 1870s to the 1890s each of their comic operas in turn had captivated a huge public across the English-speaking world.

Ever since, they have been a sure way to fill venues from opera house to tin shed. This year's Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton is the biggest ever, with some 50 productions. 

But who was the driving force in the partnership? Was it Gilbert, the writer of sparkling lyrics with a sting in the tail? Or Sullivan, the master orchestrator and creator of unforgettable tunes?

Part of the answer lies in their oddest opera, the one where they went "serious" - the Yeomen of the Guard of 1888....'

Read the full article over on the BBC News Website.

©BBC News