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The Gondoliers

Author: Julie Petrucci

Information

Date
12th June 2015
Society
Cambridgeshire Light Opera Group
Venue
Downing Farm Swaffham Bulbeck
Type of Production
Musical
Director
Lynne Bullen
Musical Director
Angela Roebuck
Choreographer
Lynne Bullen

Entering their 34th year with Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers, Swaffham Bulbeck Summer Theatre presented an entertaining performance of a very high musical standard. 

The effort which goes into the “barn conversion” preparing for the show must be phenomenal and all credit to Kay and George Ballard, who are responsible for the auditorium decor and to Peter Bullen and his team for the staging.  In fact the complete scene change in the interval is an entertainment in itself.  The staging was excellent and the colourful costumes, particularly those of  the court added a vibrancy to the whole.  Congratulations too to David Stubbings and his lighting team.  No easy task to rig and light the huge Downing Farm barn stage.  

As usual the plot of a G & S show is rather involved but it really doesn't matter because all ends well. 

The chorus got things off to a good start with List and Learn which gave us an indication of what was to come.  The chorus of Gondoliers and Contadine was excellent, in particular the ladies, led by Sian McDowall, Ruth Dennis and Bryony Trill.

 Great pairings with the quartet of principals.  Gavin Jarvis and Will Hale were excellent as Marco and Guiseppe the may-be-kings and were well matched against Caille Peri as Gianetta and Sally Donaghey as Tessa. Both couples were confident performers, voices were well balanced, with delightful harmonies: they were a pleasure to watch and to listen to. 

The “upper crust” was also served well. Anna Murgatroyd’s Casilda, the Queen-in-Waiting, was charming. She has an exceptional voice and did full justice to her small singing role. Timothy Winn as Luiz was also well cast, a believable performance with a very attractive voice.

Gerard Chadwick’s Duke of Plaza-Toro, was played with less authority than is usually seen. He has a fine voice but was much more comfortable with his musical numbers than with his dialogue; or so I felt.   Forsaking her director’s hat for the evening, Lynne Bullen as his formidable wife was excellent in the role of the Duchess. She has a rich voice and a good stage presence.  She dominated beautifully!

Performance of the night for me though was Richard Morris’s Don Alhambradel Bolero - the Grand Inquisitor.  He soon put the “commoners and upstarts” in their place by his physical and vocal dominance of the stage in his attempts to correct the egalitarian tendencies of the court.  A bravura performance.  

Musical Director Angela Roebuck is an example of excellence, the orchestra and the cast performed with confidence and skill. The result was some exemplary singing, the four part harmonies in particular were super. 

Director Lynne Bullen ensured a colourful, well paced production matched with some neat footwork, excellent settings, colourful costumes, some jolly good singing and a very good orchestra.  All in all this was a very pleasurable evening, a credit to the artistic and musical directors and all involved.

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