March 2015
Volume 3 Issue 7
Bath G&S Society
70th Season
Inside:
• No Possible Doubt
Whatever
• Mispronunciations
• Club Functions
• D’Oyly Carte Archives
has a New Home
• All Male Production of
“Pirates” comes to
Bath
Welcome
Welcome to our seventh
Newsletter, the second of
th
our 70 season.
The
Newsletter
aims
to
after presenting two of
G&S’s
lesser
performed
works,
Ruddigore
and
Patience, it seemed
right to return to one
of their more popular
operas for our 70th
year – indeed the
opera featured in our
first season back in
1944-5.
• Somebody’s Birthday I
Suppose
• Gilbert & Sullivan,
Hitler, Semprini and
Me
• Forthcoming Society
Events
Mr Brian Kelson
members.
Please use it by passing
inputs to Barbara at any
time.
By Nick Lee
• Gondoliers Spiral Quiz
Mrs Elizabeth
Lewis
promote Society events,
impart information and to
act as an entertainment
and discussion forum for
No Possible Doubt Whatever
• Other Productions
Patrons
2014- 2015
Well, not quite. I wish
I had felt as confident
about things as Don
Alhambra when we
began rehearsals for
our latest production
of The Gondoliers in
January.
It was an
extremely
worrying
sight to see such
depleted numbers at
our first couple of
rehearsals – would we
be able to stage a
show as big and
ambitious as The
Gondoliers? Did we
make
the
wrong
choice?
However,
The Committee clearly
had a challenge –
increase numbers by
at least 10 or we
would have to ditch
the show and do
something else. We
went
ahead
with
auditions but were left
with significant gaps
to fill – Marco, Luiz
and Casilda. Various
appeals were made
using a combination of
social
media,
newspapers and good
old word of mouth and
gradually
numbers
began to grow. I must
single
out
one
particular
member,
Davina Appleton, who
managed to persuade
a number of her
friends
from
Winterbourne to come
and join us.
A
fantastic effort, and
certainly
more
successful than my
attempts to persuade
some of our own
members to step back
in and help us out!
Pretty much half the
men’s chorus who
went on stage in
Patience left us for
this production. Most
musical
theatre
companies struggle to
recruit men, so this
has had a massive
impact.
We’re still in recovery
on the male chorus
front and could easily
accommodate a few
more
gondoliers.
Thanks in the main to
Davina, the Contadina
are
now
up
to
strength, and we’re
pleased
that
Sue
Stevens brought along
two new members,
Richard Burrows and
Jenny O’Hara, whom
we’ve been able to
cast in the roles of
Luiz and Casilda. We
also now have a
Marco
and
are
delighted to welcome
Philip Styles to the
society
–
an
experienced
local
tenor who’s sung with
many groups including
Bath Opera, BODS,
Noctis Chamber Choir who have been so
and The Bath Chorus. loyal and supportive in
enabling us to get
February was the
things back on track.
make or break month
There are still a few
and it’s gratifying to be
hurdles to get over
able to report now that
along the way, but I
we are well into
certainly feel more
setting rehearsals with
energised
and
Viv,
Kerry,
Delia,
confident that we will
Owen and Natalie at
be able to present a
the helm.
I must
really
sparkling
thank them for their
production of The
perseverance
and
Gondoliers – without
patience through all
any doubt of any kind
this uncertainty and to
whatever!
you the members
(existing and new)
CAST
The Duke of Plaza Toro
The Duchess of Plaza Toro
Casilda
Luiz
Don Alhambra
Giuseppe
Marco
Antonio
Francesco
Giorgio
Tessa
Gianetta
Fiametta
Vittoria
Guilia
Inez
Mispronunciations
John Ditcham
Audrey Hutchison
Jenny O’Hara
Richard Burrows
Nick Lee
Matt Dauncey
Phil Styles
Steve Donovan
Jonny Scaramanga
Paul Dyson
Sarah Nash
Sheila Symes
Lindy Platt
Anita Butera
Esther Lamin
Barbara Goldsack
by Tony Joseph
1. “I, Sore At Heart”
A certain tenor who played Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance
in the 1950s, was thought to have sung the above line so that it
came out, deliberately or otherwise, as “I saw a tart”.
2. “Sal Lal La”
A performer who played Private Willis in Iolanthe was asked after
one performance was it right he’d sung the words “Sal Lal La” in
his song rather than, as they should have been, “Fal Lal La”?
The performer agreed, yes he had.
“Why did you do that?” asked the questioner.
“Well,” said the performer, “you feel such a fool standing there
night after night singing something as meaningless as “Fal Lal
La”.
3. “Stop, Ladies, Pray”
Frederic again. Among the readers who patronised the first
library I worked in was a titled lady named Lady Spray. Sadly
there was never an occasion when I or any other member of the
library staff had to stop her doing whatever it was she was up to.
“Gilbert, who wrote the words, created fanciful "topsy-turvy" worlds for
his operas where each absurdity is taken to its logical conclusion—
fairies rub elbows with British lords, flirting is a capital offence,
gondoliers ascend to the monarchy, and pirates turn out to be
noblemen who have gone wrong”
Saturday, 2nd May 2014
from 10:00am to 12:30pm
Oldfield Park Baptist Church,
The Triangle
Coffee, Tea and Cakes served
Needed for the SALE
Good quality Clothing, Bric-a-Brac, Books, CDs
and DVDs, Jewellery, Plants, Tombola, Games,
Cakes
Please give Items to Committee Members
Croquet Taster Evening and Society Picnic
Date to be arranged from 6.00pm
Camerton and Peasedown Croquet Club,
Whitebrook Lane, Peasedown
(opposite Red Post Inn)
Bring your own Picnic
£5.00
No equipment needed, only flat shoes/trainers
The D’Oyly Carte Archive has a New Home
In
February,
the
D’Oyly Carte Opera
Trust
reached
a
landmark agreement
with
The
British
Library
for
the
acquisition
of
the
D’Oyly Carte Opera
Company
archive.
This is great news as
it means that the
archive will remain in
the UK, be housed
appropriately,
conserved
and
catalogued.
It also
means that it will be
accessible once again
to the public for
research purposes. A
fuller announcement
including
greater
detail will be made in
due course. . There
More details are available on the D’Oyly carte website
are opportunities to
purchase
surplus
stock (correspondence,
programmes,
prompt
books, financial records,
vocal scores, music parts
etc.) and for more
information,
please
telephone 0844 606
0007.
www.doylycarte.org.uk
All Male Production of “Pirates” Comes to the
Theatre Royal, Bath in May
Sasha
Regan’s
ground
breaking
production of Pirates
began life at London’s
tiny Union Theatre in
2009. After winning
the award for Best
Off-West
End
production, it played
to packed houses at
the Wilton’s Music
Hall before touring
Australia. Back in the
UK
now,
the
production is visiting a
number of provisional
theatres
including
Bath from Monday
27th
April
to
nd
turdaSay 2 May.
The Daily Telegraph
wrote “A delight from
start
to
finish
…Magnificent proof –
if any is needed – of
the
astounding
resilience of G and S”.
Sasha Regan has
gone on to create all
male productions of
three
other
G&S
operas
–
HMS
Pinafore,
Patience
and Iolanthe – all to
great acclaim.
PIRATES FIRST FOR SIMPLY OPERA
Will Stevens’ new opera group ‘Simply
Opera’ will be performing three
performances of Pirates in The Space in
Keynsham from 26th – 28th March. Will
is playing the Pirate King and Nick
Burgess takes the role of the Major
General. Lydia Stevens directs.
Bristol Gilbert & Sullivan
Operatic Society
The Sorcerer
14-18th April 2015
Evenings: 7:30pm
Sat. Matinee: 2:30pm
The Redgrave Theatre, Clifton, BS8 3LE
Swindon Gilbert & Sullivan Society
One of our greatly missed ex-members
‘Quazie’ invites you to The Mikado which
he is performing with Swindon Gilbert &
Sullivan Society from 28th April to 2nd May
2015. Do go along if you can!
The Gondoliers Spiral Quiz
Starting from 1, fill in the grid clockwise with four-letter words. The last letter of each
word becomes the first letter of the next to reveal the seven-letter key word in the
shaded boxes.
1. The number who were
recently married.
2. Red or white?
3. Not Mount Vesuvius.
4. In Casilda’s childhood there
was a long ago giving – wow!
5. Hearts were once as good
as this.
6. They all said it!
7. A word that might have been
used for the long journey
across the sea.
8. One of the equal Aristocrats.
9. So which one will it be?
10. Marco’s behaviour,
understood by Gianetta!
11. He always led from behind.
12. He does this at a banquet
13. What every goose
becomes.
14. Our adjudicator!
15. Oh dear, 24:2.
16. Yes, yes – sounds like Fiametta’s cry.
Keyword clue:
She was not a vulgar fraction
Next Society Meeting – 25th March 2015
SOMEBODY’S BIRTHDAY I SUPPOSE?
Our meeting on March 25th will be presented by Tony and Joy Joseph,
and is in two halves:
ON TRIAL will celebrate the 140th
birthday of Trial by Jury with a
look at significant performances,
both
played
straight
and
otherwise.
THERE WAS A TIME is a play
written by Tony for the London
G&S Society and performed there
last September. Several of the
original cast wanted to take part
again, so are coming to Bath as
our special guests.
These
include
Linda
Anne
Hutchison, former lead soprano in
the D’Oyly Carte company and
subject of one of Tony’s
biographies, and Leon Berger,
who came to Bath some years
ago to take part in a couple of our
evenings.
We felt it was appropriate to do something a little out of the ordinary
during this our 70th season, and we hope for a good turn out to welcome
our friends from afar.
Joy Joseph
GILBERT and SULLIVAN, HITLER, SEMPRINI and ME
By Owen Cole
Starting to learn the
piano at the age of
eight,
my
visiting
teacher saw that my
Mother had some G
and S records and
struck a bargain that
she would give me a
quarter’s lessons in
exchange
for
the
records.
his bombers over to
flatten the church.
That was an omen I
could not ignore so I
am still at Grade 3.
concert in Saltford as
support for the famous
pianist Semprini. In
the ‘Green Room’ I
remarked to Semprini
that we had had to
scratch around for an
accompanist.
He
replied in his lovely
European accent, ‘I
would have played for
you!’ What a missed
opportunity for both of
us! I might have
ended up as music
page turner for the
Maestro!
My first public piano
playing (Bless ‘em All)
was in the RAF
NAFFI Club, to a not
too discerning but
drunken crowd.
I rose to the dizzy
heights of Grade 3 but
on the night before my
Grade 4 examination
in
George
Street
Baptist
Church,
Plymouth, Hitler sent
Later in Keynsham I
joined the Light Opera
Group and appeared
as the Counsel in
‘Trial By Jury’ which
we repeated at a
Forthcoming Programme
th
25 March 2015
Somebody’s Birthday I Suppose?
27 – 30 May 2015
“The Gondoliers”
th
17 June 2015
Open Forum
th
11 July 2015
Coleton Fishacre Visit
September 2015
71 Season begins
st
Officers 2014-2015
Newsletter
Contacts
Contributions
To Editor
Chairman
Secretary
President
Granville Mason
Chairman
Nick Lee
Vice Chairman Lindy Platt
Secretary
Editor
Meg Gore Langton
27 Ashley Avenue
Lower Weston
Bath, BA1 3DS
t: 01225 338272
e: meggl@hotmail.com
Barbara Knight
Answers
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Mr. David Ward
1. FOUR;
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e: patrick@knightmk.me.uk
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Librarian
Patrick Knight
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Owen Cole
Sarah Nash
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Membership
Keyword: CASILDA
t: 01761431241
e: barbara@knightmk.me.uk