The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: This Sunday, Beverly Taylor retires as associate conductor of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Kyle Knox will succeed Taylor starting this fall.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) has announced that Associate Conductor Beverly Taylor (below) will retire from her current position after 22 years, effective this Sunday, July 1.
Taylor will continue to serve as Director of the Madison Symphony Chorus (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson).
She will also continue as the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, where she conducts many groups including the Choral Union (below) and the Concert Choir.
Kyle Knox (below) will become the MSO’s new Associate Conductor, effective in the 2018–2019 season.
“I am delighted that Beverly will continue to work with the Madison Symphony Chorus. The chorus has improved steadily under her direction and will sing some very difficult music in the coming seasons,” said MSO music director John DeMain (below, in a photo by Prasad). “I also want to thank Beverly for the outstanding help she has given me in the preparation of our concerts over the years.”
“I’ve loved my time as associate conductor of the symphony, and will continue as chorus director,” says Taylor. “But I’m looking forward to more time for guest conducting, visiting friends and family and finishing the two books I’m at work on. I also have a grant to write a basic conducting textbook, and I’m finishing a handbook on how to develop a musical interpretation.”
John DeMain says he looks forward to Knox joining the MSO. “I think Kyle Knox is a natural to step into the associate conductor position. He has distinguished himself in the past few years with his work at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Opera and the Middleton Community Orchestra (below, in a photo by John W. Barker). He also successfully led the MSO in last year’s Concert on the Green.
“His recent appointment as Music Director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) is a testament to his brilliant talent and will dovetail easily with his duties with the MSO. I so look forward to our working together and welcome him to our Madison Symphony Orchestra family.”
Knox is also very pleased with his appointment.
“My history with the MSO goes back a few years and I have long admired the work of Maestro DeMain and this wonderful group of musicians,” he says. “It is an honor to have been selected for this opportunity and I look forward to happy years of service and collaboration.”
BACKGROUND BIOGRAPHIES
Beverly Taylor has been the Associate Conductor of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Director of the Madison Symphony Chorus since 1996 and Director of Choral Activities at UW-Madison since 1995.
Prior roles include conductor of the Boston Bar Association Orchestra, Music Director of the Back Bay Chorale, and Associate Director of Choral Activities at Harvard University.
Taylor has been a guest conductor at the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland, the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, the Vermont Symphony, the Harvard Chamber Orchestra, the Madison Opera, the U.S. Air Force Band and Orchestra, the Harvard Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, and the Wellesley Chamber Singers.
She graduated from the University of Delaware and Boston University School for the Arts and received a fellowship with Chorus America and an orchestral fellowship at Aspen.
Kyle Knox will take over the dual positions of Music Director of WYSO and Associate Conductor of the Madison Symphony Orchestra beginning in the 2018–2019 season.
Past and upcoming conducting credits include Mark Adamo’s Little Women with the Madison Opera; Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring and The Turn of the Screw, and Transformations; with UW-Madison’s University Opera; the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s 2017 Concert on the Green; Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus and Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers and H.M.S. Pinafore with the Madison Savoyards; as well as UW Music Clinic’s High School Honors Orchestra.
Other concerts include Carousel, Sunday in the Park with George, and Sweeney Todd (2018) with Middleton Players Theatre, Jon Deak’s The Passion of Scrooge with Oakwood Chamber Players, as well as regular appearances with the Middleton Community Orchestra.
He was formerly a clarinetist with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Fe Opera and Philadelphia Orchestras, and was on the faculty at UW-Milwaukee. Festivals credits include Tanglewood, Spoleto (Italy), Santa Fe Chamber Music, and Bowdoin College, among others. His debut album, the first commercial recording of Conrad Susa’s chamber opera Transformations, will be released in the summer of 2018 on iTunes. He holds degrees from Juilliard School and the UW-Madison. He is married to MSO concertmaster Naha Greenholtz.
Tags: #AlbertHerring, #ArthurRubinstein, #ArturRubinstein, #AssociateConductor, #BenjaminBritten, #BostonUniversity, #BowdoinCollege, #BowdoinFestival, #Carouselmusical, #ChoralMusic, #ChoralUnion, #CollegiumMusicum, #ConcertChoir, #ConradSusa, #DieFledermaus, #FriendsandFamily, #GilbertandSullivan, #GuestConducting, #HarvardChamberOrchestra, #HarvardUniversity, #JohannStrauss, #JohnDeak, #JohnDeMain, #JuilliardSchool, #KyleKnox, #LittleWomen, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSavoyards, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarkAdamo, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MIddletonPlayersTheatre, #MilwaukeeSymphonyOrchestra, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MusicalInterpretation, #MusicClinic, #MusicDirector, #NahaGreenholtz, #OakwoodChamberPlayers, #RadcliffeCollege, #SantaFeChamberMusicFestival, #SantaFeOpera, #SpoletoFestival, #St.LouisSymphonyOrchestra, #StephenSondheim, #SundayintheParkWithGeorge, #SweeneyTodd, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TanglewoodFestival, #TheGondoliers, #TurnoftheScrew, #U.S.AirForceBand, #UniversityofDelaware, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #VermontSymphony, #WellesleyChamberSingers, #WellesleyCollege, Albert Herring, Arts, associate conductor, Bach, Back Bay Chorale, Baroque, basic, Beethoven, Benjamin Britten, Book, Boston, Boston Bar Association Orchestra, Boston University, Bowdoin College, Chamber music, choral music, chorus, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical music, Compact Disc, composer, concertmaster, concerto, Family, friends, Gilbert & Sullivan, Gilbert and Sullivan, H.M.S. Pinafore, handbook, interpretation, iTunes, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Strauss Jr., Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, Juilliard School, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison Opera, Madison Savoyards, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Middleton Community Orchestra, Mozart, Music, music clinic, musical, Naha Greenholtz, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, Passion, Poland, Scrooge, Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, symphony, textbook, The Gondoliers, Turn of the Screw, United States, University of Delaware, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, writing
Classical music: UW bassoonist Marc Vallon plays a FREE all-Russian concert with other faculty and student colleagues this Friday night
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale, at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features The Madison Savoyards singing music of Gilbert & Sullivan, Jule Styne and Sheldon Harnick. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
CORRECTION: The Arbor Ensemble will perform an all-French program of chamber music at 7:30 p.m. on this SATURDAY night – NOT Friday as mistakenly first posted — at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive. Here is a link with more information:
By Jacob Stockinger
On this Friday night at 8 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, UW-Madison bassoonist Marc Vallon (below, in a photo by James Gill) will perform a FREE faculty concert.
![Marc Vallon 2011 James Gill (baroque & modern)[2]](https://welltempered.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/marc-vallon-2011-james-gill-baroque-modern2.jpg)
Colleagues who will join Vallon, an outspoken proponent of modern and contemporary new music, include Sally Chisholm, viola; Christopher Taylor, piano; Yana Avedyan, piano; Amy McCann, clarinet; Ivana Ugrcic, flute; and special guest Yuriy Kolosovskiy, domra (below).
The all-Russian program includes: Michael Glinka (1804-1857), Sonata movement, originally for viola; Edison Denisov (1929-1996), Trio for flute, bassoon and piano; Russian Folksongs with Yuriy Kolosovskiy, domra; Michael Glinka, Trio Pathétique for clarinet, bassoon and piano; and Sofia Gubaidulina (born 1931, below), Trio Quasi Hoquetus for viola, bassoon and piano (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom).
Here is a link to the UW website:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/bassoonist-marc-vallon-faculty-concert/
Tags: Arts, Bassoon, Cello, Chamber music, clarinet, Classical music, contemporary, domra, Edison Denisov, Edison Denisow, First Unitarian Society of Madison, flute, folk song, Gilbert & Sullivan, Gilbert and Sullivan, Glinka, Jule Styne, Madison, Madison Savoyards, Marc Vallon, modern, Music, New Music, Piano, Russia, Russian, Sheldon Harnick, Sofia Gubaidulina, Sonata, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, YouTube
Classical music: The Ancora String Quartet closes its 15th anniversary season with music by Mozart, Schubert, Arthur Sullivan and a mystery composer this Saturday night.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, the Ancora String Quartet (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) closes out its 15th anniversary season with a selection of gorgeous favorites.
Here is the MUST-HEAR program of masterpieces by an ensemble that performs beautifully but too often flies under the radar, given how many chamber music ensembles have burst onto the local classical music scene:
The famed “Dissonance” string quartet, K. 465, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart journeys from its hauntingly modernistic and brooding opening to the most perfectly cheerful closing. (You can hear the opening in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
There will be a Mystery Piece that is billed as “a little gem of energy and drama.”
The late “Rosamunde” String Quartet in A Minor, D. 804, by Franz Schubert wafts an air of gentle melancholy.
And the program closes with a brief magical tale of long ago and far away from a man who knew how to set a scene, Sir Arthur Sullivan (below) of Gilbert and Sullivan fame.
Tickets at the door are $15 for general admission; $12 seniors and students; $6 children under 12.
A free reception follows the performance.
Members of the Ancora String Quartet are: Leanne Kelso League and Robin Ryan, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; and Benjamin Whitcomb, cello.
Members of the quartet also play with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and both violinist Leanne Kelso League and cellist Benjamin Whitcomb teach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Tags: Ancora String Quartet, Arthur Sullivan, Arts, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, dissonance, Dissonant Quartet, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Schubert, Gilbert & Sullivan, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mozart, Music, Orchestra, Rosamunde, String quartet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Whitewater, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Savoyards did a disservice to itself and to Gilbert and Sullivan by using an “anime” or animation aesthetic for its production of “The Mikado.”
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who for 12 years hosted an early music show every other Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison.
By John W. Barker
For its 53rd annual summer production, Madison Savoyards Ltd. offered its eighth presentation of the brilliant Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado. It was certainly the most problematical of those eight.
Badgered by threats of protest against the “stereotyping” of Japanese culture in this work, the Savoyards decided to slither away from “traditional” presentations, abandoning the creators’ very respectful use of Japanese setting and imagery as a mask for satirizing English life.
The group has this time engaged as stage director Melanie Cain, whose ventures with Fresco Opera Theatre here have shown her commitment to presenting works of the lyric stage in anything but their original character.
But changes should be made to add something; hers detracted and distracted. The result, visible in a two-week run at Old Music Hall on the UW campus, was pretty anarchic in visual terms.
Working on a set that was a simplified Japanese stereotype in itself, the cast was decked out in a wild disarray of ditsy costumes and crazy wigs to create a new stereotype of pop absurdity — all in the name of supposedly following current Japanese “anime” or animation graphics.
Only the elaborate costumes for the Mikado himself and for Katisha, his “daughter-in-law-elect,” in their wildness, catch something of their characters, while that for Pooh-Bah, the pompous power-grabber and egomaniac, conversely suggests British spoofing.
The staging had wide ups and downs. The individual movements and the ensemble action displayed good ideas, even if they were not always executed smartly, while the chorus was given sloppy direction with inadequate drilling.
The cast, likewise, was uneven, with only one or two soloists sub-par. Michael Ward’s Pish-Tush proved inept in both singing and movement, while Dennis Gotkowski as the romantic hero, Nanki-Poo (below left), was vocally weak and visually ridiculous — looking like a pirate.
As his beloved Yum-Yum, Angela Sheppard (below right) was visually disappointing but vocally strong. To her sidekick Pitti-Sing, Angela Z. Sheppard brought some good comic potential but her diction was uneven. Matt Marsland was too straightforward to be a successfully comic Ko-Ko.
Best were Anthony Ashley, who was excellent in both singing and acting as Pooh-Bah; Bill Rosholt as a majestic Mikado; and, despite some moments of blurred diction, Meghan Hilker as the dragon-lady Katisha (below center).
The chorus of eight or 10 women and only six men was pretty scrawny. The pit orchestra, on the other hand, was excellent under music director Blake Walter (below, in a photo by John Maniaci) of Edgewood College.
Alas, the needless use of projections during the overture (heard at bottom in a YouTube video) quite distracted the audience from listening to their fine playing of it.
Given the wackiness and color, the audience seemed generally entertained. But that is hardly the only proof of the pudding, when responsible fidelity to the character of the work is sacrificed for cheap effects.
As someone with my own long years of devoted involvement with Madison Savoyards, I find it painful to have to write so negatively. But let’s be frank: This was not one of the productions that, as so often otherwise, adds renewed honor to this proud company.
Will its production of The Gondoliers next summer be perverted by protests from Italian-Americans about stereotyping Venetians?
Tags: animation, anime, Arts, Blake Walter, choral music, Classical music, Edgewood College, Gilbert & Sullivan, Gilbert and Sullivan, Italian-American, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Madison Savoyards, Music, opera, Operetta, Overture, The Gondoliers, The Mikado, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Venice, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Director Melanie Cain explains why she staged Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado” as “anime” for the Madison Savoyards. It opens this FRIDAY (NOT Thursday) night.
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ALERT: A reminder that tonight’s Concert on the Square, at 7 p.m., will feature cellist Karl Lavine (below), the principal cello of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. The classical program includes “Espana” (Spain) by Emmanuel Chabrier; the “Rococo Suite” by Andre Gretry; and the famous “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel.
Here is a link to more information about the concert, the food and the event:
http://www.wcoconcerts.org/performances/concerts-on-the-square-4/
By Jacob Stockinger
This Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Music Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, at the foot of Bascom Hill, the Madison Savoyards will open its seven performances of the latest annual summer production of Gilbert and Sullivan.
The selection this year is one of the most popular of the G&S works: “The Mikado.”
But it has a twist.
Director Melanie Cain, more familiar from Fresco Opera Theatre, has chosen to do the production in an anime (or animation) aesthetic.
The music director is Blake Walter (below), who teaches at Edgewood College.
Here are notes from the Madison Savoyards website:
The 2015 summer production is The Mikado in Music Hall. Tickets are now on sale. Performance dates: Friday and Saturday, July 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, July 19, at 3 p.m.; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, July 23, 24 and 25 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, July 26 at 3 p.m.
Melanie Cain is the Stage Director, Blake Walter is Music Director, Steven Nibbe is the Production Coordinator, and Christina Kay is the Publicity Coordinator. Details about the cast at this link …
Blake Walter, Music Director for “The Mikado” and Melanie Cain, Stage Director for “The Mikado,” introduce themselves and and their approach to the production.
NEW: There will be a Children’s Pre-show on July 19 at 1 p.m. This year’s production of “The Mikado” with an Anime aesthetic is the perfect way to introduce your little ones to the brilliance and whimsy of Gilbert and Sullivan.
The event will include a craft, tea and snacks, a mini-show explaining the plot through select dialogue and musical highlights, and a backstage tour. After being a part of the pre-show, children will be prepared to see the full production at 3 p.m. with excitement and engagement!
There will be a break between the pre-show and the performance from 2-3 p.m. This show is wonderful for children, grandchildren or friends who are ages 6-12. Advance reservations required. One child gets in free with a child and adult ticket for “The Mikado” matinee. Reserve via email to: krys.lonsdale@gmail.com
For more information, go to:
http://www.madisonsavoyards.org
Stage Director Melanie Cain recently agreed to an email Q&A with The Ear:
Can you briefly introduce yourself to the readers and explain your musical and theatrical qualifications to direct The Mikado?
Here is a link to my bio: http://www.mavenvocalarts.com/about.html
What draws you to Gilbert and Sullivan (below)? Have you staged their works before or worked on G&S productions?
Although I have sung in G&S productions, this is the first Gilbert and Sullivan show I have staged.
Why does “The Mikado” endure as one of the most popular and most performed G&S operettas? Is it the music? The exotic setting? The story and its moral lesson?
I think “The Mikado” has endured because it’s strong in all the elements G&S are known for; comedy, fantastic characters and very catchy music.
Why are you recasting the production from traditional Japanese to contemporary “anime”?
Japanese culture, at the time The Mikado was written, was all the rage in England. Depictions of Japan were seen through the art coming out of the region. Vases, fans and jars illustrated elements such as beautiful gardens and traditionally dressed figures.
These traditional images have become stereotypes of the culture. In some cases, creating a feeling that the images are disrespecting the culture instead of revering it.
It was not Gilbert and Sullivan’s intention to take a jab at Japan, but rather to depict a fanciful view of the culture in order to satirize British politics and institutions.
The Mikado has seen some backlash in recent years for using the traditional staging. For this “Mikado,” I decided to use a current art form rising out of Japan — Anime or Manga. (Below are two versions of the famous “Three Little Maids Are We” characters in the operetta. You can hear the song they sing in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Celebrating Japan’s current popular artistic export while retaining the musical integrity of the work was a way for me to praise the culture much the way Gilbert and Sullivan were trying to do in 1885.
I revere the traditional staging of opera, but I do love to change things around and offer both the seasoned opera fan and new fans a modern take on the classics.
What kind of unusual details can the public expect to see in an “Anime” concept production of “The Mikado”?
As I was investigating Anime, I realized there are many traditional Japanese elements interwoven with modern or even futuristic looking styles. The set and props for this production will be quite traditional, while the costumes will have that very stylized anime look — wild colored hair and bright costumes.
Tags: animation, anime, Arts, Bolero, Cello, Chabrier, choral music, Classical music, Concerts on the Square, Edgewood College, Fresco Opera Theatre, Gilbert & Sullivan, Gretry, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Madison, Madison Savoyards, Madison Symphony Orchestra, manga, Music, opera, Operetta, Orchestra, Ravel, Rococo, Suite, The Mikado, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Video game, Video game controversies, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
Classical music: Guest music director Grant Harville talks about the Madison Savoyards productions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Princess Ida.” The show opens this Friday night and runs for six more performances through Aug. 3.
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By Jacob Stockinger
To loyal and even devout fans, they are known simply as “G&S.”
And since 1963, a devoted group of Madison singers, musicians and stage crafters have produced the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan.
This summer’s production is “Princess Ida,” one of the later G&S shows by the dynamic duo of satirists who were so entertainingly portrayed in the 1999 film “Topsy-Turvy.” “Princess Ida” opens this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Music Hall. (It was previously performed by the Savoyards in 1967, 1980 and 1999.)
The seven performances, including two SUNDAY (not Saturday, as erroneously first stated) matinees at 3 p.m., take place at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music. The hall is located on the UW-Madison campus at the foot of Bascom Hill.
Here is a link to the home web page of The Madison Savoyards. You can find more information including: directions and connections to purchase tickets; the dates and times of performances; background about the Savoyards and about Gilbert and Sullivan; reviews of past productions; videos and recordings; pre-performance dinners; information about how to support and participate in the group; and even a newsletter.
http://www.madisonsavoyards.org
Tickets for “Princess Ida” can be purchased at the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office, by phone at (608) 265-ARTS, or online at www.uniontheater.wisc.edu
The story, adapted from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s epic poem, “The Princess,” is set in Medieval Europe. Princess Ida, betrothed in infancy to Prince Hilarion, has forsworn men and is now head of a women’s school that teaches philosophy, science and the fickleness of men. Intent on winning her heart, Hilarion and his friends set out on a quest that involves sneaking into Ida’s school disguised as women, and culminates in an epic sword-wielding battle.
“It’s just good old Gilbert and Sullivan fun,” says stage director Audrey Lauren Wax (below), who works with StageQ in Madison. “Who doesn’t love the fact that there are three siblings who look nothing alike and the only real connection they have is that it takes three of them to equal one full brain!”
Music director Grant Harville assures audiences that “fans of Sullivan’s contributions to these collaborations will hear exactly the sorts of features that attract them to these works.” Musical numbers run the gamut, from silly patter songs including, “Whene’er I Spoke” and “If You Give Me Your Attention,” to more poignant, lyrical numbers such as, “I Built Upon a Rock.”
Action, plot twists and the generous doses of humor sprinkled throughout Princess Ida will certainly keep audience members on their toes.
The cast includes some veterans of the stage, with Milwaukee native Naiza Delica (below left in a photo by Jane Wegenke) as Princess Ida, Donald Dexter (middle) as King Gama and UW-Madison senior William Ottow (below right) as her romantic counterpart, Prince Hilarion.
William Rosholt and Donald Dexter appear as the dueling kings Hildebrand and Gama, and Patrick Chounet and Steven Groth play Hilarion’s two loyal friends, Cyril and Florian.
Gama’s three sons are played by Jim Chiolino, Alec Moeser and Matt White, and Rachel Bishop, Ann Baltes and Tiffany Orr appear as Lady Blanche, Lady Psyche and Melissa.
The cast includes over 30 members from the Madison area, including four families.
Music director Grant Harville (below) agreed to a Q&A with The Ear:
Can you briefly introduce yourself to readers?
I received my doctorate at the UW-Madison School of Music. This is my fourth Madison Savoyards production, and my fifth Gilbert and Sullivan show overall. I’m currently the Music Director and conductor for the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, and I teach at Idaho State University. But my ties to Madison go back a good 20 years now, and The Savoyards have been a rewarding way to stay active during the summer.
How does “Princess Ida” fit into the overall work of Gilbert and Sullivan, especially compared to such famous works as “The Pirates of Penzance,” “The Mikado” and “HMS Pinafore”? What does it share with the others and what separates it from them?
It’s a testament to the astonishing success of Gilbert and Sullivan’s collaboration that “Ida” was considered a failure, running for a “mere” 246 performances.
A lot of the characteristics found in their other projects are present here: punny, silly, clever, occasionally slapstick humor; ridiculous, buffoonish characters; and a lifetime’s worth of good tunes. Some of my favorites from “Ida” are “Gently, Gently,” “I Am a Maiden” and “The World Is But a Broken Toy.” (You can hear the opening of “Princess Ida” in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Sullivan is — and was in his own day — criticized for writing music that was “beneath him,” but I’ve never found that criticism fair. The melodies are perfectly constructed and brilliantly apt text settings; and there are plenty of traps for the company that underestimates the complexities of these scores.
G&S had a formula, to be sure, but there’s enough generic music out there for us to recognize that this is better than that. There’s a reason the duo has found a permanent place in the repertory while countless other works have gone by the wayside.
What do you find so appealing about the stream of William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan (below)? Do you find any relevance in “Princess Ida” to society and politics today? Can you elaborate?
I think what keeps bringing me back as a music director is how much I fall in love with the music each summer. No matter how good the drama is, or how funny the dialogue is, it’s the music that attracts me.
Because of its parody of feminism, “Ida” is perhaps more controversial than others of the operas. The parody that today’s audiences will recognize most readily is probably Lady Blanche, a university professor whose thinking has become so abstract that it no longer makes any sense.
What would you like the public to know about this particular production -– the cast, the musicians, the sets and costumes, whatever?
The Madison Savoyards expects, though certainly doesn’t require, a very high level of familiarity from some of its audience — to the degree that if a few words are transposed in the dialogue, there are people who will notice. (Not that such familiarity is required; G&S is extremely accessible.)
Because the company is dedicated to this repertoire, they devote all their resources to making the productions as polished as possible. That means beautiful sets and costumes, full orchestra accompaniment, outstanding staff support.
I’m proud of our cast and crew; they make a remarkable commitment to be in the show, and I think audiences will see it manifested on stage.
Tags: Alfred Lord Tennyson, Arts, Bascom Hill, Classical music, Gilbert, Gilbert & Sullivan, Gilbert and Sullivan, HMS PInafore, Idaho State University, Jacob Stockinger, King, Madison, Madison Savoyards, Medieval, Music, opera, Operetta, patter song, Pirates of Penzance, prince, princess, Princess Ida, Savoyard, Singing, Sullivan, The Mikado, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, YouTube
Classical music: Madison Savoyards marks 50 years of Gilbert and Sullivan with a production of “Pirates of Penzance” that opens this Friday.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Well, if you think, as I used to think – and sometimes still do — that the works of Gilbert and Sullivan (below) don’t really count as classical music, but are really closer to Broadway musicals or to light operettas, you should know that you are mistaken. Just as I was and am.
Many informed musicians and music outlets, including acclaimed classical music magazine and web sites, list G&S as opera. It’s that simple — no matter what you think of the pair’s signature patter songs and absurd plots.
So little wonder that I want to alert everyone to the fact that the Madison Savoyards will mark its 50th years of presenting annual summer productions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas with the ever-poplar “Pirates of Penzance.” (The Savoyards started in 1963 at West High School, which in my math adds up to 49 years, I think. But let’s be generous and call it 50 since they do.)
(The photo below, by Jason Chandler, shows, from left to right, soprano Catherine Schweitzer as Mabel, the surprisingly assertive daughter of Major General Stanley and a Ward in Chancery; Anthony Ashley as the Sergeant of Police, all a rather cowardly bunch of bobbies; and J. Adam Shelton as Frederic, lovelorn but duty-bound to continue as a pirate until his leap-year birthday relieves him of his apprenticeship.)
There will be seven performances in Music Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, beginning this Friday, July 20, and running through July 29, with both five evening shows and two matinee shows.
You can also join in the official 50th Celebration and Reception, University Club at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 22.
William Farlow of the University Opera is the stage director; Blake Walter, of Edgewood College in the music director of the full orchestra.
The community group now has more than 100 people involved in the productions.
For more information about dates, times, tickets and performers as well as video and audio excerpts from past Savoyard productions, here is a link:
http://www.madisonsavoyards.org/
It is also worth nothing that the Savoyards will open the next 50 seasons the same way they opened the first 50 seasons: with a production of “Iolanthe” in 2013. And in future seasons, the Savoyards is likely to present all 13 Gilbert and Sullivan operettas as they have done their beginning.
But for this year, it is the popular “The Pirates of Penzance.” (Below, the photo by Jason Chandler shows soprano Catherine Schweitzer as Mabel and tenor J. Ada, Shelter as Frederic.)
Seven performances of “The Pirates of Penzance” will be held in UW Music Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 20, and Saturday, July 21, as well as Thursday, July 26, Friday, July 27 and, Saturday, July 28; and at 3 p.m. on Sundays July 22 and July 29.
Tickets can be bought at the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office, (608) 262-2201, or through www.madisonsavoyards.org
Prices are: Adult, $30; seniors, $28; students, $15; children under 13, $5; premium seats, (center first 3 rows, $40; economy seats on the balcony side), $20.
Tags: Edgewood College, Gilbert, Gilbert & Sullivan, Operetta, Pirates of Penzance, Savoyard, Sullivan
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