After Hours - Ira Sullivan

Advantages: The most popular, the most perfect, the most performed
Disadvantages: None

...it reinstated after a protest from the members of the cast and chorus. He was unable to stay in the theatre for the first night’s performance – trudging around the Thames Embankment – to return in time for the ovations at the final curtain. THE SONGS “The Mikado” leads off with a rousing overture that starts with oriental drum beats and proceeds to introduce the main musical themes. With one exception (“Miya Sama” – a Japanese Martial chorus) Sullivan avoided oriental influences in the music. It is riddled with songs and airs which are quintessentially English and that have become part of the musical heritage of the country. The opera is in two acts and is longer than some of its predecessors (about an hour and three quarters). Of particular note are (Official title first, popular song name in brackets): “A Wand’ring Minstrel; I... Read review

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Advantages: One of the superlative "five". Quintessentially English. Gilbert and Sullivan at their literary and musical best - and still topical today
Disadvantages: None

...is at the same time that the Fairy Queen reappears. The Queen has no alternative but to condemn Iolanthe to death for violating the fairy law. As she raises her spear the fairy chorus enters with the peers and declare that they will all have to be killed as they have been recently married. Not wanting to kill everybody, the Fairy Queen agrees to the Lord Chancellor’s plan to rewrite (slightly) the law to state that “every fairy shall die who does NOT marry a mortal”. The Fairy Queen now has to marry to save her own life and proposes to Private Willis. They all fly off the fairyland and live happily ever after. GILBERT AND SULLIVAN HISTORY By the time the opera “Patience” came to the end of its run of 578 performances, the D’Oyly Carte organisation had transferred to the new Savoy Theatre in the Strand in London. With seating for nearly 1300... Read review

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Advantages: Not well known but is an important bridge in the historic cycle
Disadvantages: Not well known and quite dated

...The operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan remain as popular now as they ever were when written over a century ago. In all, this most famous of musical collaborations produced fourteen operas. The most popular (“Iolanthe”, “Yeomen Of The Guard”, “The Mikado”, “The Gondoliers”, “Pirates of Penzance” and “HMS Pinafore”) are quite timeless and their themes remain pointed. It is not surprising that within such a catalogue, there will be some titles that have not stood the test of time so well. Here, in “Princess Ida”, is one – an opera that had a relatively short initial run, an opera relegated to the “rarely performed” list, an opera after which the partnership almost disappeared. THE PLOT The story revolves around two rival kingdoms – ruled by King Hildebrand and King Gama respectively. Twenty one years before Hildebrand’s son... Read review

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