Gilbert and Sullivan
Learn about the history of Gilbert & Sullivan
Photo by theatrerialto.ca
Behind the veneer of Victorian Era England was what author Lewis Carroll might have called a looking glass world, or what Gilbert & Sullivan would have called a topsy-turvy world.
Topsy-Turvy is the title of a 1999 movie about “G&S” and the production of one of their most famous comic operas, The Mikado. You might also be familiar with HMS Pinafore, or The Pirates of Penzance. Topsy-Turvy refers to the kind of worlds G&S were trying to create on stage through productions that were indeed comic commentaries on the politics and society of their time.
There are countless clubs and societies devoted to the music and production of Gilbert & Sullivan plays. Here in Canada you might sometimes catch one of their plays during the Stratford Festival in Ontario, or by McGill University students at the McGill Savoy Society. The Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre recently produced a Yiddish version of The Pirates of Penzance. But “Canada’s premiere Gilbert & Sullivan theatre company”, as their website has it, is located right here in Montreal, in a little hamlet in the city’s west end called Montreal West.
Gilbert & Sullivan premiered their first production, Thespis, in 1871. Just shy of 7 decades later the Montreal West Operatic Society was founded. Gilbert & Sullivan wrote 14 light operas, or operettas, for the D’Oyle Carte Opera Company in London. In 1939, under the direction of a man and woman who had at one time been a part of the D’Oyle Carte company, MWOS was born. They’ve been presenting G&S shows ever since.
Photo by theatrerialto.ca
The epithet “amateur” has fallen out of favour in recent years, replaced with the more appropriate-sounding “non-professional,” reserved for companies, like MWOS, who put on professional-level productions even though none of the players are pros. I have the unfair advantage of having been a part of the troupe, and having been back stage. They’re a rag-taggle bunch of like-minded lovers of G&S lyrics and melodies. Some are knowledgeable purists, others neophytes who just want to perform.
Their latest show is a review of Gilbert & Sullivan music presented by the Rialto Theatre: The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan. The poster promises “Including Trial by Jury,” a short piece that will be presented in its entirety in the second act, along with performances by returning MWOS alumni.
The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan, at The Rialto Theatre, Friday, May 20 at 7:30, and Saturday, May 21 at 2:00 and 7:30.
General Admission: $10.00.
Reserved seating: adults $20.00, students/seniors $12.00.
Funds raised through program sales go to the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Theatre-goers will be excited to learn that the musical Lies My Father Told Me, written up here last week, has been extended one more week to May 29!
Also, watch this space for details on the newly-announced Just For Laughs Line-up.
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