English Touring Opera - The Gondoliers
'Carry On Venice', anyone?
Since English Touring Opera was founded in 1979, the company had previously only produced one work from the Victorian partnership of W S Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan and that was in 2017 when 'Patience', in which a sprightly world created out of Oscar Wilde and Whistler's aestheticism, was cleverly used by director Liam Steel to simultaneously poke fun our own modern-world fashion and celebrity foibles.
This year, Steel once again turns back the wheels of time to direct this Venetian romp in which a pair of Republican gondoliers are led to believe that one of them is the rightful heir to the throne of Barbaria. The pair arrive, where they jointly assume the role of rulers within a “monarchy that is tempered with Republican equality”, whilst promoting everyone around them to the nobility. Does it remind you of anybody?
With Michael Pavelka's magnificent canal-side set, complete with bridges and 'pali di casada' creating a magnificent backdrop to Act One, and being completely replaced during the interval by an equally spectacular court interior, this production is a visual treat. Complemented by colourful costumes designed by Laura Jane Stanfield, and lit by Zeynep Kepekli, the entire cast seem to revel in the splendour of this lush production.
This is one of the later collaborative works written by Gilbert and Sullivan, and whilst their working partnership was by now under strain, WS Gilbert's lyrics, and marvellous sense of phonetic rhythm, remain full of wit, and have you hanging onto every word. Arthur Sullivan, however, is by this point already busily writing his own opera, Ivanhoe, which is debuted in London just two years later, meaning that The Gondoliers was their last really big hit.
English Touring Opera have really excelled themselves on this production – from the leading characters to the supporting cast, the performances are excellent. Robin Bailey and Samuel Pantcheff are perfect in the leading roles of Marco and Guiseppe, and that energy and enthusiasm cascades down the line, from Phoebe Smith and Beth Moxon as Venetian brides Gianetta and Tessa, to the nurse Inez (Judy Loue Brown), who gets to deliver the big reveal at the end.
As someone who has never fully appreciated Gilbert and Sullivan's unique brand of light operetta, I have to admit that I have always been a bit of a snob when it comes to opera - I was probably put off G&S by my old grammar school productions, where the handsome young geography teachers got all the best roles, and performed alongside the prettiest girls from the Sixth Form. However, I am not bitter, and I absolutely loved this English Touring Opera production, perhaps in the same way that I loved all the old Ealing comedies, and the Carry On films.
'Carry On Venice', anyone?
