Performed in the Great Hall of Shaw House on 8th and 9th February.
Music director Harry Stanton; stage direction Duncan Powell, Jenny Spence, Don Crerar; accompanist Oliver Williams.
Kennet Opera chair Susan Moore noted: "It is a departure from our usual grand opera for us to perform a work by Gilbert and Sullivan (our only previous being Sullivan's The Zoo as part of a double bill in 2018). But we thought a one-off performance to cheer everyone up was worth the risk!" It certainly was, as the sellouts in Shaw Houses's Great Hall showed.
A G&S production was a milestone for many in the company, notably for our new music director Harry Stanton. Harry wrote in the programme: "As someone new to their unique blend of comic opera, I have been struck by the duo's ability to weave sharp wit and social commentary into music that is both beautiful and humorous."
No wigs, no wings! It wasn't just their singing and acting that the cast showed us, but their dress sense and hairstyling too. "Fairies with attitude", as costume chief Duncan Powell termed them, made up their own look: denim jackets, pigtails, boots, ribbons. "Private" Willis was no longer a guardsman, but a G5 security operative with a scruffy reflective jacket. And the peers' contrasting getup worked equally well: their business suits and ties, if anything, pointing up the blue-blooded nonsense that they spouted.
From top: peers and fairies; Strephon and Phyllis, and security guard Willis
| Fairies | |
|---|---|
| Queen of the Fairies | Susan Moore |
| Iolanthe | Maddie Smart |
| Celia | Natalia Cau |
| Leila | Jenny Spence |
| Fleta | Christine Crerar |
| Chorus of fairies | |
| Cathy Black Felicity Merchant Rosy Robinson Tamsin Slatter |
|
| Mortals | |
| Strephon, a shepherd | Oliver Embourne |
| Phyllis, a shepherdess | Lucy Fitt |
| Lord Chancellor | Don Crerar |
| Lord Tolloller | Ant Goffart |
| Lord Mountararat | Jim Mitchell |
| Willis, a security guard | Duncan Powell |
| Chorus of peers | |
| Jo Embourne Peter McGowan Bob Moore Edwin Trout |
