Charles Court Opera Does it again!
At Wilton’s Music Hall to see the Charles Court Opera’s production of Iolanthe (that’s the Gilbert & Sullivan with fairies and Peers).
Charles Court Opera (CCO) is a regular visitor to Wilton’s (one or two week runs) and we’ve seen a number of cast members this time before (these are all established opera singers who work across a number of companies, some very distinguished). So we very much welcomed back Matthew Kellett as the Lord Chancellor and Catrine Kirkman as Lady Mountararat (sic) – channelling her Baroness Thatcher to a ‘T’, and Meriel Cunningham as the dominating mezzo Fairy Queen.
John Savournin – as the Artistic Director of CCO – also updates the scripts and in this case the Peerage is very much mixed sex, as it is now in real life. And the updates manage to match Gilbert’s satire and turn of phrase admirably, whilst making more sense of the ‘book’ to a modern audience.
There is but a single set, a convincing slice of the Lord’s Library, but it entirely suffices for the action. (Private Willis becomes the Lord’s Librarian, but this isn’t a structural problem to keep all the action in the Library).
So – does it work? Yes, absolutely – the singing is never worse than fine, and at moments top-notch, the script revisions really work, the comic acting and timing is first rate. If CCO comes near you (it tours) catch this if you can.
(Assuming you like Victorian English Comic Operetta!).
I found the script revisions convincingly Gilbertian, especially in the references to contemporary events (we watched it the evening of a certain bye election, the outcome of which some audience members clearly already knew). I don't think he'd have approved of the female peer though, thatcherite gestures notwithstanding. The Lord Chancellor was a bit less rotund than I expect and consequently lacking in gravitas, but he gave that patter song a plausible shot,even though on the evening I attended he tripped over some of the words. Everyone was very energetic and there was a lot of bouncing around making full use of the multi-level set. And, as I said, what wonderful wonderful voices.
I agree Gilbert wouldn't have liked the Peeresses, although the tiny cast rather required some, but some of his satires, around Wards of Chancery, are somewhat arcane now. I think the amended lines of the patter songs were acceptable, and even quite clever, and the casts enthusiasms infectious But if this sort of assay on G&S isn't sung well it fails, and this definitely didn't fail on that account. I was in the performance after the result (Friday last) and accusing an audience member of being a Conservat - IVE got a good reaction.