Apr. 26, 2005. 01:00 AM
The polesters are upbeat
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
There’s nothing quite like a
Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.
The music is full
of airy optimism and rapid-fire rhythms, the librettos are crammed with wit,
irony and rhymes that occasionally stretch the boundaries of the language too
far.
It has always made
frothy entertainment — and that’s what’s on offer in Jane
Mallett Theatre, courtesy of Guillermo Silva-Marin’s Toronto Operetta Theatre
presenting its final event of the season, The Gondoliers. A cast
of 23 was in fulsome form on Saturday. (The remaining performances are tomorrow
afternoon, Friday and Saturday.)
The Gondoliers, which debuted in 1889, is a comic love story of gondoliers
poling their boats in mid-18th century Venice. Two of them (tenor Keith Klassen
and baritone Robert Longo) choose brides (soprano Elizabeth DeGrazia
and mezzo Gabrielle Prata) while blindfolded, before
a doddering Spanish duke (Keith Savage) arrives with wife (Margaret Maye),
daughter Casilda (soprano Emily Klassen) and serf Luiz (Rory McGlynn).
Casilda has been betrothed as a baby
to the infant son of the King of Batararia, who’s
been smuggled to Venice by the Grand Inquisitor (Sean Curran), so pretty soon
you know the plot will end up with three wives and two husbands, since no one
knows which leading gondolier is the smugglee and therefore the king.
Derek Bate conducted his small orchestra to good effect once he
restrained his keen charges from overpowering the femme singers introducing
this concoction. The strapping male gondolier chorus was in good voice, too,
their diction and projection superior to their female counterparts. They can
act, too.
Only rarely did
performers supporting the nine cast members with big songs to sing wobble.
DeGrazia (remembered as Christine in The
Phantom of the Opera) has a sweet voice and gave Gianetta
convincing appeal, while Prata as Tessa was a strong
character study. (Perhaps it helped that she’s married to Longo. Their
coquettish intertwinings were appealing.) Longo as Guiseppe and Keith Klassen (as Marco, who gets to sing “Take
A Pair Of Sparkling Eyes”) both showcased a warm,
expressive delivery. The other main players did not fare quite as well.
I would have liked
a touch more farce in these shenanigans. Savage was by far the most effective
in providing this. This operetta is considered relatively mature G&S, but it does no harm to play for more laughs than
just inserting a sly remark or two about sponsorship scandals and Conrad Black.
The costumes work, the orchestral playing suited the cause and the ensemble
singing, was mostly strong, though vocal colour
occasionally drifted into the pallid and uniform.
Overall it’s a
stylish production, one that deals effectively with
the skilful word-painting that transforms what could have been a mere trifle.
In the sparkling finale the cast sings “very contented are we.”
And so we were.
THE GONDOLIERS
Featuring Keith Klassen, Elizabeth
DeGrazia
Music by Sir Aurthur
Sullivan
Libretto by WS Gilbert
Directed by Guillermo Silva-Marin
Presented by Toronto Operetta
Theatre
To Apr 30 Fri-Sat 8pm
$35-$75. Jane Mallett Theatre, 27 Front E
416-366-7723
Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers is Toronto Operetta Theatre’s
vigorous and finely polished final production of the 2004-2005 Season. Brothers
Marco (Keith Klassen) and Giuseppe (Robert Longo) are gondoliers in
18th-century Venice who learn shortly after their twin marriages that they
aren’t in fact brothers – one of them (and they’re not sure who) is the heir to
the throne of Barataria.
The first-rate cast sings and dances a story of mistaken
identity, ridiculous political manoeuvring and a love
hexagon, all rather silly and all in the name of a little merriment TOT veteran Keith Savage is particularly charming
as the sprightly, bumbling near sophisticate, the Duke of Plaza Toro. Derek Bate’s 11-piece orchestra breezes through Sullivan’s tunes and
the period costuming is simple and effective.
While the singers, particular the sopranos, occasiona1ly fall
into the trap of singing beautiful notes at the expense of comprehensible
words, The Gondoliers is sharp, funny, full of life and well executed across
the board.
ANDREW BRAITHWAITE
Visit www.torontooperetta.com