Fans of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan are in for a treat this November as the internationally acclaimed Carl Rosa Company return to Cardiff with three of their finest operettas. Iolanthe, The Yeoman of the Guard and an exciting new production of Patience can be seen at the New Theatre for one week only from Tuesday 27 November. This is the first time a repertoire of Gilbert & Sullivan productions has toured the country since the days of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. An enduring fantasy on the class and political system, Iolanthe, directed by the company’s Artistic Director Peter Mulloy, tells the tale of a ward of court who may not marry her shepherd boyfriend. His Fairy Queen mother and his aunts storm Westminster to make him a Member of Parliament so he can win the girl, with fantastic consequences. Subtitled The Peer and the Peri, Iolanthe was first produced in 1882 at the Savoy Theatre and ran for over 400 performances. The Yeoman of the Guard, directed by Michael McCaffrey, is a story of ill-fated love, intrigue and escape in Tudor England. A framed colonel is to be executed in the Tower of London on charges of witchcraft but a mock marriage would cheat his betrayer of his estate. The court jester offers his sweetheart in exchange for a bag of coins… Commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1888 to celebrate the renovation of The Tower of London, The Yeoman of the Guard is Gilbert & Sullivan’s dark grand opera-style tribute to ‘the grim old Tower’. Sullivan wrote the piece during a bout of depression in which he accused himself wasting his talents musical comedies instead of writing grand opera and consequently The Yeoman of the Guard is one of his more serious operas. Directed by Peter Mulloy, Patience is a nineteenth century sparkling satire on Oscar Wilde and the aesthetes. A pretentious poet, Reginald Bunthorne, seduces a bevy of country girls away from their army sweethearts, although he really fancies the village milkmaid, Patience. When a rival poet appears all hell breaks loose… Patience was the fifth work in the collaboration between Gilbert & Sullivan, following Pirates of Penzance and preceding Iolanthe. During its first London revival in 1900 the production went dark three times due to the deaths of Arthur Sullivan, Queen Victoria and Richard D’Oyly Carte. The hugely talented Carl Rosa Company features Charlotte Page, Bruce Graham, Giles Davies, Henry Newman, Thora Kerr, Nuala Willis, Jill Pert and Lesley Cox who are accompanied by the Carl Rosa Orchestra. The Royal Carl Rosa Company was established in 1873 and closed in 1960. In 1998 Peter Mulloy together with musical Director Wyn Davies, relaunched the Carl Rosa Company as a touring light opera company. Over the past nine years they have toured nationally and internationally to Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and Europe with their productions of The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, The Merry Widow and The Pirates of Penzance. Since the demise of the D’Oyly Cart, the company has become the UK’s only professional touring company dedicated to keeping the heritage of Gilbert & Sullivan alive. This is their third visit to the New Theatre in recent years. New Theatre, Cardiff Tuesday 27 November – Saturday 1 December Iolanthe Tuesday 7.30pm, Wednesday 2.30pm & 7.30pm The Yeoman of the Guard Thursday 7.30pm & Friday 7.30pm Patience Saturday 2.30pm & 7.30pm Tickets range from £7 - £25 Box Office: 029 2087 8889 Book Online*: www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk *online sales are subject to a small transaction charge |
| New Theatre Cardiff web site: www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk |
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Wednesday, November 7, 2007 |
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