Delectable double-bill at Ohio Light Opera – 07/30/10
It’s amazing to consider how much ‘air’ was required to allow the two productions of Ohio Light Opera seen on Friday, July 30, to go on stage and amuse their respective audiences. The matinée was Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe, the evening brought Emmerich Kálmán’s The Gypsy Princess.
When it began, only about half of Iolanthe’s cast were fairies or ‘peri’ and the authors put it, to go along with ‘peers’—the other half of the title, and incidentally, the other half who eventually became peri as well. It’s a delightful, witty satire about politics (comparing Liberals and Conservatives to ‘peri’ and ‘peers’. For instance, The House of Lords is praised for doing nothing and doing it particularly well, in fact. That could never happen here!
Anyway, the plot (such as it is) hinges on the iridescent fairy wings eventually sprouted by everyone on stage, and the conductor Steven Byess! They all flutter so charmingly, whether their owners are moving or standing still, but fidgety in the process. Oh! Plot. (Sorry, I keep recalling images and distracting myself.) Strephon, a shepherd, has fallen in love with Phyllis, a shepherdess who is a Ward in Chancery. In order to marry, he needs the consent of her guardian, The Lord Chancellor, who is somewhat in love with her, himself. Poor Strephon has no father (human or otherwise) to act for him, while his mother Iolanthe, is a fairy. He knows only that he is half and half, his upper half being fairy and his lower half being mortal.
When he commiserates with his Mother, Phyllis observes them and thinks he’s in love with the other woman who appears to be of the same age as the two youngsters. (Fairies don’t age, you see.) There is a chorus of eight peers plus two earls who are singing and dancing fools, completely mirroring the chorus of lovely fairy ladies. In addition, there is the Queen of the Fairies and a Private Willis of the Grenadier Guards.
After much delightful song and dance, the peers decide they should marry the fairies, but of course, they cannot unless they change the law. Presto! This is done so that from then on, each fairy must marry a mortal, or else! Everyone thus either is fairy or becomes one by sprouting fairy wings. Delightful all around. (Don’t worry – it doesn’t need to make sense!)
Carol Hageman’s choreography was among the best I’ve seen for any production there, but with a superb dancer like Jon Gerhard as Strephon, it could hardly be otherwise. All around it was superb! (He also sings like a dream.) Caroline Bassett Miller was his Phyllis, and is an excellent actress as well as singer, throwing mini-tantrums here and there.
The Lord Chancellor (who gets all the great patter songs) was portrayed by Akron’s James Mismas, who brought down the house with his appearance in nightshirt and cap. Once he realizes that Iolanthe (Tania Mandzy) who has remained veiled in his presence until the final songs, is his former wife, thus making him Strephon’s father, all is quickly settled.
The Queen of the Fairies (spectacular mezzo Alta Dantzler) has begun to fall under the spell of love when she gets a glimpse of Private Willis, a handsome Grenadier Guard (portrayed by the tall and handsome Cory Clines) who quickly reciprocates.
Charlene Alexis Gross was responsible for the terrific and exceedingly appropriate costumes throughout, while scenic design was by Kimberly V. Cox (great huge flowers be-decking the proscenium arch-gorgeous!) and lighting by Paul R. Bourne greatly aided the magic produced by the other components of the production. Artistic Director Steven Daigle was the stage director who kept everything and everyone moving smartly about, producing a totally charming trip to fairyland for young and old.
The evening production was the delightfully farcical The Gypsy Princess. Under usual circumstances, one might not expect farce in this setting (Budapest and Vienna, 1914) but with two such talented comic artists (who were also excellent dancers and singers) as Nicholas Wuehrmann and Anthony Maida to portray the bon vivants Boni and Feri (respectively) it’s a wise director who turns them loose and lets them have at it! Julie Wright Costa (who made her debut as Sylva) some 24 years ago, is this time that wise stage director. She also took a turn on stage as the delightful Anhite (or the former high-stepping Hilda) and mother of the young hero Edwin, played by baritone Gary Moss. Local favorite Boyd Mackus was Prince Leopold Maria, husband to Anhite and father of Edwin.
This batch of Hungarian champagne (so necessary to the story) mirrors the society of the day when princes were captivated by beautiful show girls—and sometimes married them! In this case, the beautiful singer was Sylva Varescu (the stunning Chelsea Basler) who is managed by the Count Boni Kanscianu. When the prince falls for her, he tries to protect her, but Edwin is as devious as any of them.
Of course, he doesn’t divulge the fact that his parents have determined that he will marry his cousin Countess Staci (Raina Thorne), an orphan who has lived with his family for some time. The two get along so well that everyone just presumes the marriage will happen. When Sylva is informed of this, she disappears, leaving a very unhappy Edwin to be consoled by Staci.
At the ball to announce their engagement, Boni and Sylva appear—as man and wife, except they really aren’t. Feri appears soon after, and discovers that Edwin’s mama is none other than an earlier love of this own – the famous high-stepping Hilda. No longer is it possible for Edwin’s papa to forbid the prince’s marriage to the showgirl. After all, he married one, too!
Erich R. Keil’s set design was exactly right for either the nightclub, the prince’s villa or the hotel where everyone finds their true love. The nightclub was as worn and seedy as the villa was sumptuous. The gorgeous costumes were by Whitney Locher, and lighting by Krystal Kennel. As always, Carol Hageman’s choreography was stupendous! (Especially that for Boni and Feri. The two of them together should be able to revive vaudeville!) Ms. Wright Costa set a frisky pace for her troups and they carried it out in splendid fashion. Michael Borowitz conducted the OLO orchestra which just sounds better and better every time I hear it. This time, even concertmaster Selim Giray was able to get up on the stage – performing beautifully as the strolling Gypsy violinist.
What a splendid production this was! Although this double bill will not be seen again this season, Iolanthe will close the summer for OLO on Saturday August 7 at 7:30 pm. The Gypsy Princess has one more outing on Friday evening August 6. Actually, if you hurry, you can still see each of the seven shows: there is one performance of each to be seen between Wednesday afternoon and Saturday evening. Don’t waste any time! At their user-friendly web-site: http://www.ohiolightopera.org, you can easily see which seats are still available for which performances. Or, you may call the box office at: 1.330.263.2345. They’ll also be happy to add you to their mailing list for next season’s brochure, when available. That way, you won’t have to miss any of their fabulous performances!
Photos courtesy Ohio Light Opera by Robert Muller.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an e-book, but perhaps will be in print later this year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there’s always been the writing. I can’t imagine my life without it.
And now, after more than a few requests, I’ve started a blog about writing. You can find it http://bookmechanic.wordpress.com/ here.