Word: gilberts
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover, and a skit spoofing Gilbert & Sullivan (and possibly E. Power Biggs) entitled The Organist Who Never, Never Lost a Chord...
...selection of Patience was a fortunate choice, for although the Sullivan music is not so easily remembered, Gilbert's libretto is one of his most amusing. Abandoning the broader styles of Pinafore, Gilbert chose to satirize the aesthetes of the 1880's, characterized best by Oscar Wilde and his inevitable vest-pocket lily. With a sophisticated and satiric type of humor, the opera affords opportunities, if well handled, for superb comedy...
...cast, decked in outlandish costumes mocking the artistic craze of the period, is usually equal to the quick-witted and congenial pace set by the authors. Though no strong voices emerged, the singing bubbles smoothly over Gilbert's patter, and the evening's few sour measures are easily obscured by the humor of the lyric or the cleverness of the stage business...
...members of the company, Fred Koch and Diana Frothingham, are especially imaginative and adept at fitting actions to their parts. As the most Wilde character, Koch minces and skips his way effectively through such numbers as "If You Want a Receipt," proving himself worthy as Gilbert's "ultra poetical, super aesthetical, out-of-the-way young man." Miss Frothingham, as the imposing spinster, Lady Jane, combines husky voice and long arms in an admirable mimic of the decaying but determined old maid...
...chorus of British soldiers and love-sick maidens who enthusiastically catch the G & S flavor. Adele Hugo's choreography and the direction of John Benedict keeps this cast moving through well-timed routines. In the past, disappointing performances have made the Winthrop opera a risky luxury for Gilbert and Sullivan fans. This year, Patience is a necessity...