Word: operetta
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
What's more, in this opera all the players can actually sing. The majority of the cast deliver their "patter songs"--the quick-paced, witty recitatives that are the trademark of Gilbert and Sullivan operetta--with careful articulation of the words. This allows viewers who aren't familiar with the play to follow the plot and understand the jokes. Yamakawa and Rupp are more conventionally operatic singers. Yamakawa's solos are lovely, and the music occasionally surprises with its beauty, as in the grief-colored "merry madrigal" near the beginning...
...latest version of Johann Strauss' invincible operetta replaces Old Vienna with New York, and sets the story on the final day of Prohibition. Besides confirming the characters in their schnapps and vodka guzzling, this innovation allows for wittiness of reference: we got to see flappers onstage during the longer instrumental passages, and hear mention of Greta Garbo, Dillinger and Einstein. The evening's comedy embraced everything from metahumor and operatic in-jokes to puns, sight-gags and slapstick, and the freshness of the jokes kept the story lively through a potentially interminable second...
...confidante. Cannon's voice is consistently strong, clear and confidently delivered. As Dido, Lara Bruckmann is decidedly less imposing. Though her voice is clearly very highly trained, and possesses a wonderful, delicate vibrato and a good range, Bruckmann's performance, particularly in the first act of the two-part operetta, is hesitant and overly breathy...
This production marks the 40th anniversary of the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert & Sullivan players, and perhaps it is the collective club excitement that the polish of the show exudes. Down to the details of a sharp poster and a clever program which imitates the style of the operetta's 1879 debut, "The Pirates of Penzance" demonstrates a real love on the part of the participants. It's musical theater that does what it's supposed to: entertainment which immediately, and without cessation, entertains...
...fourth production of the Dunster House Opera is also, by far, its most ambitious. In past years, the Opera's choice of repertory has reflected the limitations of its all-student cast; last year's one-act Gianni Schicchi and the operetta Die Fledermaus were light comedies, allowing spirited acting to make up for the inevitable vocal shortcomings. This year, however, the Opera has set its sights considerably higher: the production is Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro," one of the most beloved operas, and it is performed with very few cuts, coming in at almost 3 hours running time...