Word: operettas
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When fairies invade England's House of Lords, there's bound to be some disruption in the docket. The operetta, Iolanthe, brings nothing less than interracial marriage, capital punishment, and the class struggle into the stodgy chambers. Even more remarkably, it resolves these and other hefty issues in a mere two hours, all set a rapid-fire patter rhythm with a few love scenes tossed in to spice up the action. A little fairy magic sure does a lot for a body of government...
...Harvard and Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players' production of Iolanthe has a few of its own charms. The sunny scenery and Technicolor costumes, the small size of the cast, and the quaint Agassiz Theater create a user-friendly atmosphere. The direction of the operetta avoids visual excess and distraction, which can sometimes by a problem when gossamer fairy wings, pomp and circumstance are involved. Overall, the bright simplicity of the arrangements, bordering on a cheerful campiness, complements the more complex plot, focusing attention on the characters instead of on their surroundings...
Since 1938, Lowell has brought to Harvard audiences baroque chamber opera one year, atonal and little-known modern works the next; effervescent Offenbach operetta is found alongside heavy Strauss works...
...success of the Dunster House operetta is particularly impressive considering the potentially fatal obstacles it overcame. For example, the opera requires a high standard of singing from not only it leads, but also from its secondary characters as well. Indeed, the Dunster House production steered clear of this potential pitfall, the smaller parts holding their own amongst the powerful voices of the leads, highlighting their uniformly excellent cast...
...program for H.M.S. Pinafore describes the show as "an entirely original nautical comic opera." "Nautical" is the only original item here, for if you've seen one Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, you've seen them all. Take the beloved feel-good plot of protagonists overcoming rigid British class divisions through happy fate, play it out in an exotic new location each time, and voila! You've got instant rollicking G&S humor. Luckily, it's an attractive formula and one that is well-mastered by the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players...