2021-22 Fall opera scenes: Gilbert and Sullivan ride again

On the weekend of October 15, Viterbo’s Conservatory for the Performing Arts presented a short program of scenes from Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, titled “I Have a Song to Sing!” The hilarious grouping of pieces included some of the lesser-known works among the British duo’s repertoire. Scenes featured came from “Ruddigore” (1887), “Yeomen of the Guard” (1888), “The Gondoliers” (1891), “Patience” (1881), and “Princess Ida” (1884).  

On Friday night and Sunday afternoon, the cast of less than a dozen filled the Nola Starling Recital Hall with song and dance. Their art was woven together with British accents and heaping bushels of poetic Victorian language. To their credit, the performers delivered both spoken and sung text with professional clarity, Gilbert’s flowery syntax never tying their tongues. 

Portraying a motley crew of lovesick lads and lasses, lords, ladies, gondoliers, jesters –and those attending to their troubles—the group of voice students loosed operatic tones that filled the hall and received many laughs in return. Each student got their own solo in the production, which was the vision of Tyler Boegler, the production’s musical director.  

Karla Hughes, the scenes’ stage director, brought her past experience in the opera industry to the table to craft 45 minutes of pure entertainment with no institutional budget and a set consisting only of boxes. The cast used these resources with effectiveness, using simple choreography enhancing their text delivery. Foam swords and cardboard crowns only served to add to the impression of fun and goofy irony characteristic of Gilbert and Sullivan’s societal commentary.  

With stellar performances all around, not one singer stole the show. Just one example came from Ellery Larson, portraying the worldly Lady Angela in a scene from “Patience.” She evoked more than a few giggles from the audience when the music education major came on the scene by plastering her back to the stage wall dramatically while holding an absurdly long-stemmed rose. Rhiannon Baasch, her scene partner—in the role of the comic opera’s heroine—was at that point crying disconsolately on a bench about the confusing nature of love, an irony which furthered the audience’s enjoyment. 

All in all, the cast delivered a fun and inspiring performance that will live on in attendees’ minds for as long as Sullivan’s catchy tunes. “I Have a Song to Sing” was one of the first Viterbo performances to benefit from a new Fine Arts Center Box Office policy: the opportunity for students to get a ticket for just $1—making the fine arts even more accessible to the everyday college student. Gilbert and Sullivan would be proud.