The Gondoliers

The Gondoliers
Libretto by W S Gilbert, music by Sir Arthur Sullivan. Rockdale Opera Company. Directed by Ralph Bott. Musical Direction by Jon Smith. Rockdale Town Hall. 24 June to 4 July, 2017

Rockdale Opera Company bills itself as the oldest opera company in Australia in continuous operation, being founded by Rockdale Municipal Council in 1948.

The current production of The Gondoliers is the 8th staging of the operetta over the past 69 years.

The Gondoliers was indeed the 12th of Gilbert and Sullivan’s collaborations, notably Sullivan’s last great success. Opening at the Savoy Theatre London almost 130 years ago, it ran for 554 performances making it the fifth longest running piece of musical theatre in history.

This current production by Rockdale Opera Company is exactly what one expects, a competent staging of a much-loved operetta, with an emphasis on beautiful music, both from the stage and the orchestra pit.

Director Ralph Bott has chosen to stage the work in a very traditional if not static manner allowing the singing to take precedence, from a mixed bunch of singers with varying degrees of experience and excellence.

Musical Director Jon Smith has once again reorchestrated Sullivan’s larger than usual orchestration to suit a more than competent orchestra of 18 players. The orchestra is kept in beautiful control to accompany the singers, not dominate, which can often occur.

Remaining true to the art form, this company does not use sound reinforcement, which continues to be a brave move in a venue known for its less than kind acoustics.

Accordingly, while the singing is mostly clear, sadly the dialogue from some performers is not clear at all. There needs to urgent attention to voice projection to allow this production to succeed.

This production demonstrates to me that what works in the rehearsal room does not always transfer successfully to the stage. This is particularly evident with Gordon Costello as The Duke of Plaza Toro. While giving a very polished performance as such, his assumed comedy accent meant that we could not understand the dialogue at all, not the best scenario for G & S funny man. Ditch the accent and you have a funny character as Mr Gilbert intended.

As previously mentioned, there is an emphasis on beautiful music particularly the singing. A strong line up of principals is enhanced by an equally strong chorus.

As the Gondolieri Marco and Guiseppe, Spencer Darby and Michael Kallidis are joined by Amy Bales and Charlotte Campbell as Gianetta and Tessa, providing the opportunity for a blending of fine voices for duets and quartets, but also allowing these young performers to shine as solo performers. Of course one expects a beautiful rendering of “Take a pair of Sparkling Eyes” and that is what we got from Mr Darby.

A performer to watch is Jessica Harper as Cassilda. With a fine soprano voice, particularly in the upper register, this Cassilda is a joy to listen to. Jessica is joined by Daine Ellicot as the love interest Luiz, who is actually the King of Barataria in disguise. A smaller voice but blending nicely with his Cassilda.

A regular with ROC audiences, Megan Chalmers is at home as the domineering Duchess of Plaza Toro, well matched with her Duke, Gordon Costello.

My top marks for clarity in vocals and diction go to another regular ROC performer, Rory Struthers as Don Alhambra del Bolero, playing a forceful character throughout.

Other minor principals then fill out the remaining roles with competence.

Beautiful costumes of the period add a quality look to the production.

I attended the opening night performance and I expect that first night nerves took hold. I saw very few smiles.  Folks, have fun with the work and the audience will have fun with you.

There are two more performances next weekend, Saturday night at 7.30 and Sunday afternoon at 2. It’s worth the trip to Rockdale just to enjoy the music if nothing else.

Bob Peet

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