Trial by Jury and The Sorcerer

Trial by Jury and The Sorcerer
By Gilbert and Sullivan. Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Victoria. Director: Diana Burleigh. Musical Director: Nigel McBain. May 14 – 21, 2011.

There was a disappointing crowd at the last performance of Trial by Jury and The Sorcerer by the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Victoria, which would reflect where The Sorcerer stands in the popularity stakes. It was also the third performance in just over twenty-four hours, which affected some principals.

However, there was much to admire. I have directed Trial by Jury on a number of occasions, so was pleasantly surprised to find much innovation in this production which kept the audience smiling. The Sorcerer was more conventional, but still worked well.

I was immediately impressed with young James Jackson as the Usher, and later the elder Notary. A tall energetic young man with a light, clean baritone, he will be an asset to the company. The other newcomer was English tenor, Christopher Cox. A handsome young man with a well-trained, beautiful tenor voice, he has everything the company would want in a leading man. He worked well with his two leading ladies, Laura Slavin and Cassandra Beckitt, both strong performers with beautiful voices.

Unfortunately having to play two leading roles three times in succession was a bit much and Christopher really struggled with his last aria in Sorcerer. Experienced Michael Try used the opposite approach, conserving his voice until he finally felt confident to open up at the end of Sorcerer. He played the Counsel for the Plaintiff and Dr Daly with equal success.

Dominating Sorcerer was the rich bass-baritone Ian Lowe playing an over-the-top Sir Marmaduke. He was very funny and it was lovely to hear his rich voice under-pinning the a capella quartets.

Nigel McBain kept the orchestra at an appropriate level, so all soloists could be heard, the costumes were lavish and the chorus work excellent. Though not up to the standard of The Arcadians, this was an enjoyable night at the theatre.

Graham Ford

Photographer: Andrew McGrail

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