Gilbert and Sullivan Fans!

Here are some specifics that we ask you to consider when preparing your audition for The Yeomen of the Guard:

This is Victorian grand opera, dramatic and serious (mostly). Unlike the other G&S operas, the prevailing tone is melancholy, autumnal, with a tragic ending. Nothing topsy-turvy about this opera, although there are disguises and deceptions to complicate matters. Gilbert avoids the “formula” that he had come to rely upon, and Sullivan displays a much more sophisticated style. His music can be quite grand, with touches of Verdi and Donizetti, contrasted with delicate “Elizabethan” moments.

Also: the D’Oyly Carte Opera recording from the 1960’s featuring John Reed as Jack Point, is a “point of reference” for this production. The more recent Neville Marriner recording is fascinating by contrast, with snatches of dialog included, and an all-star cast that includes Bryn Terfel as Shadbolt!

If you’re curious about the background, plot, characters, and so on, please visit the Gilbert & Sullivan Archive page or the Wikipedia article for The Yeomen of the Guard.

The somewhat dense dialog is quasi-Shakespearean, the syntax and vocabulary “lifted.” I am judiciously editing the script / score, according to my work with John Reed, star of the D’Oyly Carte, on a production in 1991, in which I played Jack Point.

The characters are very human, with flaws and foibles; they can be ironic, sarcastic, witty, with sometimes contradictory emotions. None of them are completely likeable – their motives are mixed, and their ethics are often compromised. There are dangerous plots, conspiracies and subterfuge, betrayals and heartbreak. I wouldn’t call it a “happy ending” when one character dies of a broken heart in the final moments.

The opera is set during the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII (1592) on the green/yard adjacent to the Tower of London, where prisoners were held, executions took place – and the royal apartments were situated as well. No anachronisms in this opera, where historical accuracy is significant. Our work will be as challenging and rewarding as the opera itself – and quite as irresistible as well!

Thank you very much for your interest.