Pirates of Penzance waves of fun
It has been a challenging summer for Calgarians. First there was the flood; now there are pirates in the East Village. But these are no pillaging pirates, they are all English noblemen who have “gone wrong,” and their nefarious intentions are limited to the dastardly task of getting married.
This, in a briefest telling, is the basic story of Gilbert and Sullivan’s popular operetta, which opened Thursday evening before a sold-out audience under a tent by the Bow River in the East Village.
Opera in the Village, a new venture for Calgary Opera, is an attempt to bring the concept of summer stock theatre to the city, but it comes with a significant difference.
Normally, summer stock productions are long on hijinks, if sometimes a bit thin in resources. In this instance, the company has brought the full resources of a main stage production of an operetta, complete with a first-run cast of a quality rarely encountered in operetta productions.
No effort has been spared in the matter of the production, which features an imaginative set and a terrific stage direction by Robert Herriot, whose engagement with Victorian comedy preserves something of its style and tone while also bringing to the staging a more modern sensibility. The production is terrifically funny, but funny in a way that comes directly from Gilbert’s quite clever, if zany, libretto.
While there is some updating of the words, it is all in a long-established G&S tradition of making comedy funny in a local and timely sense. Anyone who enjoys Rick Mercer will also enjoy the clever gags and local jokes that are part of this production.
The central joy of this extremely fine production lies, however, first and foremost in the excellence of the cast. Heading it is Tracy Dahl as Mabel, well cast vocally in a coloratura role and as pert as can be. She is paired with a perfect Frederick in Colin Ainsworth, whose lyric tenor, good looks, and tall figure are absolutely ideal for the part. Vocally, they both sang their parts to perfection.
It was a luxury to have a singer of the calibre of Brett Polegato as the pirate king — rather like bringing a BMW to a summer picnic — and as one could expect, he made everything that is possible from the role, his voice commanding and of excellent quality, and the comic element strong and perfectly in character.
A very pleasant surprise was the vocal and dramatic lift to the production from the secondary roles, notably Elizabeth Turnbull as Ruth, the piratical maid of all-work, and Michelle Minke as Edith. Both singers have real stage presence and fine voices and both made important contributions to the general fun and to the vocal side of the production.
David LeReaney was first-class as Major-General Stanley, delivering the patter song in the best G&S tradition, with excellent diction and a fine sense of comic character. Thomas Goerz as the Sergeant of Police made the most of his two very funny songs, leading his troops to a timorous “glory and the grave.” Completing the cast were Tyler Fitzgerald as a strong-voiced, well-characterized Samuel, and Jennifer Sproule as Kate, both with experience in the company’s Emerging Artist program.
The pit orchestra was drawn from members of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted with skill and taste by Gordon Gerrard, who has a long history with Calgary Opera.
While the orchestra played tastefully and very well, I would have enjoyed having somewhat greater strength in the strings, but it would have been difficult to fit more players into the space available. The natural acoustics of the performing space, with the stage in the middle of the audience, is not ideal, and the singers had to be miked. While this in itself is not a problem, the quality of sound varied considerably depending upon where one sat. Given the outdoor venue, this is a situation that will probably have to be lived with.
In sum, this is a very auspicious launching of summer musical theatre in the city, and given the perfect weather, it was a night that everyone present will remember with pleasure.
It is to be hoped that the venture can become a permanent fixture of summer in Calgary and that light opera will find a new home on the banks of the Bow.