Yeomen of the Guard

[oboewizard]

I wish there were more "amateur" productions of G&S in the US that are as good as this. One might quibble with this or that - but heck I do that with the Met. On the whole this is outstanding. I love the madrigal - beautiful voices and excellent blend; same with the trio. I don't agree with the comment about ornamentation. I think Sullivan would have loved it.

[katejhx]

brill!

[TauntonSavoyard]

What a terrible rendering of Phoebe's opening number. The dancers are totally extraneous and add nothing - in fact they are a distraction. Why does Phoebe have to embelish the vocal line? It's not what Sullivan wrote or required. This is G & S - not Rossini or Donizetti. One of the Yeomen is wearing glasses. There is far too much horseplay in "I have a song to sing O" - this is a story told by Point and Elsie, it does not need extra input. Kate is far too dominent in "Strange Adventure".

[indigoziona]

@TauntonSavoyard Disagree - I also thought this a needlessly negative comment for overall very good material.

Phoebe has a beautiful voice, and I very much enjoyed her solo, as well as the horseplay in 'I have a song to sing O'.

[linnyleer]

Very good. My only criticism is that in "Strange Adventure" The soprano (Kate?) does not understand that a madrigal should try to not have any parts over power the others. She tends to sing to strong for the others.

[rxtaylor3]

Well done Durham, really convincing and imaginative. We (Godalming Operatic) are performing Yeoman in February in Godalming and Leatherhead (England), lovely to see a different type of production.

[lhrlyc]

excellent singing - impressed

i take it that this is Durham in the north east of England?

[darrylfreedman]

No. It's Durham North Carolina, but our company has been singing G and S since 1963.

[indigoziona]

@darrylfreedman I thought they all sounded English? And very English, not silly pretend English :)

(I have an - I think - Australian recording of Yeomen where Phoebe is inexplicably Cornish sounding, and Jack makes no attempt hide his native accent)

[clandestineone]

Perhaps the recording is to blame, but the orchestra sounds as if it ought to be euthanized -- particularly in the opening passage.

[Maloperverso]

Can anyone please explain to me what Yeomen are/were like I was retarded? Are they farmes with slaves or without slaves (aroud the US civil war era context)?

[mandythepcgirl]

They were guards to the queen in England - and still are. This was based in the early 19th century. Has nothing to do with the US at all.

[RobM75]

Actually, it's generally set in the 16th century.

[lhrlyc]

this was based MUCH earlier than the 19th century ... a couple of hundred years earlier!]

[Yitzhakhazak]

@Maloperverso

If I may....Yew is the wood bows were made of so Yeomen would be archers!

Archers of the Guard in the olden days!

In the 16th century probably! There´s a good baritone part in it if somebody´s interested!

[oldcremona]

Goosebumps!

[ftumschk]

Truly excellent - great voices, great costumes. Well done!

[aaron3lee]

excellent. liked it very much. i have nothing else to compare it to, but i still liked it very much regardless.

[gkeeler]

Wow guys, great "Strange Adventure." Not easy to sing that & keep in tune (he said from frightening personal experience). Good going!

[numabeav]

awsesome!!

[RadiomomVT]

YAY! Making Gilbert & Sullivan accessible and enjoyable for an expanded audience who might never otherwise imagine enjoying something called a comic operetta! Durham Savoyards RULE!

[RossiniSoprano]

Great costumes! The choreography is a little too bwy sometimes, though.  And, wow, a Jack Point with an actual voice...cool! About Fairfax....what is he, about 18 years old? OH...that tempo on "when a wooer goes a wooing"...YIKES, that's fast!

[numabeav]

yeah, but it was mostly awesome, and YOU KNOW IT!!!

[Griwhoolda]

Mostly fast, I'd say.

[numabeav]

whatev, I liked it.

[StevenPierceLumpkin]

Oooh, I was that Fairfax! And I was 22 at the time, now 23. ;)