Iolanthe - Opening Chorus

[peter92305]

I remember my Gilbert & Sullivan phase with much affection. D'oyly Carte was a great introduction to light opera to many of my generation. We then progressed to Carmen and Puccini and still further on to Wagner in some cases. Am-dram. companies the world over have kept up the tradition but i think it was short-sighted of the U.K. government to withdraw funding for what was an irreplaceable institution.

[oboewizard]

The chorus and cast are very good. The harp gives me fits. Why was it necessary to mar this otherwise good production by re-orchestrating Sullivan's outstanding orchestration. The harp ruins this for me.

[Roseburg93]

The bit from 2:41 is outstanding.

[singerdude1234]

great preformance!!! that alto line is so important and they did it!!

[vectissimus]

Great fun.

[Johnmartine63]

I could watch thm all day... I lovfe the idea of fairies who may not be as graceful as expected...

[Bfdidc]

That group dance that starts around 3:32 cracks me up. It's weirdly graceful and clumsy at the same time.

[Tempast101]

lol. I love that version of iolanthe.

[Kevin90028]

Saw a community theatre production years ago. This being the suburbs, the fairies were all played by overweight middle aged housewives. The peers were all played by effeminate gay high school boys who loved theatre. It didnt really work.

[sparkyisbonkers]

sounds funny. do you have a video?

[Kevin90028]

Well, I have videos of the peers, but I probably shouldn't put them online.

[akarpowicz]

Actually that sounds like an interesting take depending on the singing talent.

[corlyssd]

Actually, Gilbert's directions for the casting of the fairies is that they are to be precisely what you saw: overweight. He wrote them as a parody of Wagner's Walkyries. Check out the Martyn Green's Treasury of Gilbert and Sullivan.

[LadyKeane27]

@Kevin90028 Maybe if the peers were played by middle-aged overweight housewives and the fairies were played by effeminate high school boys, it would have made for a better production. XD

[pixietrix68]

@Kevin90028

sounds pretty much how Gilbert & Sullivan intended it to me!

Much of the fairy queen humour is based on her being overweight and the house of peers (Lords) today still consists of what were once effeminate, gay high school boys.

[manwithabook]

This is an absolutely delightful presentation of the opening chorus. Thank you for posting it.

[yitz28]

love this play

[wudi69]

i'll be tyaking part in iolanthe in the summer... i'm hoping to get the part of celia or leila.

[sparkyisbonkers]

its a great show so enjoy it!

[susandrn]

I love this show!! SO much talent, brilliant choreography... Wish there were more scenes available from the Stratford Festival Production!!!

[PicklesTheHorse]

yeah its gr8!

[LiveThruDance93]

Im doin this play in September... Looks like fun! =D

[Artoveli]

This is the best version of Iolanthe I've ever seen, and the same goes for the Stratford Mikado. I haven't been able to find their Pirates of Penzance yet though!

[rossdave]

Iolanthe is one of the most underappreciated Gilbert and Sullivan musicals. Wonderful for posting it here. yay. I'm a big fan.

[captainfairfield]

Yes, it should be available from Amazon (or eBay). Google Gilbert and Sullivan Stratford Iolanthe. It is part of a three pack with The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. These are fairly close to traditional performances with a bit of contemporary comment here and there. Overall, a nice trio Canadian performances.

[dandanod]

is this an actual video i ca buy?