James Karas
Toronto Operetta Theatre ends the
old year and brings in 2017 with a production of the Gilbert and Sullivan
classic, The Pirates of Penzance. TOT, it bears repeating, works under
severe limitations in terms of budget and space but it makes up for that in enthusiasm
and simple staying power. This Pirates has energy and fun despite
some uneven performances.
Operetta is to opera what farce
is to serious drama – silly plot but thoroughly enjoyable. But never
underestimate the brilliance of Gilbert’s lyrics or Sullivan’s music. Their
work is in a class of its own.
Vania Chan as Mabel and Colin Ainsworth as Frederic. Photo: Emily Ding
The pirates of the title operate
from the coast of Cornwall and they are so soft-hearted that will never molest
an orphan. And wouldn’t you know it, the entire British merchant navy is
recruited from orphanages.
Among these tough pirates we have
our hero Frederic, a Pirate Apprentice and, as the subtitle of the work tells
us, The Slave of Duty. Tenor Colin Ainsworth has the looks, voice and innocent mien
to satisfy the bill. He has seen only one woman so far but he cannot be
discharged from his indenture to the pirates until his 21st
birthday. But he was born on February 29 and his release will be decidedly
delayed. Ainsworth does a fine job in the role but please tie his hair in a ponytail
and get rid of the ridiculous pink headband.
Frederic falls in love with
Mabel, (soprano Vania Lizbeth Chan), the daughter of Major-General Stanley. The
sweetly-voiced Chan was energetic, coquettish, lovable and just delightful.
Hers was one of the best performances of the night.
Baritone Janaka Welihinda
attacked the role of the Pirate King with considerable panache. He is a young
singer but he has the comic verve and vocal equipment to be around for some
time to come. Elizabeth Beeler as Ruth, the Pirate Maid-of-all work, is a
veteran performer who tells Frederic that she is fair as gold even if time has
lined her face and grayed her hair. A real trooper.
The pirates meet Major-General
Stanley (baritone Curtis Sullivan) with his daughters and wards and not
surprisingly he turns out to be an orphan too. Sullivan gets the most memorable
patter song of the operetta, “I am the very model of a modern Major-General.”
It is a tough piece to do because it requires a good voice and a highly
disciplined tongue. Sullivan was clearly not at his best during the performance
that I saw and may well improve.
Some singers sang as if they were
marking and you wanted to reach over and turn up their volume Notable in this
respect was Adam Norrad as Samuel, Lieutenant to the Pirate King. He stood out
because he was the first one we heard. Antony Rodrigues as the Sergeant of
Police displayed the same tendency. Turn up the volume.
Conductor Derek Bate and the
“orchestra” are squeezed between the stage and the front row, occupying a kind
of no man’s land. Squeezed as they are, they manage to produce fine music under
less than ideal conditions.
The reason we have operetta
productions in Toronto is Guillermo Silva-Marin. He is the General Director of
TOT and the stage director, lighting designer and set designer of this
production. He adds some humour with references to CSIS and Trump but he is
relatively restrained. The directing is vigorous. The set is minimalist with a
few props and silhouettes of ship’s ropes, branches and leaves and the sea as
required. He and TOT deserve more funding, a better theatre and more
productions. Kudos to him for what he is doing.
Despite some uneven patches, this
is an overall fine and fun production well worth seeing.
____
The Pirates of Penzance by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan
opened on December 27 and will be performed six times until January 8, 2017 at
the Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East , Toronto ,
Ontario
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