THE NEW LONDON OPERA GROUP
presents
Princess Ida
or
Castle Adamant
a respectful operatic per-version of The Princess
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Libretto by WS Gilbert
Music by Arthur Sullivan
With Special thanks to:
All at Louth Playgoers’ Riverhead Theatre for their warm welcome and assistance with all aspects of this production.
Holy Trinity Church, Prince Consort Road and The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, for their kind provision of rehearsal space.
Cast
King Hildebrand Tom Entwistle
The Prince Hilarion (his son) Robert Felstead
Cyril (friend of Hilarion) Noah Mosley
Florian (friend of Hilarion) Seb Junemann
King Gama Philip W Errington
Arac Benjamin Gray
Guron (his sons) Graeme Barton
Scynthius Tony Bannister
Princess Ida (daughter of King Gama) Yvette Litchfield
The Lady Psyche (Professor of Humanities) Fay Carradine
The Lady Blanche (Professor of Abstract Sciences) Charlotte Collier
Melissa (her daughter) Jennifer Sidebottom
Sacharissa Ayesha Als-Murchie
Chloe Laura Anstice
Ada Tanya Chong
Chorus of Courtiers, Soldiery and Girl Graduates
Ella Armstrong-Lach, John Barrow*, Adam Barter*, Nicky Berkley,
Amy Bird, Tony Blackmore*, Chris Cann, Juliet Crissell,
John Elliot*, Tom Hopkinson*, Fiona Nash, Amy Slater,
Rachel Stack, Tom-Collin Thorpe*, Bob Vaughan,
Eirian Walsh Atkins
* Gentlemen of the extra chorus
Production Credits
Musical Director Graham Rogers
Stage Director Chris Cann
Fight Director Bob Vaughan
Lighting Designer Steve Greenwood
Stage Manager Alex Woolley
Set Design Tony Bannister
Set Construction Ella Armstrong-Lach, Tony Bannister,
Eric Cahill, Chris Cann, Fay Carradine,
Steve Greenwood, Bob Vaughan,
Eirian Walsh Atkins & Alex Woolley
Costumes The Haslemere Wardrobe
Wardrobe Co-ordinator Eirian Walsh Atkins
Wigs & Make-up Alaric Barrie & Chris Cann
Properties Bob Vaughan
Broadswords Rob Barham & the ROH Armoury
Poster Tony Bannister
Publicity Tony Blackmore
Programme Chris Cann
Répétiteur Anna Tetsuya
Orchestra
Piano Anna Tetsuya
Violin Michelle Lee
Double Bass Frances Emery
Flute / Piccolo Carla Finesilver
Clarinet Victoria Kerby
Oboe Sarah Ashworth
Bassoon Cathy Whitfield
French Horn Robin Avery
Percussion Richard Burrows
Synopsis of Musical Numbers
Prelude
Act I
“Search throughout the panorama” (Chorus & Florian)
“Now harken to my strict command” (King Hildebrand & Chorus)
“Ida was a twelvemonth old” (Prince Hilarion)
“From the distant panorama” (Chorus)
“We are warriors three” (Arac, Guron, Scynthius & Chorus)
“If you give me your attention” (King Gama)
“P’raps if you address the lady” (Company)
Act II
“Towards the e Toward the empyrean heights” (Chorus of Girls with Lady Psyche,
Melissa, & Sacharissa)
“Mighty maiden with a mission” (Chorus of Girls)
“Oh, goddess wise” (Princess Ida)
“And thus to empyrean heights” (Chorus of Girls)
“Come mighty Must” (Lady Blanche
“Gently, gently” (Hilarion, Cyril & Florian)
“I am a maiden, cold and stately” (Hilarion, Cyril & Florian)
“The world is but a broken toy” (Ida, Hilarion, Cyril & Florian)
“A lady fair of lineage high” (Psyche with Hilarion, Cyril & Florian)
“The woman of the wisest wit” (Psyche, Melissa, Hilarion, Cyril & Florian)
“Now wouldn’t you like to rule the roast” (Melissa & Blanche)
“Merrily ring the luncheon bell” (Blanche, Cyril & Chorus of Girls)
“Would you know the kind of maid” (Cyril)
“Oh, joy! Our chief is saved” (Company)
Act III
“Death to the invader!” (Chorus of Girls & Melissa)
“I built upon a rock” (Ida)
“Whene’er I spoke” (Gama & Chorus of Girls)
“When anger spreads his wing” (Chorus)
“This Helmet I Suppose” (Arac & Chorus)
“This is our duty plain” (Chorus)
“With joy abiding, together gliding” (Ida, Hilarion & Chorus)
Synopsis
Prince Hilarion, only son of King Hildebrand was betrothed in infancy to Princess Ida, daughter of King Gama. Ida has come of age and Hildebrand’s court is awaiting the arrival of King Gama with his daughter. However, when Gama arrives, it is with his three loutish sons, rather than the princess. Gama reveals that Ida has renounced men, repudiated her marriage and shut herself up in Castle Adamant, where she has founded a women’s university from which all men are excluded. Hilarion decides to go to Castle Adamant and woo Ida, accompanied by Cyril and Florian. Meanwhile, Gama and his sons are held hostage for their safe return.
At Castle Adamant, the female students are being tutored by Lady Psyche and Lady Blanche. Princess Ida enters and gives a lecture on the superiority of women and Lady Blanche reveals her own ambition to be head of the university.
When everyone has left, Hilarion, Cyril and Florian make a cautious entrance. They find three sets of academic robes and put them on in imitation of the lady undergraduates. However, they are surprised by the Princess and have to pass themselves off as three new students. The three men are duly enrolled into the university, but Florian recognises Lady Psyche as his sister and they entrust their secret to her, only to be greeted with another lecture on female superiority.
Lady Blanche’s daughter Melissa overhears their conversation and is astonished to discover that men are not the demons she had been led to believe. She promises to help the men in their quest and inveigles Lady Blanche to join the conspiracy so that she, Blanche, can become head of the university.
A bell announces luncheon, but Cyril drinks too much wine and gives the game away by singing a bawdy kissing song. In the confusion that follows, Ida falls into the castle moat and is rescued Hilarion, but she remains implacable and orders the men’s arrest to await death for entering the castle. At this point, King Hildebrand arrives with his army to lay siege to the castle, bringing his hostages. Hildebrand gives Ida an ultimatum to release Hilarion and marry him by the following morning, or her brothers will die. Ida hurls defiance at Hildebrand.
That night, the female students are preparing to defend the castle, but in truth, they have no stomach for a fight and one-by-one they make excuses to Ida, who is left alone to reflect on the failure of her ideals.
King Gama is released with a message from Hildebrand, proposing a duel between Hilarion, Cyril and Florian, and Arac, Guron and Scynthius. Ida reluctantly agrees to these terms. The duel takes place and Hilarion and his friends triumph. Ida reluctantly yields up her place to a jubilant Lady Blanche. Ida admits that she has been headstrong and slowly discovers that Hilarion has touched her heart. She finally declares her love for him, allowing reconciliation between the two kings.
Historical Note
Princess Ida, premiered in 1884, comes at the half-way point in the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership, following the opening of the Savoy Theatre and the successful run of Iolanthe, and directly preceding the supreme triumph of The Mikado. As a result, it has often been overshadowed by its two more successful neighbours, but amongst dedicated Savoyards, it remains something of a connoisseur's choice, blending one of Gilbert's most subtle and human libretti with some of the finest music Sullivan ever wrote.
Princess Ida came at a time when both Gilbert and Sullivan attained considerable personal achievements. In May 1883, Sullivan had been knighted "in recognition of your distinguished talents as a composer" and for "the services which you have rendered to the promotion of the Art of Music generally in this Country". At the same time, Gilbert, who unlike Sullivan had carefully invested his profit from the operas, was engaged in building a large mansion in Harrington Gardens, not far from newLOG’s base in South Kensington. Unusually for the 1880s, the house had a telephone, electric light, central heating, a lift, a bathroom on each floor and double-glazing, making it the most state-of-the-art home in London at that time.
Despite his delight at the honour of knighthood, Sullivan was stung by the reaction in certain quarters of the musical press, claiming that he was wasting his talents on comic opera and that a musical knight had a duty to devote himself to serious compositions. The Musical Review remarked: "Some things that Mr Arthur Sullivan may do, Sir Arthur Sullivan ought not to do. Here is not only an opportunity, but a positive obligation for him to return to the sphere from which he has too long descended". Unfortunately, such rebukes hit Sullivan just as D'Oyly Carte was looking for a new work to replace Iolanthe. According to Leslie Baily, Gilbert now provided the outline of an opera based on one of his most cherished plot devices - that of a magic lozenge that turns whoever takes it into whatever they pretend to be. Sullivan, increasingly discontented with the topsy-turvy nature of Gilbert's plotting, coupled with a resistance to such supernatural elements immediately after the fairy opera Iolanthe, refused to consider the "lozenge plot".
Eventually, the impasse was broken by Gilbert, who agreed to provide an alternative libretto for the Savoy. He returned to his earlier play The Princess, produced in 1870. The Princess was based on the long narrative poem of the same name by the revered Poet Laureate, Lord Tennyson. Despite scruples over the probable reaction of the musical press, Sullivan realised that he needed a generous source of income (his broker had gone bankrupt and had lost a large proportion of Sullivan's investments on the very day that Iolanthe opened) and saw the possibilities in setting a drama of genuine “human” characters. Gilbert was therefore able to start transforming his play into an opera. By the end of July 1883, the libretto was complete and Sullivan was able to write in his diary that "I like the piece as now shaped out, very much".
Sullivan began work on the music in August, writing the sparkling trio "I am a maiden" and Lady Psyche's song on the first day. He took a break during the autumn to conduct at the Leeds Festival and indulge in his usual round of socializing. As so often, the genial Sir Arthur was putting his work for the Savoy at the bottom of the pile, despite D’Oyly Carte now having fixed the date of the premiere for Saturday, January 5th 1884. When Sullivan finally did settle down to work in earnest, the deadline loomed close and he was compelled to work almost without a break to get the piece finished. Princess Ida was rehearsed during the day and often well into the night. Sullivan would then return home and compose and orchestrate until dawn. On New Year's Day 1884, he rehearsed the orchestra in the morning, conducted the dress rehearsal in the afternoon and then went home to compose the last two numbers: “I built upon a rock” and Gama's Act III patter song. The opera was now complete, but strain of this overwork was too much and Sullivan's health collapsed. He took to his bed and the doctor was summoned, recommending total rest.
Sullivan remained in bed until the evening of the opening night - D'Oyly Carte took the precaution of printing replacement programmes announcing that the composer was indisposed. However, Sullivan was determined not to miss a first night, as his diary records:
"January 5th 1884 - Resolved to conduct the first performance of the new Opera Princess Ida at night, but from the state I was in it seemed hopeless. At 7pm had another strong hypodermic injection to ease the pain, and a strong cup of black coffee to keep me awake. Managed to get up and dress, and drove to the theatre more dead than alive - went into Orchestra at 8.10. Tremendous house - usual reception. Very fine performance - not a hitch. Brilliant success. After the performance I turned very faint and could not stand."
The opera was accorded a great reception and broadly positive reviews in the press. The Illustrated London News highlighted the beauty of the staging, describing it as "amongst the most beautiful pictures ever exhibited upon any stage" and the critic of the Musical Times paid tribute to Sullivan's "masterly" score and, refusing to single out any one performer, insisted that "the ensemble is little short of perfection, and the orchestra and chorus are of first-rate quality."
Unfortunately, the original run suffered from an unusually hot summer which emptied the theatres of London and Princess Ida closed after a respectable, but not impressive run of 246 performances. Subsequently, it was not revived in London until 1919, not least because of the cost of staging (three sets of costumes for the women, two for men, and two or three sets). But thereafter, it became a staple of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company until World War II, when the sets and costumes were destroyed in an air raid. A new production was created in 1954, and this remained in the repertoire until 1978. Since the closure of the D’Oyly Carte the only major production was a highly controversial staging by ENO in 1992. Princess Ida was recorded four times by the D’Oyly Carte in 1924, 1932, 1955 and 1965 and filmed for television in 1982. The opera was also broadcast by BBC radio as part of complete Gilbert and Sullivan cycles in 1966 and 1989.
From Page to Stage
The Genesis of Princess Ida
In the canon of Gilbert and Sullivan operas, Princess Ida is unique. It is the only opera in three acts and the only opera written completely in blank verse, It is also the only opera which does not have an original Gilbert plot.
In 1884 Gilbert required a new plot for the Savoy and trawled his earlier stage works for a piece that might be re-worked. He settled on his play The Princess, originally produced at the Olympic Theatre in 1870. The Princess was, in turn, based on a long narrative poem of the same name, written in 1847 by Tennyson. Tennyson’s Princess was a product of early moves towards female emancipation in the first half of the nineteenth century. Queen’s College, London, the first college for women, had been founded in 1847, but as yet, moves toward broader female education were still far off. It is a very long poem, running to some 3,350 lines and is divided into seven chapters or cantos, framed by a prologue and epilogue. The cantos are separated by sets of lyrics, many of which were set as songs by Sullivan throughout his composing career. The poem contains the bare bones of the eventual opera, with the nameless Prince (the name Hilarion is Gilbert’s invention) and friends breaking into the Princess’s university disguised as women; Ida’s fall into the river and rescue; the battle between the Prince and Ida’s brother, Arac, and the gradual development of their love.
Gilbert’s play of 1870 reduced the scale of the narrative for the stage, condensing the plot into five scenes. The idea of sung interludes was retained from the poem by the insertion of several songs with words by Gilbert using well-known operatic arias, the best example being a song for King Hildebrand to the famous “Largo al factotum” from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. The dialogue of the play will be instantly recognisable to those who know the opera, and Gilbert re-used much of the spoken dialogue almost word-for-word in the opera. Gilbert’s most significant plot change was to change the result of the battle between Hilarion and Arac. In Tennyson’s poem, the Prince is grievously wounded by Arac. Ida, stung by compassion, nurses him back to health, during which time she slowly comes to realise that he is not the ogre she had feared and falls in love with hm. The time constraints of the theatre prevented such a gradual development and so the outcome of the fight was reversed, allowing Ida to stop the combat to save her brothers – it also provided an opportunity for heroic swordplay by Hilarion, Cyril and Florian, who, fascinatingly, were played by women en travesti.
Gilbert’s Princess developed several characters in Tennyson’s poem, particularly King Gama, who starts to take the memorable form we see him in the final opera. In the poem, Gama is a sketchy character, though Tennyson marks him out as unsympathetic: “he seem’d to slur with garrulous ease and oily courtesies”. Later in the poem, Gama becomes an ally of Hilarion and even advises on the wooing of Ida. In Gilbert’s play, there is no longer any pretence at good nature and the King’s explanation that he and his sons were the only men that Ida had ever seen convinces Hilarion that “that explains the mystery at once, and simplifies our task”.
The cast of Gilbert's play includes several roles that were excised from the eventual opera. They include Hildebrand’s chamberlain, Atho, and a bizarre character, Gobbo, the porter at the university. According to Gilbert, Gobbo is the only man permitted to enter Castle Adamant, and that only once a year, when he held up to ridicule by the students as an example of “tyrant man”. Gobbo is very much in the tradition of a comic “turn”, and Gilbert has borrowed his name from Launcelot Gobbo in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. His position has porter also echoes the comic porter in Macbeth. Macbeth was also in Gilbert’s mind when he gave Melissa one of his most excruciating puns: ‘“Why these - “Are men”, she would have added, but “are men” Stuck in her throat!’ This recalls Macbeth’s ‘I had most need of blessing, and “Amen” Stuck in my throat.’
When he came to turning the play into an opera, Gilbert tailored the roles to his existing company, with the two kings played by the baritones Grossmith and Barrington. Sadly, this does mean that the two leading comedians of the company were relegated to supporting roles, and indeed, King Gama does not appear at all in Act II. Lady Blanche, the latest in a long line of “ladies-of-a-certain-age” is interesting in that she marks their transformation from the contralto to mezzo-soprano register, as Rosina Brandram took over from the darker-voiced Alice Barnett. The ever-popular Jessie Bond took the role of Melissa, whilst the robust bass-baritone Richard Temple played Arac. The two romantic leads were somewhat more problematic. Both Hilarion and Ida are written with a more “operatic” musical style. Guest singers, tenor Henry Bracy and the American soprano Lillian Russell were engaged for the roles, but Russell clashed with Gilbert during rehearsals and was dismissed, promoting the Lady Psyche, Leonora Braham (who had created the roles of Patience and Phyllis) to the Princess. The regular D’Oyly Carte tenor, Durward Lely, who had created the character tenor parts of the Duke of Dunstable and Lord Tolloller was delighted with the large supporting role of Cyril: "I had a splendid Kissing Song which never failed to bring down the house, and for which on many occasions I had to give a double encore".
If Gilbert's libretto is the most unusual in the canon, then Sullivan's score must rank as one of is finest operatic works. Indeed, only The Yeomen of the Guard could be said to be more genuinely "operatic". The wonderful sequence of numbers in the middle of Act II has often been referred to as "a string of pearls" and elsewhere the score is filled with a maturity and richness that Sullivan rarely surpassed. Certainly the two arias for Ida herself are quite as close to grand opera as anything else he wrote. The opera is also filled with clever parodies of the standard operatic repertoire. One thinks instantly of Arac’s song "This helmet I suppose", a splendid parody of the Handel oratorio style of which Sullivan was such a celebrated conductor at the Leeds and Birmingham festivals. In a more up-to-date operatic parody, Gilbert opens Act III with a chorus of warrior maidens, inevitably drawing parallels with the "Ride of the Valkyries” which opens Act III of Wagner’s Die Walküre. Walküre had received its British première as part of a complete Ring Cycle in London in 1882 and had taken the musical establishment by storm. Sullivan's tempestuous scoring of "Death to the invader" is an inspired parody of Wagner’s warrior maidens.
Company Biographies
Ayesha Als-Murchie (Sacharissa)
Ayesha is very excited to be back in Louth again this summer after making her newLOG debut last year, playing the role of Tessa in The Gondoliers. Ayesha is a confessed Gilbert and Sullivan addict, having succumbed to the eccentric charms of the operas two years ago in her second year at King’s College, London whilst studying for a BA in Classical Studies. Other roles to date with King’s College G&S Society (of which she was president in her third year) include Mrs Partlet (The Sorcerer) and Lady Saphir (Patience). Ayesha has even dabbled backstage, operating the follow spot for the King’s College G&S production of The Pirates of Penzance (although she definitely feels more comfortable being on stage than being behind the scenes!).
Laura Anstice (Chloe)
After playing a Venetian contadine in newLOG’s production of The Gondoliers in 2009, Laura is back for Princess Ida, as the mischievous and extremely broody Chloe. Laura discovered the delights of Gilbert and Sullivan only last year, when she played Lady Sangazure in the King’s College G&S production of The Sorcerer, returning this year to as Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance. Previously, Laura was involved in musical theatre and ‘straight’ acting at university and in her native South Wales. Laura has a Licentiate Diploma in musical theatre and performance from the London College of Music and has trained with National Youth Music Theatre, National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and the National Youth Choir of Wales. Currently, she is studying for a MA in comparative literature at King’s. Laura has thoroughly enjoyed being involved in this brilliant production of Princess Ida and will be involved in another production of the opera next March at King’s.
Ella Armstrong-Lach (Chorus)
This is Ella’s second show with newLOG and she is very excited about returning to the stage of the Riverhead theatre, after a delightful time last year in The Gondoliers. Ella is a recent Classics graduate from King’s College, London who was originally drawn to newLOG because of her passion for Gilbert and Sullivan, which flourished through her involvement with the King’s College G&S Society both in performing, directing and producing. In fact, she thinks that Princess Ida is so wonderful that she is about to direct it for King’s next year.
Tony Bannister (Scynthius / Set design)
Princess Ida is Tony’s twelfth on-stage appearance with newLOG. Previous roles with the company include Foreman of the Jury (Trial by Jury), Hercules (The Sorcerer), Pish-Tush (The Mikado), Francesco (The Gondoliers), Angel (Bethlehem), Chorus: The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe, Ruddigore, The Yeomen of the Guard and The Bohemian Girl. As resident designer, Tony has created sets for newLOG’s productions of The Sorcerer, Patience and The Gondoliers, and publicity for all productions and concerts since 2006.
Roles elsewhere include Blind Bill and Mrs Braithwaite in Garlic Lane at the Rosemary Branch Theatre, London; Tobias in Sweeney Todd with Croydon Operatic; Colin in Vision Impaired at the Charles Cryer Theatre; Malvolio (Twelfth Night) with Frenzic Theatre; Doctor Daly (The Sorcerer) with King’s College London G&S Society; PC Gonemad (Trial! A Footballer’s Tale) with Minotaur Music Theatre; Capuchin (Cyrano de Bergerac) and Innocent (Ivona, Princess of Burgundy), both Theatre Royal, Plymouth; Rusty Charlie (Guys and Dolls) at the George Wood Theatre; Marcel (Divorce Me, Darling!) and Bert (Cinderella) with the University of London Opera Group.
He is currently designing sets for Piramania!, a new musical to be premièred at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer.
John Barrrow (Chorus)
As a teenager, John started singing with choral and operatic societies in Merseyside. He has played a wide range of principal roles from bass baritones, such as the Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance) to tenor roles, including Prince Hilarion (Princess Ida). Here, as a member of a quartet, John performed on local radio. He has sung with the South Pennine Singers in Burnley and the St Cecilia Singers in Northamptonshire. Recently he sang the role of Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance) in Grimsby and the bass solo in Stainer's Crucifixion in Sutton-on-Sea. Currently, he sings with Louth Choral Society and Bishop Grosseteste University Choir Lincoln where he is a Senior Lecturer in Education.
Adam Barter (Chorus)
Adam started performing when he was at school, his first production being Peter Pan. He also appeared in The Wiz and played the part of Roger in Grease. He then joined Wharfingers, Playgoers’ youth theatre, where he took part in Sparkle Shark, Wyrd Sisters and 1984. Adam enjoys music and is a talented accordionist. He has currently just finished playing Mr. Snow in Louth Playgoers production of Carousel’, whilst learning the music for Princess Ida, his first foray into Gilbert & Sullivan. Adam hopes you all enjoy the show and looks forward to seeing you here in future productions.
Graeme Barton (Guron)
Graeme is delighted to be returning to Louth as Guron, having made his newLOG debut at the Riverhead Theatre last, year playing Antonio in The Gondoliers. His previous roles include Daddy Warbucks (Annie), Gladhand in (West Side Story), Ross (The Travesty of Macbeth) and a roving paparazzo (Trial! A Footballers Tale). He has also made chorus appearances in The Zoo for New London Opera Group; Company, Iolanthe and The Gondoliers for Durham University Light Opera Group and Patience for King’s College London G&S Society. However most of Graeme's recent experience has been honed from the karaoke bars of London, Japan and North Korea!
In his day job, Graeme is a solicitor at City law firm Stephenson Harwood.
Nicky Berkley (Chorus)
Nicky joined newLOG two years ago to fill the Gilbert and Sullivan-shaped hole in her life, caused by moving too far south to continue participating in the Manchester University Gilbert and Sullivan Society. She is returning to sing in the chorus for her third performance with newLOG and her first Louth tour, having thoroughly enjoyed taking part in autumn concerts. When she’s not involved in Gilbert and Sullivan productions, Nicky can be found working with children with learning disabilities, studying music, playing clarinet/saxophone, and even trampolining. She is looking forward to taking part in many more exciting newLOG shows!
Amy Bird (Chorus)
Amy is delighted to be in Louth again. This is her third opera with newLOG, having previously appeared last year in The Gondoliers in Louth and The Yeoman of the Guard in London. Amy has also performed with King's College London G&S Society in The Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe and The Mikado, and with Minotaur Music Theatre in Trial! A footballer's Tale (a liberal adaptation of Trial by Jury). She is currently under the private tuition of Carole Gibb, and has recently completed her second year of song classes at City Lit (led by Hakan Vramso in master-class format) and a drama course at The Poor School. In real life, she is an employment lawyer in the City.
Tony Blackmore (Chorus)
Tony is almost one of the fixtures at the Riverhead Theatre where he combines jobs as a Theatre Stage Manager, member of the set building workshop team and head of publicity for the press & media. He was Musical Director of the Grimsby Operatic Society for ten years and last year directed Barnum for Louth Playgoers. He has taken many leading roles in musicals including, Pooh Bah (The Mikado) Tevye (Fiddler on the Roof) twice, Curly (Oklahoma) and Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus). He has also performed roles in concert versions of many Gilbert and Sullivan operas including Captain Corcoran (HMS Pinafore), the Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance) and Don Alhambra (Gondoliers). He has never appeared in Princess Ida and is honoured to be asked to sing with newLOG.
Chris Cann (Stage Director / Chorus)
Born in Devon, Chris first came to London as a student in 1992, when he threw himself into the activities of the University of London Opera Group (ULOG), both on stage and as a director. Since then, he has directed productions for ULOG, the Centenary Opera Company and the New London Opera Group, of which he is the founding Artistic Director. To date, productions include Trial by Jury, The Zoo, The Sorcerer (three times), HMS Pinafore, Iolanthe (twice), Princess Ida, The Mikado and Ruddigore (twice),together with semi-staged concerts of Gilbert and Sullivan, Viennese and French operetta. He has also produced successful concert performances of Rutland Boughton’s beautiful Christmas opera, Bethlehem, in which he also sang the dual roles of Jem the Shepherd and Zarathustra the Wise Man; and Balfe’s romantic opera The Bohemian Girl.
As a performer, Chris has appeared in all the extant Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Roles to date include The Learnèd Judge (Trial by Jury), Alexis Pointdextre (The Sorcerer), Major-General Stanley (The Pirates of Penzance), Bunthorne (Patience), all the male principal roles (Iolanthe), Cyril (Princess Ida), Pooh-Bah (The Mikado), Dick Dauntless and Sir Despard Murgatroyd (Ruddigore), Wilfred Shadbolt (The Yeomen of the Guard), The Duke of Plaza-Toro (The Gondoliers), King Paramount (Utopia Limited) and Ludwig (The Grand Duke).
Fay Carradine (Lady Psyche)
This is Fay’s sixth year visiting Louth and she is delighted to be able to tick another favourite G&S role off her wish list. Previous roles on the Riverhead stage include Isobel in The Pirates of Penzance (2005), Constance in The Sorcerer (2008) and Gianetta in The Gondoliers (2009. Along side this she has stage managed Ruddigore (2006), Patience (2007) and the 2008 spring concert Never Mind the Why or Wherefore! Fay is a regular member of the newLOG set construction team.
Outside newLOG Fay has most recently appeared as Ruth in Close the Coalhouse Door (Oast Theatre, Tonbridge) and was Deputy Stage Manager for the sell out Plague! The Musical at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2008. Other roles in musicals include Chiffon (Little Shop of Horrors), Patti Simcox (Grease), Mallory/Avril (City of Angels), Stubb (Moby Dick! The Musical) and roles in Chess and Personals.
Away from the world of performing Fay is a civil servant, working in Human Resources at the Ministry of Justice.
Tanya Chong (Ada)
After chorus performances in The Mikado (2004), The Pirates of Penzance (2005) and The Sorcerer (2008), this is Tanya's fourth newLOG production in Louth and she is very pleased to return as Ada, the bandmistress with a sicknote. Since her last Louth visit in 2008, Tanya has got married, finished her PhD looking at fossil bryozoans and climate change and has somehow managed to get a job at her old Imperial College stomping ground as their Geological curator and undergraduate academic administrator. She has been very busy of late but is hoping that things will begin to settle down and allow her to continue with her singing, which has been somewhat sidelined over the past couple of years. She is looking forward to Louth shows becoming, once again, a regular feature in her diary.
Charlotte Collier (Lady Blanche)
Charlotte read law at Birmingham University, qualifying as a solicitor. After private study with Ameral Gunson she decided to pursue a musical career and studied at Trinity College of Music and University of London (Birkbeck College).
Roles include Oreste (La Belle Hélène)for Guildford Opera; Little Buttercup (HMS Pinafore) and the Duchess of Plaza-Toro (The Gondoliers)for Opera Options; Lady Blanche (Princess Ida) and Dame Carruthers (The Yeoman of the Guard)for Epsom Light Opera Company. In June 2007 she appeared as Lady Jane (Patience) with newLOG in Louth, her performance was described as "outstanding, a joy to watch" (Grimsby Telegraph). Concert work includes Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonelle with the London Lawyers Symphony Orchestra and Chorus; Handel’s Messiah with Guildford Opera and Colwyn Bay Choral Society; Bach’s Mass in B Minor with theEnglish Arts Chorale and St Cecillia Chorus, and St John Passion with Peterborough Choral Society.Charlotte sang with Scottish Opera in 2006 in Der Rosenkavalier and Carmen. In 2007 she toured extensively in the UK with Carl Rosa Opera. In 2008 she sang for Opera Holland Park in their acclaimed productions of Die Zauberflöte, La Gioconda and Tosca. She returned to Holland Park in 2009 for Roberto Devereux, Un Ballo in Maschera and Katya Kabanova.
Juliet Crissell (Chorus)
Juliet is excited to be back in Louth to join the ranks of the chorus in another Gilbert and Sullivan production with newLOG. This will be her seventh venture North with the company, and it has become one of the highlights of her year. She occasionally treads the boards elsewhere, and has recently returned from Devon where she braved a bright red tutu to play a fairy in a post-election version of Iolanthe with Imperial Productions. When not on stage she works as a physiotherapist at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
John Elliot (Chorus)
John originates from Louth, but his interest in G&S began with the West Norfolk Gilbert and Sullivan Society in 1973, where he appeared as Reginald Bunthorne in Patience. He went on to perform most of the “patter” roles with this society and later with Cleethorpes Savoy Opera, before trying his hand at straight acting with Louth Playgoers in 1986. His recent roles (although non-singing!) with musical connections were Salieri (Amadeus) and Danny (Brassed Off). He also sings locally in concert versions of the Savoy Operas, and relishes the opportunity to be involved in a fully-staged production with the New London Opera Group, whose performances at The Riverhead Theatre he has thoroughly enjoyed.
Tom Entwistle (King Hildebrand)
Tom is pleased to be making his first appearance with newLOG, having appeared in most of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas as a member of the Oxford University G&S Society. Previous roles include the Learnèd Judge (Trial by Jury), Dick Deadeye (HMS Pinafore), Archibald Grosvenor (Patience), Private Willis (Iolanthe) Pooh-Bah (The Mikado), Sergeant Meryll (The Yeomen of the Guard), the Duke of Plaza-Toro and the Grand Inquisitor (The Gondoliers), and a somewhat unwise Alexis (The Sorcerer), the audience for which is said to have been “13 at the start”. He also played Old Adam Goodheart (Ruddigore) at the International G&S Festival in Buxton in 1998. The eponymous Grand Duke was his last role before taking a short break from G&S (which has lasted a decade).
When he can think of no other way in which to besmirch his reputation, Tom practises at the Bar.
Philip W Errington (King Gama)
Phil has sung in all the Gilbert and Sullivan operas and this is his second Princess Ida. Previous G&S roles include Counsel and Usher (Trial by Jury), Dr Daly (The Sorcerer), Dick Deadeye (HMS Pinafore), Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance), Colonel Calverly and Archibald Grosvenor (Patience), Strephon (Iolanthe), King Gama (Princess Ida), Ko-Ko (The Mikado), Robin Oakapple (Ruddigore), Jack Point (The Yeomen of the Guard), The Duke of Plaza-Toro (The Gondoliers) and Ludwig (The Grand Duke). Over many years he has sung with the Minotaur Music Theatre, the University of London Opera Group, Imperial College Operatic Society, Imperial Opera, Imperial Productions, the Philharmonia Chorus, Grosvenor Light Opera Group, and, for one night only, stars of the old D’Oyly Carte Opera Company! By day he is a Director within the Department of Printed Books and Manuscripts at Sotheby’s. He is also somewhat of an authority on the works of the former Poet Laureate John Masefield (copies of his edition of Selected Poems available at all good bookshops). Phil would especially like to thank his mum and dad for many years of performance attendance.
Robert Felstead (Prince Hilarion)
Robert is delighted to be back for his fourth summer show in Louth, having recently performed in the spring concert earlier this year. Previous roles include Alexis Pointdextre (The Sorcerer), Samuel (The Pirates of Penzance) and Richard Dauntless (Ruddigore). Other G&S roles include Marco (The Gondoliers) and Ralph Rackstraw (HMS Pinafore) for King’s College G&S Society and Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance) with the Centenary Opera Company. Robert also organised a G&S marathon in May last year where all 13 Savoy operas were played back to back in a time of 30 hours and 51 minutes, raising around £2000 for charity. Robert also enjoys choral music and has recently performed solos in Handel's Messiah, Walton’s Belshazaar's Feast and a performance of Finzi's Dies Natalis in Southwark Cathedral. When not singing or acting, he works as a postgraduate researcher at Imperial College, working in the field of chemical biology, where he will be for the next two years, by which time he hopes to have completed his PhD.
Benjamin Gray (Arac)
Ben came to newLOG from the King's College London Gilbert and Sullivan Society and is now on his third tour with the company. His previous roles include Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre (The Sorcerer), Sergeant Meryll (The Yeomen of the Guard) and Don Alhambra (The Gondoliers).
Outside the realms of G&S Ben is an overworked law conversion student.
Steve Greenwood (Lighting design)
As well as being one of the founding directors of newLOG, Steve has also worked with the University of London Opera Group and Imperial Opera. He enjoys having his finger in as many theatrical pies as possible, having produced, designed or stage managed (sometimes all three) a variety of shows with the three companies including The Sorcerer, The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe, Princess Ida, The Mikado, Ruddigore, The Gondoliers, Cheryomushki, Cinderella, Divorce Me, Darling!, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Nine, Something’s Afoot, Here’s a How-de-do!, The Shakespeare Revue, A Viennese Soirée, La vie Parisiènne, Never mind the why or wherefore!, Around the World in Eighty Minutes, Bethlehem and The Bohemian Girl. During his spare time Steve is an Inspector with the Metropolitan Special Constabulary.
Seb Junemann (Florian)
Seb returns for his second newLOG summer show after appearing as Luiz in The Gondoliers last year. As a veteran of Imperial College’s Musical Theatre Society, Seb’s performing credits include: Personals, The Grand Duke (Ben Hashbaz), Little Shop of Horrors (Orin), Anything Goes (Henry T Dobson and Sailors’ Quartet), Chess, A Slice of Saturday Night, Batboy (Doctor Parker), West Side Story (Bernardo), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (J. Pierrepont Finch), Shoboat (Stephen Baker) and On the Town (Ozzie). Seb is also currently rehearsing for a production of The Boy Friend later this summer.
Seb has also dabbled in directing and is pleased to have directed a very successful production of Stephen Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum last year. Having been bitten by the directing bug, he is currently planning to direct a touring production of Guys and Dolls in the summer of 2011.
Seb’s real job is as Sustainability Officer for a major social housing landlord, driving projects to build greener homes and support the transition to a low carbon society.
Tom Hopkinson (Chorus)
Tom was born in Nottingham and is currently studying Music and Education at Bishop Grosseteste University College, Lincoln. Originally a tuba player, Tom initially took singing lessons with John Gull, a Lincoln Cathedral Chorister in 2008 and is currently studying with Stephen Holloway a Lincoln-based operatic bass.
Tom has been a frequent concert and recital soloist. Most recently he has participated in one of the first performances of An Entertainment of Musick for St Cecilia’s Day by JC Pepusch, in which he sang the part of Homer. Previously, performances include Stanford’s Nunc Dimitis. Tom is also currently the Musical Director for the North Nottinghamshire Gang Show.
Yvette Litchfield (Princess Ida)
Yvette was born in Sydney, Australia, and recently graduated with a Master of Music (Performance) with Merit from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, where she explored her interest in contemporary music through the Creative Voices programme with mentor Sarah Walker CBE and continues to study with singing teacher Yvonne Kenny AM. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Music (Performance) from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, a Bachelor of Arts (Italian, Philosophy) from The University of Sydney, and was awarded the MTA Senior Classical Singing Scholarship in 2006.
Yvette was offered a professional contract with West Australian Opera for their 2010 season, but chose to remain in London where she performed the role of Anna in scenes from Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda with Riverside Opera, with whom she performed in their March production of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore in which she was offered the cover for Adina. In May Yvette appeared as Phyllis in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe with Imperial Productions, and was recently invited to join dynamic new company The Opera Wire with whom she will perform later this year.
Yvette is an active recitalist in London, Hamburg and Sydney, most recently at Christ Church, Spitalfields in April. Her performance repertoire extends beyond music, having featured in theatre, commercial and music videos as actor, and on radio as voiceover artist.
Noah Mosley (Cyril)
Noah fell in love with Gilbert and Sullivan when playing Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance last year, and once you've fallen for G& S, there's no going back! Noah trains vocally at the Academy under Tom Lowe. Previous roles in musical theatre and opera include First Priest (Die Zauberflöte) and Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni in concert performance) with Exeter School, and Godspell, The Boyfriend and Dick Wittington with Northcott Youth Theatre, Exeter. Noah is a music student at King's College, London, where he recently directed the King's Opera production of Purcell's The Fairy Queen and the King's College London Jazz Choir. Next year, he will be directing West Side Story for King's Musical Theatre Society. He hopes you enjoy the performance as much as he has the rehearsals, and is very excited to appear with newLOG.
Fiona Nash (Chorus)
Fiona is delighted to return to Louth for her fourth newLOG production. She was previously a member of the King’s College London G&S Society, performing in seven productions including HMS Pinafore, Iolanthe, The Mikado and Ruddigore. She is also a member of the Southwark Cathedral Merbecke Choir and the choir of St Michael’s church, Wimbeldon. In her spare time Fiona is an overworked junior doctor
Graham Rogers (Musical Director)
Graham read music at the University of York, where he also fell under the spell of Gilbert and Sullivan. He has conducted performances at York and Cambridge universities, and has been Musical Director of newLOG since the group’s foundation in 2003. Most recently he conducted two semi-staged performances of The Yeomen of the Guard with full orchestra at Holy Trinity Church, South Kensington. A regular at the Riverhead Theatre, Graham’s most recent conducting appearance here was with newLOG’s hugely successful production of The Gondoliers last June, having previously conducted The Sorcerer (2008), Ruddigore (2006) and The Pirates of Penzance (2005). He greatly appreciates the warm welcome of the Riverhead audience, and he is delighted to be back this evening.
Graham is also an experienced stage performer and choral singer. He has performed in all of newLOG’s annual spring concerts in Louth, including La Vie Parisiènne, A Viennese Soirée, Around the World in c80 Minutes and the ever-popular G&S evenings. Stage roles include Mr Cox (Cox and Box), Archibald Grosvenor (Patience), Strephon (Iolanthe), and the eponymous Mikado of Japan. Roles with other companies include Dick Deadeye (HMS Pinafore), Sergeant of Police (The Pirates of Penzance), and the Prince of Monte Carlo (The Grand Duke). He also sings with London chamber choir Pegasus.
Graham works for BBC Radio 3, and writes on music: he contributed to the 2007 book 1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die, has written programme notes for the BBC Proms and EMI Classics, and regularly reviews concerts and recordings for the BBC Classical website and www.classicalsource.com.
Jennifer Sidebottom (Melissa)
Jenny is delighted to be making her newLOG debut in this production of Princess Ida. Her most recent G&S appearance was as Phyllis (Iolanthe) with Chapel End Savoy Players, with whom she has sung since 2008. Jenny took part in the youth productions at the Buxton International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival from 1995 to 2005. From 2002 to 2005 she sang with Leeds Youth Opera, performing Pamina in their 2005 production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. She has sung at Glyndebourne, covering the role of Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at the 2007 Festival. She then went on to play the role of Cis in Britten’s Albert Herring in the 2007 Glyndebourne Tour and played the same role in the 2008 Festival production.
She enjoys choral singing and has sung with the Bach Choir and the Esterhazy Singers, and has helped to set up a choir of young singers to raise money for a National Youth Choir tour in 2008. She is also singing various solos on an Esterhazy Singers recording this July.
Amy Slater (Chorus)
This is Amy’s first performance with newLOG, and heralds her return to the stage after directing The Pirates of Penzance with the King’s College London G&S society in 2010. She became hooked on the wonders of Gilbert and Sullivan after playing a boy in the King’s College production of The Sorcerer in 2009. Other previous appearances include Thoroughly Modern Millie and City of Angels. When not revelling in the wonders of Victorian theatre, Amy is in her final year of university studying pharmacology and molecular genomics. Other interests include horse riding and rock climbing.
Rachel Stack (Chorus)
Rachel is looking forward to her fourth great show in Louth. Unfortunately it will be here last Production here, as in September she is going to train to be a secondary school French and German teacher. But for the time being she is enjoying being in the female chorus and wielding axes (which is slightly different to the air rifle she normally fires in her free time). After having performed in many G&S operas in her time Rachel can safely say that Princess Ida is her new favourite, well until the next show…..When she is not singing, rifle shooting, Irish dancing or learning French she works in an infant school and as an extra for film and TV productions.
Tom-Colin Thorpe (Chorus)
Tom was born in Lincoln and studied for a BA (Hons) in Education and Music at Bishop Grosseteste University College. Tom began his musical career as an organist, with a keen passion for Baroque organ music; but recently he has also developed an interest in operatic singing, and he is currently being coached Stephen Holloway a Lincoln-based singer.
Tom has recently featured as a soloist in An entertainment of Musick for St. Cecilia’s Day by JC Pepusch, in which he portrayed the character of Apelles. Tom has also developed an love for British opera, such as Gilbert and Sullivan, which he plans to study to MA level at Sheffield University.
Bob Vaughan (Chorus / Properties / Fight director)
Bob is delighted to return to Louth for his ninth appearance on the stage of the Riverhead Theatre and has once again been entrusted with the duties of properties master and fight director. In real life Bob is a Radar systems engineer and for relaxation takes his train set (Gas Lane) to model railway exhibitions around the country.
Eirian Walsh Atkins (Chorus)
Eirian is extremely excited to be appearing on stage again for the first time since her G&S maternity leave. She hasn't performed in any shows for over a year and may have some nervous theatrical energy to work off. If you spot a particularly excitable maiden on stage, it is almost certainly her. Eirian has been coming to Louth for many years now and is very pleased to be back again.
Previously with newLOG
Although this is the first complete production of Princess Ida by the New London Opera Group, excerpts from the opera have featured in four previous spring concerts:
Two items were included in newLOG’s first ever performance, the Gilbert and Sullivan concert “Here’s a how-de-do!” in 2004. Soprano Heather Johnson sang Ida’s entrance aria “O goddess wise”, which was paired with the spirited trio “I am a maiden”, sung by Nicholas Watts, Chris Cann and Graham Rogers. Chris and Graham returned for an exuberant performance of the trio earlier this year, this time joined by Robert Felstead.
Tonight’s King Gama, Philip Errington, sang Gama’s song “If you’ll give me your attention” in the 2006 concert, A Night at the Savoy. The song was repeated at this year’s concert, this time by Chris Cann. The 2006 concert also included the ebullient dancing quintet “The woman of the wisest wit”, which appeared as an encore in March 2010.
This year’s concert, I have a song to sing, o, also included Lady Psyche’s song satirising Darwinian evolution, “A lady fair of lineage high”, performed by Kirsty Bennett, and Cyril’s bawdy kissing song, “Would you know the kind of maid” performed by Robert Felstead. The duet “Now wouldn’t you like to rule the roast” also featured, performed by Kirsty Bennett as Melissa and Kirsti Whitlocke as Lady Blanche. Previously, Kirsti had sung the duet opposite Catrine Kirkman’s Melissa in the 2008 concert, Never mind the why or wherefore!