Masters of Operetta
Offenbach / Gilbert and Sullivan
28, 29, 30 April 2016
Blunham, Bakewell and Sheffield
Sung in English
Opera on Location return for their 2016 spring tour with an evening of comic operetta. Marriage by Lantern Light may not be as well known as some of Offenbach’s other operas such as The Tales of Hoffman or Orpheus in the Underworld which contains the notorious ‘can-can’ dance, but it is equally as exciting, beautiful and on top of that; hilariously funny!
The German-born French composer gained quite the reputation for composing operettas, with his catalogue boasting nearly 100. Marriage by Lantern Light focuses on a young farmer and his quest for treasure and is just as relevant today as it was when it was written. Will the farmer find his treasure, or perhaps something he was not even looking for?
William Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
1836-1911 / 1842-1900
Gilbert wrote over 75 plays and libretti and countless short stories, poems and lyrics ranging from the very serious to the rather silly. He had short careers as both a government clerk and a lawyer but during the 1860s really began to focus on his writing In the 1870s he began his long and profitably collaboration with Arthur Sullivan.
Sullivan was born in Lambeth in 1842 and at the age of 14 was accepted in to the Royal Academy of Music. He went on to study in Leipzig and later travelled Europe and even discovered a lost score of Schuberts. Although Sullivan had dreams of becoming what he considered to be a ‘serious’ composer, and has had many of these works published and performed, he is best known for his collaboration with Gilbert and together they wrote numerous operettas including Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, The Mikado and The Yeomen of the Guard.
Jacques Offenbach
1819-1880
Offenbach is often credited with making the operetta an international art form and therefore paving the way for other composers such as Lehár and Sullivan. Known as Jacob, Offenbach was born in Cologne and was the seventh of ten children. He showed a talent for music at an early age and when his family moved to Pairs in 1833 he began studying at the Paris Conservatoire. He made his living as a cellist whilst trying to get his compositions performed and in 1850 when he became conductor of the Théâtre Français he then began to have his works produced. Aside from the numerous operettas he wrote he is also known for Orpheus in the Underworld and The Tales of Hoffman.
Locations
April 28th 19:30
Blunham Village Hall, 105a High Street, Blunham MK44 3NN
April 29th 20:00
All Saints Church, South Church Street, Bakewell DE45 1FD
April 30th 19:30
St. Mark’s Church, Broomfield Road, Sheffield S10 2SE