The Author’s Ordeal
(with apologies to W. S. gilbert)
Copyright © 1957 by Columbia Publications, Inc.
Plots, helter-skelter, teem within your brain;
Plots, s.f. plots, devised with joy and gladness;
Plots crowd your skull and stubbornly remain,
Until you’re driven into hopeless madness.
…
G&S has even reached Thailand. From the Bangkok Post: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/291864/you-get-what-you-deserve
Speedsters need jailing
Re: ”Bangkok’s fast and furious” (BP, May 3)
On many tollways, wealthy Thais have been driving fast and furious in their own speed races, in expensive, often souped-up cars.
On April 28, two were killed and another seriously injured in a high-speed crash involving three cars on the Don Muang tollway. Thaifah Chayaworaprapa, 54, was found dead inside his Porsche, the speed dial of which was stuck at 280 km/hour _ almost triple the speed limit! Also killed was Pol Maj Sakdipat Pathumarak, inside his Toyota Fortuner. He’s the son of Charnchai Pathummarak, former executive of the Thai Rak Thai Party and former deputy agriculture minister.
As Pol Maj Gen Worasak Nopsittiporn, the deputy metropolitan police commissioner, says: ”We know racers of luxury cars aren’t afraid of fines. They are rich.”
However, such reckless drivers endanger not only their own lives, but those of innocent bystanders and other drivers and their passengers, and must be brought within the law.
CCTV cameras and radio frequency identification systems won’t help much, since they identify cars, not drivers, and fines don’t deter the wealthy. But, reckless driving is a criminal offence, for which the law prescribes a fine, or jail, or both. The mandatory punishment for reckless driving should be jail without bail until the courts have delivered their final verdict _ just as other accused who are likely to kill again should be jailed without bail. As Gilbert and Sullivan said: ”Let the punishment fit the crime.”
BURIN KANTABUTRA
Here’s an extremely amusing radio show from 1941 full of G&S references, with guest star Groucho Marx (who was an ardent savoyard himself). I won’t give any more details to spoil the surprise, but skip to 3:50 and 14:50 for the G&S.
Education is an integral part of the mission of NYGASP. We hold Audition and Performance masterclasses in conjunction with many of our touring performances. This is a video of Managing Director and Principal Performer, David Wannen conducting recent masterclasses.
A very interesting cartoon set to John Reed’s recording of the Major General’s Song.
John Reed sings “I am the very Model of a Modern Major General” from The Pirates of Penzance, with some animation from around 1975. Reed, “the last great exponent” of the Gilbert and Sullivan comedy roles, fortunately known that while a patter song is supposed to be sung fast, there’s no need to sing it so fast that you can’t follow the text any more.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
In honor of Gordon MacRae’s birthday, we offer a 30 minute radio version of The Mikado from December 5, 1949. It was broadcast as part of The Railroad Hour, a weekly radio series sponsored by the Association of American Railroads that starred Gordon in condensed versions of operettas with various guest sopranos. The series ran on NBC from 1948-1954. While most of the episodes are operettas by the likes of Victor Herbert, Sigmund Romberg, and Rudolf Friml, they did manage to do 3 G&S operettas and a G&S pastiche work (look for these in future posts…).
This episode of The Mikado features guest stars Evelyn Case (as Yum-Yum) and Kenny Baker (who played Nanki-Poo in the 1938 Technicolor film version) along with conductor & arranger Carmen Dragon, Norman Luboff and his choir and announcer Marvin Miller.
Today marks the 30th anniversary of the closing of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. In memory of this occasion we offer a clip from the BBC TV show “Omnibus” where the company performs the finale of H.M.S. Pinafore.
Part Two can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8GnU8UAoEc
An amusing anecdote courtesy of Boston Lyric Opera:
Sir Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) visited Rossini one morning. When he entered the house, Rossini was feverishly working on a piece of music. Sullivan asked, “Why, what is that?” Rossini answered him most seriously, “It’s my dog’s birthday and I write a little piece for him each year.”
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
A fun audio file for Friday, an unexpected Sullivan quote in Paul Whiteman’s 1928 recording of “Japanese Sandman” (by Richard Whiting and Raymond Egan) arranged by Ferde Grofe.
Lillian Russell in the title role of Patience as produced at the Bijou Opera House in New York, 1882.
Check out these vintage advertising cards from Pittsburgh, PA featuring characters and quotes from Patience.
Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience was a very successful operetta that opened in 1881, satirizing the aesthetic movement, especially its love of flowers. Aspects of Oscar Wilde were mocked in the characters of Bunthorne and Grosvenor. At one point Bunthorne grabs a stem of white lilies, holds them up and serenades them with the words, “with a poppy or a lily in your medieval hand.”
These are vintage advertising trade cards from that era.
As a continuation of our post earlier this week, we are extremely lucky to have some 16mm silent color home movie footage of The Hot Mikado as presented at the New York World’s Fair. It is amazing that this has survived the years or indeed was created in the first place. While there is no sound, it is fascinating to see the sumptuous costuming and fantastic choreography. It remains one of the few live films of a musical from the 1930s. So step back in time to 1939 and watch this great film clip!
