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Edwards
Opera House
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Topsy
Turvy April
22, 2006
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Topsy Turvy: A Gilbert and Sullivan Revue presented
by the St. Lawrence University Chorus.
Selections from Pirates of Penzance, The
Mikado, H.M.S. Pinafore and Iolanthe and
the complete dramatic cantata Trial by Jury.
The University Chorus of St. Lawrence University will
open this year’s concert season at the Edwards
Opera House and celebrate the college’s
sesquicentennial with an evening of uproarious
musical hilarity presenting the work of the British
master’s of comic opera, Gilbert and Sullivan.
Throughout its 150-year history, the campus of St.
Lawrence has seen many G & S spectacles,
beginning with an 1879 production of H.M.S. Pinafore
and including a 1947 production of Pirates of
Penzance that toured to Watertown and Gouverneur.
Under the direction of Barry Torres, University Chorus
will commemorate those past performances and its own
presentation of Trial By Jury in 1986 with this
gala revival.
Trial By Jury was the first successful
creation of William S. Gilbert, a failed lawyer turned
writer, and the estimable composer Arthur Sullivan.
Their twenty-year collaboration produced a string of
fourteen hit comic operas. The musical “Monty
Python” of the Victorian era this duo’s popularity
survives to this day with many professional and amateur
companies around the world devoted solely to
presenting their works. Gilbert’s cleverly absurd
plots and witty lyrics combined with Sullivan’s
sparkling music make for musical comedy at its best.
Depicting a breach of promise suit brought by a
distraught bride (who appears in court in wedding gown
with her bridesmaids) Trial By Jury
mercilessly pokes fun at the British courts in a 45
minute romp.
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