In the main, this was a traditional interpretation of an infrequently staged Gilbert and Sullivan piece. The creators called it a comic opera, and while there are plenty of light moments and considerable satire, the demise of the protagonist is more reminiscent of serious opera than the froth and bubble we often associate with G&S. Nonetheless, the ‘joy unbounded’ of the rest of the characters in the finale wiped away the woe.
In the fashion of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the plot of this light opera involves a village, en masse, taking a love potion provided by the sorcerer J W Wells. As in Shakespeare’s tale, when the villagers wake up, they each fall for the wrong person. The spell can only be broken by dramatic action.
The SALOS cast, under the direction of Bronwyn Calvett, make a fair fist of the narrative in a mostly serious, even staid, way. The leads portrayed their characters as mostly true to the writers’ intentions and the chorus and ensemble pieces were well sung. Indeed, the Act 2 quintet I Rejoice That It’s Decided was a musical highlight, as was the finale. The audience was also entertained by the fast-paced trio My Eyes Are Fully Open, a witty song here borrowed from another G&S comic opera, Ruddigore.
MD John Wilson conducted his small orchestra from the rear of the stage. After a few tuning issues early on, they provided helpful support to the life and action of the story line.
In the title role, Adam Schultz was lively as the London spiv, and convinced us of the character’s low social status and doubtful motives. That played out especially well in his ‘love me / hate me’ duet with Lady Sangazure, effectively played by Jemimah Lanyon who used her mellow contralto voice to lovely effect in all her songs. In his signature patter song My Name Is John Wellington Wells Schultz gave us a sustained and speedy flow of words, capturing the spirit of both the piece and his character.
Much of the story line centres on the romantic leads, Aline and Alexis. While Andrew McKinnon’s awkwardly wooden, yet endlessly declamatory, interpretation of Alexis served its purpose well enough, Kaila Barton was a warm and empathetic Aline. She had a well-developed sense of timing in both songs and dialogue. In large part, she showed care in her delivery and a sound understanding of the purpose of WS Gilbert’s words, and their often ironic intent. Her acting was a stand-out.
Among the other principal characters, Frikkie Jacobs warmed to his role as the stuffy vicar, Dr Daly, and as the action progressed, the audience grew increasingly impressed by his presence and demeanor. David Roberts, a familiar and well-liked SALOS figure, presented us with an agreeable and pleasantly studied version of Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre, Alexis’ father.
Once again it’s worth noting that SA Light Opera successfully present their productions in appropriate venues – this time in the intimate Domain Theatre – and without the need for microphones. On this occasion it gave a pleasing 19th century authenticity to The Sorcerer. More power to SALOS, I say.
