The Gondoliers

This is a delightful production of The Gondoliers. British companies can be a bit self-conscious about performing Gilbert and Sullivan operas but Opera Australia manage to sing this piece without irony and without camping it up.

I have never seen this opera before but I know much of the music as my music teacher at school used to make us sing it. I was surprised by how consistently good the music is, not just the well-known tunes but other pieces, such as a wonderful Rossinian quintet. Dancing too is an important feature of this production, the highlight being a stageful of whirling, dancing dolls.

Gilbert's libretto is an amusing commentary on the relative merits of monarchy and republicanism. The two brothers ruling jointly and harmoniously have been used recently as a metaphor for the UK coalition. The brothers believe in absolute equality, and, as Gilbert explains, end up in a situation where everyone is somebody and no-one's anybody.

The libretto has been considerably updated. References to political corruption in Queensland seem as anachronistic now as Gilbert's original libretto must have been but the plot is not hard to follow as political corruption seems to be pretty much the same the world over.

The updated lyrics are rather more prescient on the subject of royalty. Our two heroines sing of a "Regular, royal queen…with a figure like Fergie's and a brain like Di's". The expected result that: "The Princess of Wales careers of the rails and ends up with Mick Jagger" is a surprisingly accurate prediction given that it was made in 1990.

I shall not mention all the soloists. They are all of a high standard. I suppose, if I have a particular favourite it is Mezzo Suzanne Johnston's Tessa. I liked her rendition of "When a merry maiden marries", but perhaps it was because I used to sing it myself before my voice broke.

This as an Australian Opera production of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta and is one of the best I've seen. The casting is excellent and the staging simple but effective. The addition of the commedia dell arte performers is a nice touch.

David Hobson and Roger Lemke as the two gondoliers, Marco and Guiseppe, do well in both voice and acting. Hobson particularly in 'Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes' shows his lyrical tenor at its best.

However, the standout for me is the Australian legend, Dennis Olsen as Don Alhambra. Olsen has made his name in Australia playing character pieces like this in many a musical production and this is one of his best.

All together it is a delightful production of one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most loved works.

Ever since seeing Pirates of Penzance, I have always held Gilbert and Sullivan operettas close to my heart. Even those with not so good librettos like the Sorcerer have some great music. While not quite on par with Penzance, Pinafore and Mikado, Gondoliers is one of G&S's best for me, with a fun story and wonderful music. While this Opera Australia production of Gondoliers may not be for everybody, I found it a delight. I was disappointed though by the omission of I am a courtier grave and serious, one of the operettas best and adds so much to the story, I just didn't see the reason for why it was left out. Everything else was great however. The production values are colourful and tailored beautifully, while the orchestra, chorus and conducting are all to an outstanding standard, energetic and with a lovely sound throughout.

The lyrics and dialogue, additional, rewritten or the same, were deliciously witty and made me smile and laugh constantly, and the stage direction is overflowing with crisp fun and energy. Instead of stand-and-deliver, static poses and mugging like I have noticed in other G&S productions(notably the 1982-3 D'Oyly Carte series), chorus and principals alike are continually moving and quite acrobatic in movement. The Cachucha scene especially is enormous fun. The performances are superb on the whole. David Hobson towards the beginning of his career is endearing, with a beautiful voice and handsome stage presence, and Roger Demke matches him very well. Christine Douglas and Suzanne Johnston are equally beguiling, while Robert Gard, looking as though he is thoroughly enjoying himself, helps to make us understand why the Duke is one of G&S' most comic characters. Graeme Ewer, very reminiscent of a pantomime dame in this production, is a Duchess full of character, handling the Duchess' tessitura remarkably well. Dennis Olsen is more what Alhambra should be than Keith Michell was in the D'Oyly Carte performance, here instead of the quietly condescending and soft-spoken approach adopted by Michell there is more of the "menacing monster/charming man caught in an unpleasant profession" trait which I think works better(I happened to like Michell but prefer Olsen in this role).

Overall, delightful. 9/10 Bethany Cox

The Gondoliers is, like nearly all G&Ss, is a hilarious, yet touching tale of mixed-up romances. It's the same basic storyline of boy and girl in love, boy and girl can't be together, everything works out and happily ever after. Nevertheless, they're all incredibly different and they're all great.

In this production, like other Opera Australia G&Gs, the story is treated respectfully, yet they put in a few little modern references, like "Which bank?" The only downside to this is that the non-Austalian audience probably wouldn't understand some of these.

All the actors are wonderful in their respective characters, but I feel that I must mention Olson as The Grand Inquisitor. He plays it with style, and he's got to be the funniest one I've ever come across.

The entire ensemble, also worked really well together, one memorable scene is the "Dance a Cachucha," which, I think all who have seen it will agree, is a highlight of the show.

This isn't a G&S I'd recommend for completely theater-illiterate people, some love of musicals/operas would be needed to really enjoy this, as opposed to, say, The Pirates of Penzance. Nevertheless, it's a fantastic production, and if you're going to get a version of the Gondoliers, get this one.