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Charlie White Theatre
March 13, 2010
Gilbert and Sullivan's first two-act collaboration, The Sorcerer is something of the Cinderella among the Savoy Operas. The precise reason is somewhat hard to discover; perhaps it is the lack of a "showstopper" of a song, perhaps the lack of the political satire that was such a common feature of the later works.
Whatever the reason, it has long been less performed than its siblings. Yet this neglect is not really deserved and the Victoria Gilbert and Sullivan Society are to be congratulated (and thanked) for choosing it as their latest production.
Saturday's opening night offered little evidence that it was the first public performance: principals, chorus and orchestra all sounded confident and at home with music which is quite unfamiliar to most of us.
The plot is fairly ludicrous, but then we don't enjoy G&S for its verismo; I did - and do - feel, though, that the final resolution (no, I do not intend giving anything away) is rather hasty and, even in "Topsy-Turvy" land, unlikely in the extreme.
But a willing suspension of disbelief is essential if you are to enjoy any G&S, much less this one. And there is plenty to enjoy in this production.
Of the principals, Josh Lovell was just right as Alex, the Dashing Young Idiot and Shauna Yarnell delightful as his only-slightly-less-idiotic enamorata, Aline. The Sorcerer seems to have a rather higher proportion of geriatric characters than other G&S favourites and Gerald Schieven, George Morfitt, Jennifer Ciceri Doyle and De Roger all convincingly added years to their true ages.
The other Romantic couple, Dr. Daly and Constance Partlet (nicely played by Iain Gillis and Meagan Greentree respectively) are rather more sensible than Alex and Aline and, consequently, figure less in the main action. Daly does, though, have one of the more memorable songs - "Ah, but I was a pale young curate then" (I wish I could remember which Wodehouse cleric used to sing this; I fancy it was one of the Mulliners, but could not swear to it) and Gillis gave it a suitably ecclesiastical dryness.
It must be admitted, however, that the most interesting character is the eponymous John Wellington Wells - is it sense or a miscalculation that he does not even appear until over half-way through? - and Adrian Sly took every opportunity to play him to the hilt.
I noted in my review of last year's Mikado that the chorus of the Victoria G&S Society was particularly strong, and they have not weakened in the interim - indeed, there were moments when my wife, Dorothy, expressed relief that we were not seated any closer to the stage, so powerful was the choral sound. (And is it my imagination, or is there proportionally less choral music in The Sorcerer than in some others? Could this help to explain its neglect?)
Bill Adams's set was simple yet effective, as was Tim Herron's lighting. The one element of the production upon which I feel totally unqualified to pass judgement was the contribution of choreographer Scott Vannan and the members of Canadian Pacific Ballet.
Fortunately Dorothy is something of an ballet aficionado and thought they were very good. I am happy to accept her verdict.
Finally, one should not forget the contribution of the 13-piece orchestra and music director Rick Underwood, who maintained a firm hand on matters and kept things moving along nicely.
If you are a longtime G&S devotee then this production is probably self-recommending; if you are new to their world, then this would certainly not be a bad place to start.
Dorothy and I enjoyed it greatly. You still have four chances to catch it: March 20th and 21st, again in Sidney, March 27th and 28th in Victoria. Don't miss it.
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