Next Show of JLOS
We will be performing The Gondoliers, 16th to 18th October 25 at Questors Theatre.
Our October Production
Director - Zena Wigram
Musical Director - Jamie Naylor
Repetiteur - Jan Cunningham
The Story:
Every woman in Venice is pining for brothers Marco and Giuseppe Palmieri, who are Venetian gondoliers. They pick two at random, but just after the weddings they discover that one of them is actually the king of the fictional kingdom of Barataria. Until they find out which, they must rule jointly.
It turns out that actually whichever of them is king was married as a baby to the daughter of the Spanish Duke of Plaza-Toro, Casilda. She’s actually in love with her father's servant, Luiz. The Duke is short of cash, so he forms a limited liability company to raise money. The Grand Inquisitor brings in the king’s nurse to reveal which gondolier is king, and therefore married to Casilda, and she reveals that she fooled the Grand Inquisitor all those years ago and Luiz is the king.
So Casilda is happy and the brothers can keep their wives, even if they have to go back to being gondoliers. Cue general rejoicing for everyone (expect presumably the Grand Inquisitor).
Because it’s set in Venice and Barataria, Gilbert used the opera to criticise the nobility and even the monarchy, so it feels quite modern. We are doing a traditional production - with the occasional update every so often for fun.
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