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Event
Gondoliers
For more than five decades, the Youth and Junior Choirs of Follen Community Church have been performing Gilbert and Sullivan operettas every June. This tradition, begun by former Music Director Louise Curtis and the Follen Players' director Marilu Nowlin, is now in the hands of the present Director of Music, Thomas Stumpf, ably assisted by Holly Stumpf, who conducts the Junior Choir and is best known in Lexington as Harrington School's music specialist; and pianist Eric Mazonson; and by a multitude of enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers.
Follen's 54th presentation will be "The Gondoliers, or The King of Barataria", with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on December 7, 1889, and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the fifth longest-running piece of musical theatre in history), closing on June 20, 1891. This was the twelfth comic opera collaboration of fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan. Please see synopsis after cast list.
These are the lead parts of Gondoliers.
Leads* Friday Saturday
Duke Skylar Levey Skylar Levey
Casilda Katharine Courtemanche Sophia Morgan
Marco Riley Hellinger Liam Hefferman
Giuseppe Dennis Bromley Noah Harrington
Gianetta Isabel Fox Abby Mulligan
Tessa Gabrielle Paquette Hannah Redmon
Don Will Marshall Adam Harrington
Duchess Juliana Stern Oriel Hiser
Luiz Robin Armstrong Jake Byers
Antonio Ben Horsburgh Elias Carver
Francesco Tim Watson Oliver Cotran
Giorgio Evan Bitsko Evan Bitsko
Annibale Connor Mulligan Connor Mulligan
Inez Juliet Stevenson Juliet Stevenson
Fiametta Venice Mountain-Zona Jessie Cali
Vittoria Honor O'Shaughnessy Lilli Jarausch
Giulia Becca Johnson Isabella Scopetski
*Leads will be part of Contadine and Gondoliers on their non-lead night.
Contadine Gondolier
Emily Byers Robin Armstrong*
Katie Byers Dennis Bromley*
Jessie Cali* Jake Byers*
Stephanie Campbell Elias Carver*
Lena Cassidy-Weissburg Isaiah Carver
Katharine Courtemanche* Oliver Cotran*
Bayley Fox Marc Courtemanche
Camden Fox Thomas Egan
Isabel Fox* Henri Engstrom
Alisha Gandhi Rohan Gandhi
Sophie Gregoretti Adam Harrington*
Claudia Hart Noah Harrington*
Sydney Hart Annika Hawkins
Emily Hawkins Liam Hefferman*
Oriel Hiser* Owen Hefferman
Lilli Jarausch* Riley Hellinger*
Becca Johnson* Ben Horsburgh*
Emmy Jones Ian Horsburgh
Brett Kahmann Calix Huang
Skyler Kropper Caleb Johnson
Hannah Lee Donovan Jones
Maya Lloyd Charlotte Livingston
Hannah Markelz Philip Livingston
Lucy Markelz Stuart Livingston
Nina Mohapatra William Lloyd
Sophie Morgan* Will Marshall*
Venice Mountain-Zona* Neel Mohapatra
Abby Mulligan* Heath Nevis
Julia Newell Jasper Nevis
Honor O'Shaughnessy* Henry Stevenson
Tess O'Shaughnessy Tim Watson*
Gabrielle Paquette*
Hannah Redmon*
Maisie Rines
Allison Rodger
Katherine Rodger
Lydia Rommel
Isabella Scopetski*
Maya Soparkar
Juliana Stern*
Annika Truslow
Grace Walters
*On nights when they are not playing leads
Synopsis
By Thomas Stumpf
Act 1 [The Piazzetta in Venice]
The contadine (peasant girls) of Venice, led by Fiametta and Vittoria, enter ("List and learn") and complain of the fact that all twenty-four of them are in love with the same two gondoliers: Marco and Giuseppe Palmieri. The entire troop of gondoliers enters, followed by Marco and Giuseppe, who are determined to choose their brides. This they do with the help of a variation on the game blind man's buff [note: this is the original British- therefore, correct G&S'esque- way of saying "blind man's Bluff" according to Thomas]; a little cheating ensures that they catch the very two girls they wanted in the first place: Giannetta and Tessa. Everyone dances off to the altar (bringing to an end the longest and most complex opening number in all of G&S!).
We are next introduced to the Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro, their daughter Casilda and their drummer boy Luiz ("From the sunny Spanish shore"). The Duke and his family are penniless, but he reveals to his daughter that she was wed as an infant to the son of the King of Barataria. The King changed his creed, so that the Grand Inquisitor felt forced to kidnap the infant and bring him to Venice. Recently the King was killed in an insurrection so his son needs to be found to rule the kingdom. The Duke and Duchess are off on their search, but not before the hapless and hen-pecked Duke has boasted of his courage ("In enterprise of martial kind").
Left alone, Casilda and Luiz declare their love for each other ("O rapture, when alone together") but realize that there is no future for their love, only a past ("There was a time"). The Duke and Duchess return with the Grand Inquisitor, Don Alhambra del Bolero, who proceeds to tell the story of how he abducted the prince ("I stole the Prince"). It becomes clear that the prince now King of Barataria is either Marco or Giuseppe, but only the prince's nurse Inez (who happens to be the mother of Luiz) knows which. Suddenly life seems hopelessly complicated for all the characters on stage ("Try we life-long, we can never straighten out life's tangled skein"). They leave, with Luiz headed for Cordova to find his mother.
The contadine and the gondoliers return from the wedding ("Bridegroom and bride" an ensemble that includes Tessa's aria "When a merry maiden marries"). Don Alhambra enters, frightening everyone off the stage except the two married couples. He is extremely distressed to discover that both Marco and Giuseppe have married. Since he does not know which one is truly the King of Barataria he orders them both to ascend the throne until the truth can be revealed by Inez: but he forbids their wives to go with them. Tessa and Giannetta are very displeased but Don Alhambra assures them that the separation will be brief (Finale: "Kind sir, you cannot have the heart"). The Act ends as all the gondoliers set sail for Barataria, with the contadine waving farewell and promising to join them soon.
Act 2 [The court of Barataria]
Marco and Giuseppe have established a kind of egalitarian monarchy in Barataria, and their friends the gondoliers are clearly enjoying their new lives ("Of happiness the very pith"). Giuseppe makes it clear that he and Marco work hard around the palace to earn their keep ("Rising early in the morning"). Life is good: but they miss their wives, as Marco readily and very romantically admits ("Take a pair of sparkling eyes").
Fiametta, Vittoria and all the rest of the contadine suddenly appear ("Here we are, at the risk of our lives"), and are heartily welcomed by the gondoliers. Tessa and Giannetta arrive and fall into Marco and Giuseppe's arms. Festivities are agreed upon ("Dance a cachucha") but are interrupted by the arrival of the Grand Inquisitor. The old man expresses his disapproval of the egalitarian monarchy ("There lived a King") and then proceeds to tell Marco and Giuseppe that one of them is not only the King of Barataria but married to Casilda. Tessa and Giannetta appear, and Don Alhambra leaves the two couples alone with their misery and confusion ("In a contemplative fashion").
When they have departed, the Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro and Casilda arrive, now in an obviously much better financial state, allowing them to employ a small procession of retainers ("With ducal pomp"). When the Duchess has discussed matrimonial bliss with her daughter ("On the day when I was wedded") and both parents have educated her on the shady dealings of the aristocracy ("To help unhappy commoners"), Marco and Giuseppe appear. The Duke tries to teach them how to act in a manner appropriate to kingship ("I am a courtier") before he and the Duchess depart.
The five young ones are left alone, unable to figure out who is married to whom (Finale: "Here is a case unprecedented"). The Grand Inquisitor arrives, along with the Duke and Duchess and all the contadine and gondoliers. He brings forward Inez, the unknown Prince's foster-mother, who finally reveals the true true identity of the Prince now King of Barataria. Not surprisingly, her revelation brings about a happy ending for everyone...
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LocationFollen Church (View)
755 Massachusetts Avenue
Lexington, MA 02420
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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