The Gondoliers - Auditions Thursday 1st February 2018

Sunday, 21 January 2018 19:39

Hull Savoyards have just  completed auditions for the June 2018 production of The Gondoliers and are facing the problem that  many societies have had to face for this inspiring G&S operetta which is full of wonderful music, colourful costumes and is to be accompanied by the Kingston Savoy Orchestra.

When Gilbert was preparing The Gondoliers he was so annoyed by the complaints of company members that they did not have big enough parts, and so angry at one principal in particular who demanded a higher salary for her contributions to the success of the operas, that he declared, "I'll write an opera in which there will be no principal parts!".  In fact he wrote an opera in which the principal parts were nearly equal, in length and memorability. It seems appropriate, then, that the main theme of the piece is equality. Marco and Giuseppe hope to operate a monarchy on republican principals, so "all shall equal be." But this plan fails. In the world of Gilbert and Sullivan, success went to those who recognised and abided by the "natural" hierarchy of classes. To treat everyone equally was a comic idea for Gilbert; as Don Alhambra points out, "When everybody is somebody, then no one's anybody." In the end, monarchy, and therefore order and balance, are restored.

The result is we are still looking for The Duke of Plaza Toro, Don Alhambra(the Grand Inquisitor), Luiz and Antonio. To resolve this we are holding an extra audition on Thursday 1st February 2018 commencing at 6.30pm for theses roles. If you are interested please call 01482 876918 or contact the secretary at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .