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Bank Society of the Arts (Music Section) in The Gondoliers by Gilbert and
Sullivan
Staged: 22nd to 26th February 1955 at the David Lewis Theatre
Liverpool
This is not the first production of “The Gondoliers” to be staged by
Martins Bank’s Society of the Arts.
This operetta was previously given an outing in 1948. Its popularity at this time, as a firm
favourite with fans of Gilbert and Sullivan, means that the D’Oyly Carte
Family are regularly granting permission to amateur groups across the Land to
stage “The Gondoliers”. This is further illustrated in 1964, when the renamed
Martins Bank Operatic Society perform it for a THIRD time. As you
will see from our montage above, the Society of the arts also perform “Merrie
England” twice, again knowing an appreciating the tastes of operetta-going
audiences of the 1940s and 50s. The Crane theatre in Liverpool is once again
the chosen venue, as it provides both a certain intimacy AND the scope to
create a big sound for an appreciative audience. The production runs for five nights in
February 1955 and inevitable comparisons between the current and previous
productions of this opera are made by Martins Bank Magazine, whose staff are
as usual on hand to comment upon every aspect of the staging, acting,
singing, and – apparently - smiling…
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 The
Music Section of the Society of the Arts first produced “The Gondoliers”
in 1948 at the David Lewis Theatre. The second production, at the Crane
Theatre this time, from February 22nd to 26th inclusive, gave rise to some
interesting comparisons. To deal with these first, we thought that Frank
Green, again playing the Grand Inquisitor, had improved on his first
performance quite remarkably and made a very good job of it indeed, both
vocally and orally. Mary Nelson, playing Gianetta this time, delighted us both
with the sweetness of her singing,
which has considerably developed in strength, and has improved since
last we heard her, and with the liveliness of her acting. The chorus was good in 1948 but in
subsequent productions the standard fell off. This time it was up to its
old standard. The girls sang sweetly
and some of them remembered to smile as they sang. Actions could have done
with more rehearsal and there was some timing trouble here and there, but
it was good on the whole and one or two members, Brenda Aked and Valerie
Barrett, for example, were especially so. The male chorus produced a very
satisfactory volume of sound. Now let us mention two new stars of the show.
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William Morris Joan Hall Mary Nelson and Evan Jones
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We first saw Joan Hall (Mrs.
Matthews) in “The Geisha” and marked her down as a winner in 1953. In this show
she was superb. Her diction was perfect, her voice as clear as a bell, and
she puts all the tricks of a delightful personality into the part of Tessa,
the result being an outstanding performance. Valerie Parish, who played
Casilda, was the new discovery of the show, and a most valuable acquisition.
She has a lovely voice, an excellent stage presence, and histrionic
ability as well. The parts of Marco and Guiseppe were played by Evan Jones
and William Morris. Evan's tenor voice is still a delight to listen to and
William Morris's deep bass makes him quite outstanding among the male
singers. The part of the Duke of Plaza-Toro was played by Albert Jones, Evan Jones's son.
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Evan Jones Frank Green and William Morris
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William Morris Valerie Parish Albert Jones Phyllis Ritchie and Evan
Jones
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An abscess in the mouth and a cold handicapped
him and it was very plucky of him to carry on under such difficulties
during the early part of the week. Nevertheless, the portrayal needed much
more sparkle to carry successfully the somewhat faded dialogue. Phyllis
Ritchie played the part of the Duchess, and portrayed it very well. Her
voice carried well and her acting was quite equal to the demands of the
part. L. C. Jones as Luiz seemed to find the part made too great demands
on his voice, which was not always true and was often indistinct, but his
acting was quite adequate. A little gem of portrayal was the King's foster
mother, played by Eugenie Koop. After almost a lifetime of participation in
amateur opera, taking the principal roles for many years, it was indeed
pleasant to see her, in one of the minor parts this time, but portrayed
with distinction nevertheless. Eric Francis, C. E. Bresnan, R. E. Costain
and Peter Swinton were the remaining gondoliers, and Sheila Mealey, Joan M.
Webster and Joan M. Venn the other contadine. Anne Robertshaw made a sweet
little drummer boy.
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Robina Smith L C Jones Valerie Parish and Valerie Barrett
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Sheila Mealey and Joan Webster were especially
good and obviously capable of much more important parts next time. The
opera was produced by J. Balfour Thompson and the chorus and orchestra were
conducted by Basil A. Williams. The Ballet Mistress was Hylda Delamere
Wright. A special word of appreciation about Basil Williams. Both as
Chairman of the Music Section of the Society and as Musical Director he
bore the principal burden of this production.From inside knowledge we know
how seriously he took his responsibilities and how anxious he was that the
show should be a success. The revival of the Section after the lapse of a
year was in part due to his enthusiasm and its continued survival may well
be due to his efforts. In recording appreciation of the services of the
producer we do feel that the difficulty of his task is not always
appreciated. Attendances at rehearsals are often poor, and, in fact, not
until the dress rehearsal did our producer actually see the entire company
all together.
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Many of those little faults
of timing, lack of cohesion and movement which, in a competition, would
militate against a production being styled first class, could have been eliminated if attendance
had been better. Another point that struck us was that whereas every
member except two of the female chorus is in the Bank, of the male chorus
of ten men it was possible to find only two from our staff, the rest being
" borrowed " from other societies. This has happened before but
the position is worse this time; we are told that it happens in all
societies. We record our grateful thanks to all these “outside” friends. To
sum up, we think that the second act was just about the best thing the
Society has ever done and the production as a whole went a long way towards
establishing the name of the Society in Liverpool amateur operatic circles.
One of the professional critics said: “You have the makings of a very nice
little Society now, if you can only keep them together”. We must keep them together.
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