Description

THE GILBERT AND SULLIVAN COMPANY OF EL PASO PRESENTS "THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD" FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS 48 YEAR HISTORY
Celebrating its 48th anniversary, and for the first time in its history, the Gilbert & Sullivan Company of El Paso presents "Yeomen of the Guard, or The Merryman and His Maid" for its 2017 summer production.
"Yeomen of the Guard, or The Merryman and His Maid" was called "a genuine English opera" when it premiered in London in 1888. Now, 129 years later, the Gilbert & Sullivan Company of El Paso brings it to life under the artistic direction of Stephanie J. Conwell and Marsha Watley, vocal director. Ballard Coldwell is piano accompanist.

Using gorgeous melody and rich orchestral settings, 'Yeomen' tells a tale of bravery, deceit and disappointed love, against the background of the Tower of London, the notorious site of torture and royal treasure in the early 16th century (Shakespearean times. The plot concerns Colonel Fairfax, a gentleman, soldier and scientist, who has been sentenced to be beheaded in an hour on a false charge of sorcery. To avoid leaving his estate to his accuser (a cousin), and with the help of the Lieutenant of the Tower, Fairfax secretly marries Elsie Maynard, a strolling singer. The bride agrees to be blindfolded during the ceremony and expects to be a well- paid widow in an hour. With the help of the Meryll family, Fairfax escapes, throwing the Tower into confusion and the astonished Elsie (and her mentor, the jester Jack Point, who loves her) into despair. Fairfax, disguised as Leonard Meryll, woos Elsie, and after a number of plot complications are worked out, she falls in love with Fairfax and leaves Jack Point broken- hearted.
The Gilbert & Sullivan Company of El Paso is a community theater group that incorporates newcomers and generations of loyal members who love to sing and perform these operatic works. It has an unbroken history of annual Gilbert & Sullivan productions since 1969 when it was founded by its first artistic director, Joan Quarm (dec.), to preserve and present the works of W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan. The company is funded and supported in part by the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
Information/Reservations: 575-523-1223 or www.no-strings.org

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