Tanya to perform with Chicago’s Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company 0
It is with great pleasure that I announce my upcoming performances as Gianetta in The Gondoliers with The Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company of Chicago! I look forward to gracing the stage as a charming contadine who has managed to marry a dashing gondolier who may or not be already married and who may or may not be the King of Barataria. But the free transportation in Venice certainly helps assuage any marital misgivings.
The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is the 12th of 14 comic opera collaborations between the English composer Arthur Sullivan and librettist W.S. Gilbert. Premiering in 1889 at the Savoy Theatre in London, England, The Gondoliers ran for 554 performances, making it the fifth longest-running musical theatre production in history at that time. Fueled by Gilbert’s love of satirizing class distinctions, the story concerns the daughter of a Spanish Duchess and Duke who arrives in Venice to meet her husband, the future King of Barataria, to whom she was married at birth. Of course, he cannot be identified, because as a baby he was entrusted to the care of a drunken gondolier who mixed up the prince with his own son. The two young gondoliers must assume the monarchical position jointly, leaving behind the local girls they recently married, until the nurse of the prince can be brought forward to identify the rightful king. All while trying to maintain their commitment to Republicanism.
Performances will take place at the University of Chicago’s Mandel Hall, 1131 East 57th Street, Chicago on Friday March 9th at 8:00 P.M., Saturday March 10th at 8:00 P.M., and Sunday March 11th at 2:00 P.M. General admission is $20, and student admission is $5. Tickets are available in advance by calling 773.702.9075. Thank you for your support!
