Happy Arcadia (1872)
Libretto by W. S. Gilbert
Music arranged by Jonathan Strong
from Sullivan's non-Gilbertian operas
Cast
Strephon, a happy Arcadian,
betrothed to Chloe | Chad Smith |
Colin, a virtuous old peasant
peasant, father of Chloe | David Magill |
Chloe, a happy Arcadian,
betrothed to Strephon | Diane diStasio |
Daphne,
married to Colin | Lydia Magill |
Astrologos,
a blighted bogy | Charles Baad |
Lycidas, the handsomest
man in the world | Charles Baad |
The Royal Victorian Opera Company
Elaine Smith, music director and pianist
|
Rutland Barrington as Strephon in Happy Arcadia, in an unsuccessful 1895 revival |
|
Reviewed by J. Donald Smith
Needless-to-say, the title is an oxymoron, as the inhabitants of Arcadia
are anything but happy. It is a typical Gilbert topsy-turvy plot in which
magic items grant wishes and each of the characters becomes someone
else. The German Reed music is long lost, and Jonathan Strong's adaptation
of Sullivan's music well serves the lyrics. (I cannot place the original
Sullivan sources.) This is an amusing and well crafted performance.
Issue History
| Date | Label | Format | Number |
|---|
| 1994 | [none] | VHS-NTSC | [no number] |
