Ohio Light Opera
Encyclopedia
The Ohio Light Opera is a professional opera
company based in Wooster, Ohio
that performs the light opera repertory, including Gilbert and Sullivan
, American, British and continental operettas, and other musical theatre
works, especially of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company is also known for its recordings of these works.
, formerly of the American Savoyards
. When the Kent group ended, it was soon transferred to Wooster, with Stuart continuing as its guiding force. The company performs the entire Gilbert and Sullivan
repertoire, as well as rarely performed American, British, and continental operettas, Edwardian musical comedies and other musical theatre
, mostly of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Educationally, the company offers young, talented vocalists and instrumentalists the opportunity to perform in a professional setting. Tenor
Chad Shelton
performed with the company during the early part of his career.
In 2008, the company's 30th season, Ohio Light Opera presented its 100th production. The company's performing season usually starts in mid-June and ends in mid-August. It generally performs seven or eight different works in repertory in the course of a nine-week season that attracts approximately 22,000 patrons annually. Performances usually take place in the Freelander Theatre on the College of Wooster's campus in Wooster, Ohio.
Richard Morris of The Schubert Institute (UK) reported on the company's production of Das Dreimäderlhaus
in 2002 as follows:
's Naughty Marietta
, Eileen
, Sweethearts and The Red Mill
; English-language versions of Emmerich Kálmán
’s Autumn Maneuvers
, The Bayadere
, The Violet of Montmartre
, Countess Maritza
and Der Zigeunerprimas
; John Philip Sousa
's El Capitan
; and Rudolf Friml
's The Vagabond King
and The Firefly, as well as lesser-known or rarely recorded works like Veronique
, The Arcadians, De Koven's Robin Hood
, Zeller's The Birdseller, Das Dreimäderlhaus
, Romberg's Maytime, Breton's La Verbena de la Paloma, William Walton
's Facade, English-language versions of Offenbach's The Brigands and Bluebeard, Jerome Kern
's The Cabaret Girl
and Strauss's A Night in Venice.
Some of these recordings are CD premieres; some are described by the company as "complete", when in fact, significant cuts are made. Reviewers have commented on the unevenness of Ohio Light Opera's casts, and sometimes on the American accents used in English works, but some of the recordings have received favorable reviews. Fanfare magazine called these recordings, particularly those "of lesser-known works ... valuable additions to recorded libraries". The company issued a 5-hour, 4-CD set of company highlights from its first 25 years called Gold and Silver: Celebrating 25 Years of The Ohio Light Opera. The forty-page booklet enclosed with the set includes a company history and reminiscences of performers heard on the recordings.
The company has also released DVDs of their 2005 production of A Soldier's Promise, an English-language adaptation of Der gute Kamerad by Emmerich Kálmán
, and their 2009 production of Herbert's Mlle. Modiste
.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
company based in Wooster, Ohio
Wooster, Ohio
Wooster is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Wayne County. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio approximately SSW of Cleveland and SW of Akron. Wooster is noted as the location of The College of Wooster...
that performs the light opera repertory, including Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
, American, British and continental operettas, and other musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
works, especially of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company is also known for its recordings of these works.
Description of the company
The Ohio Light Opera was founded as a cultural and educational endeavor at the College of Wooster in 1979 and has been owned and operated since its inception by the College of Wooster. It grew out of the Kent State Light Opera, which was founded by James StuartJames Stuart (opera director)
James F. Stuart was an American opera director and operatic tenor. He began his career performing and touring with Dorothy Raedler’s American Savoyards. He became a specialist in the patter roles of Gilbert and Sullivan, including both Sir Joseph Porter and K. C. B. in H.M.S...
, formerly of the American Savoyards
American Savoyards
American Savoyards was an Off-Broadway and touring repertory theatre company that produced light operas, principally the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, in New York City between 1948 and 1967.-Beginnings:...
. When the Kent group ended, it was soon transferred to Wooster, with Stuart continuing as its guiding force. The company performs the entire Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
repertoire, as well as rarely performed American, British, and continental operettas, Edwardian musical comedies and other musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, mostly of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Educationally, the company offers young, talented vocalists and instrumentalists the opportunity to perform in a professional setting. Tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Chad Shelton
Chad Shelton
Chad Shelton is an American operatic tenor. Particularly associated with the acclaimed Houston Grand Opera , Shelton has excelled in performances of contemporary American operas and in the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giuseppe Verdi...
performed with the company during the early part of his career.
Richard Morris of The Schubert Institute (UK) reported on the company's production of Das Dreimäderlhaus
Das Dreimäderlhaus
Das Dreimäderlhaus , adapted into English language versions as Blossom Time and Lilac Time, is a Viennese pastiche 'operetta' with music by Franz Schubert, rearranged by Hungarian Heinrich Berté , and a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert...
in 2002 as follows:
- "This is not a local ‘operatic’ society churning out an annual production... but a serious attempt to preserve an authentic operetta tradition.... The new translation made it very easy to keep up with the complicated comings and goings of the plot. There was excellent singing throughout, especially from Hannerl (Julie Wright) and Schober (Brian Woods), and the scene with the Tschöll's (Ben Smith and Yvonne Douthat) one big number "That's how it goes" (i.e. "Geh, Alte, schau") worked especially well. Lucia Grisi (Robin Bricker), a part that is a caricature (the Italian ‘prima donna’), was exactly as she should have been. This act has a big finale, with Schubert, who has just lost Hannerl to Schober, breaking down whilst singing Ungeduld, which was magnificent, leaving a buzz in the audience. Overall, this was a very enjoyable performance, and well worth the hassle of a long journey to attend."
Recordings
The company has produced numerous recordings, usually recorded live in performance. In addition to eight Gilbert and Sullivan recordings, it has recorded Victor HerbertVictor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
's Naughty Marietta
Naughty Marietta (operetta)
Naughty Marietta is an operetta in two acts, with libretto by Rida Johnson Young and music by Victor Herbert. Set in New Orleans in 1780, it tells how Captain Richard Warrington is commissioned to unmask and capture a notorious French pirate calling himself "Bras Priqué" – and how he is helped and...
, Eileen
Eileen (musical)
Eileen is a comic opera with music by Victor Herbert and lyrics and book by Henry Blossom based loosely on the 1835 novel Rory O'Moore by Herbert's grandfather, Samuel Lover. Set in 1798, the story concerns an Irish revolutionary arrested by the British for treason...
, Sweethearts and The Red Mill
The Red Mill
The Red Mill is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. It premiered on Broadway on September 24, 1906 at the Knickerbocker Theatre and ran for 274 performances, starring comedians Fred Stone and David Montgomery. It was revived on October 16, 1945, opening at the...
; English-language versions of Emmerich Kálmán
Emmerich Kalman
Emmerich Kálmán was a Hungarian-born composer of operettas.- Biography :Kálmán was born Imre Koppstein in Siófok, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, Hungary in a Jewish family.Kálmán initially intended to become a concert pianist, but because of early-onset arthritis, he focused on composition...
’s Autumn Maneuvers
Tatárjárás
Tatárjárás is a Hungarian word, meaning literally "Passing of the Tatars".It may refer to:* The Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1241-42 ....
, The Bayadere
Die Bajadere (operetta)
Die Bajadere is an operetta in 3 acts composed by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kalman. The libretto was written by J. Brammer and A. Grunwald. The work premiered in Vienna on 23 December 1921...
, The Violet of Montmartre
Das Veilchen vom Montmartre
Das Veilchen vom Montmartre is an operetta in 3 acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán. The libretto was written by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered in Vienna at the Johann Strauss Theater on 21 March, 1930....
, Countess Maritza
Countess Maritza
Gräfin Mariza is an operetta in three acts composed by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán, with a libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered in Vienna on 28 February 1924 at the Theater an der Wien....
and Der Zigeunerprimas
Der Zigeunerprimas
Der Zigeunerprimas is a three act operetta, which was composed by Emmerich Kálmán. The libretto was written by Julius Wilhelm and Fritz Grünbaum...
; John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J....
's El Capitan
El Capitan (operetta)
El Capitan is an operetta in three acts by John Philip Sousa and has a libretto by Charles Klein . The piece was Sousa's first successful operetta and his most successful stage work....
; and Rudolf Friml
Rudolf Friml
Rudolf Friml was a composer of operettas, musicals, songs and piano pieces, as well as a pianist. After musical training and a brief performing career in his native Prague, Friml moved to the United States, where he became a composer...
's The Vagabond King
The Vagabond King
The Vagabond King is a 1925 operetta by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic play If I Were King...
and The Firefly, as well as lesser-known or rarely recorded works like Veronique
Véronique (operetta)
Véronique is an opéra comique or operetta in three acts composed by André Messager. The French libretto was by Georges Duval and Albert Vanloo...
, The Arcadians, De Koven's Robin Hood
Robin Hood (comic opera)
Robin Hood is a comic opera by Reginald De Koven , Harry B. Smith and Clement Scott . The story is based on the Robin Hood legend, during the reign of King Richard I . The opera was composed in Chicago, Illinois during the winter of 1888-1889.Robin Hood was first performed at the Chicago Opera...
, Zeller's The Birdseller, Das Dreimäderlhaus
Das Dreimäderlhaus
Das Dreimäderlhaus , adapted into English language versions as Blossom Time and Lilac Time, is a Viennese pastiche 'operetta' with music by Franz Schubert, rearranged by Hungarian Heinrich Berté , and a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert...
, Romberg's Maytime, Breton's La Verbena de la Paloma, William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
's Facade, English-language versions of Offenbach's The Brigands and Bluebeard, Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
's The Cabaret Girl
The Cabaret Girl
The Cabaret Girl is a musical comedy in three acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by George Grossmith, Jr. and P. G. Wodehouse. It was produced by Grossmith and J. A. E...
and Strauss's A Night in Venice.
Some of these recordings are CD premieres; some are described by the company as "complete", when in fact, significant cuts are made. Reviewers have commented on the unevenness of Ohio Light Opera's casts, and sometimes on the American accents used in English works, but some of the recordings have received favorable reviews. Fanfare magazine called these recordings, particularly those "of lesser-known works ... valuable additions to recorded libraries". The company issued a 5-hour, 4-CD set of company highlights from its first 25 years called Gold and Silver: Celebrating 25 Years of The Ohio Light Opera. The forty-page booklet enclosed with the set includes a company history and reminiscences of performers heard on the recordings.
The company has also released DVDs of their 2005 production of A Soldier's Promise, an English-language adaptation of Der gute Kamerad by Emmerich Kálmán
Emmerich Kalman
Emmerich Kálmán was a Hungarian-born composer of operettas.- Biography :Kálmán was born Imre Koppstein in Siófok, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, Hungary in a Jewish family.Kálmán initially intended to become a concert pianist, but because of early-onset arthritis, he focused on composition...
, and their 2009 production of Herbert's Mlle. Modiste
Mlle. Modiste
Mlle. Modiste is an operetta in two acts written by Victor Herbert, libretto by Henry Blossom. It concerns hat shop girl Fifi, who longs to be an opera singer, but who is such a good hat seller that her employer, Mme. Cecil discourages her in her ambitions and exploits her commercial talents...
.
External links
- Review of OLO's production of Das Dreimäderlhaus
- Review of OLO's Die Fledermaus and The White Horse Inn
- Reviews of OLO's Vagabond King recording
- Review of OLO's Red Mill recording
- http://www.answers.com/topic/naughty-marietta-2001-album-by-ohio-light-operaReview of OLO's Naughty MariettaNaughty Marietta (operetta)Naughty Marietta is an operetta in two acts, with libretto by Rida Johnson Young and music by Victor Herbert. Set in New Orleans in 1780, it tells how Captain Richard Warrington is commissioned to unmask and capture a notorious French pirate calling himself "Bras Priqué" – and how he is helped and...
recording] - Review of OLO's recording of The Grand DukeThe Grand DukeThe Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel, is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on March 7, 1896, and ran for 123 performances...
- Review of OLO's recording of The Yeomen of the GuardThe Yeomen of the GuardThe Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...
- Review of OLO's recording of Princess IdaPrincess IdaPrincess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances...
- Review of OLO's recording of Utopia Limited
- Review of OLO's recording of RuddigoreRuddigoreRuddigore; or, The Witch's Curse, originally called Ruddygore, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan...