Savoy Company
Encyclopedia
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...
. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, the Savoy Company has performed at the spacious Academy of Music
Academy of Music (Philadelphia)
The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1857 and is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose...
(since 1926, where it is the oldest tenant) and Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens consists of over 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States in the Brandywine Creek Valley...
, where it was invited by founder Pierre S. du Pont
Pierre S. du Pont
Pierre Samuel du Pont was president of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company from 1915 to 1919, and served on its Board of Directors until 1940...
.
The company gives Philadelphia audiences an opportunity to see full-blown productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan works with full orchestra and comparatively opulent production values, compared with most amateur theatre groups. The company's productions typically reach an annual audience of approximately 8,000 people through two performances at the Academy of Music, one of the oldest grand opera houses in the country, and two performances at the outdoor theater within Longwood Gardens, located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
Kennett Square is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produces over a million pounds of mushrooms a year...
.
Charity through productions
Since 1901, The Savoy Company has been an important part of Philadelphia's cultural, philanthropic, and social arenas. The Company donates the net proceeds from its performances to local charitable organizationCharitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
s. In the past fifteen years, The Savoy Company has donated over $150,000 to local charitable organizations. Founded by 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...
enthusiast and physician Alfred Reginald Allen (1876–1918) and a few of his friends, The Savoy Company has always performed the works of Gilbert and Sullivan (sharing the artistic, musical, and cultural influences of these works) and supported other local, charitable organizations. In 1918, members of the company established the Alfred Reginald Allen Scholarship Fund for the benefit of the Music Department of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. The Company continues to support this fund with annual contributions. The Company also makes annual donations to local, charitable organizations, including the Red Cross, the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the largest and oldest children's hospitals in the world. CHOP has been ranked as the best children's hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report and Parents Magazine in recent years. As of 2008, it was ranked #1 in the nation for...
, Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Daemion House, the Brandywine Conservancy, and the Delaware S.P.C.A., among many others.
A smaller ensemble of The Savoy Company, The Savoy Travelling Troupe, presents concert-versions of its performances for area community events, schools, nursing, and retirement homes. The Travelling Troupe has also performed for special celebrations, such as Victorian Day in Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...
and the Radnor Hunt Three-Day event. It has sung the National Anthem before Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
football games and Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
baseball games. The Travelling Troupe has performed several times at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival is held every summer at the Opera House in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. The three-week Festival of Gilbert and Sullivan performances and fringe events attracts thousands of visitors, including performers, supporters, and G&S enthusiasts from all...
held annually in Buxton
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, including at the Festival's Philadelphia legs in 1996 and 1997. In 1997, members of The Savoy Company were asked to work with former D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
actors in their performance of "H.M.S. Pinafore" at the Festival. In 1999, Savoy also helped the Blue Hill Troupe in New York City to celebrate its 75th anniversary (Blue Hill was founded in 1924) with a performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
.
Social function
Savoy's membership consists of volunteers drawn from the Greater Philadelphia area. Nelson EddyNelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
was one of the members who later became a professional performer (for the company, Eddy played Strephon in 1922 and 1927 and the Major-General in 1923). All potential members (on-stage and backstage) are required to audition and take part in a short interview. The company provides a creative and social outlet for its several hundred active members. Over 50 couples have met their spouses through the company, and many of the members are second and third-generation members. Each season, Savoy sponsors a series of social events open to members and their friends. The Savoy season culminates with the traditional June Fatal, a formal black-tie dinner held in mid-June.