The Daily Free Press--April 5, 1973

Unlikely Pair Matched Famed Words,Music by Andrea Obston, Free Press Staff

It is important that the Boston University Savoyards are not merely actors of Gilbert and Sullivan productions. The development of the Savoy Operas went from outstandingly successful into a craze, almost a cult. The BU Savoyards are part of that cult. They are the present day followers of those two mis-matched men of the opera. They must have been an unlikely pair, those two: one tall and sickly; the other short and debonair. One convinced his comic operas were self-demeaning, flimsy and shortlived; the other whose love for this topsy-turvy comedy sparked each new plot. The tall, sickly one was Sir Arthur Sullivan and his stocky companion, William S. Gilbert. These two men produced 13 operas in 19 years, yet could never become friends because of their vast character differences. In fact, to the ends of their lives they never called each other by his first name. The man responsible for this unlikely mismatch was Richard D'Oyly Carte, an astute theater manager who brought them together in 1871. Gilbert had just written a piece which Carte persuaded Sullivan to hear. Sullivan loved the words so that he put it to music within two weeks. The result was Trial by Jury which lasted 128 performances. This was long enough to make up Carte's mind that the two were born to work in a partnership. From that time on he provided them with a theater and company to work with. Unfortunately neither man was interested in a partnership. At the time of their meeting Gilbert was 41 and Sullivan 35, and both were eminent in their professions. Gilbert was a dramatist with over 20 serious plays to his credit. He also had a reputation for upside down humor through his writing in a weekly newspaper, Fun. Sullivan was well known as a serious musician and regarded as a promising composer. He was told that working in light opera would demean him and it was this urgency to express himself more fully in music that lead to the pair's split in the end. Not until 4 years after Trial by Jury could D'Oyly Carte get the two men to work together again. Carte persuaded Gilbert, after a bout with the serious theater, to produce The Sorcerer. Sullivan too had been out on his own and had made his fame as a serious musician. He also fell prey to Carte's persuasions and it was his music in The Sorcerer that made the partnership official. Since the first Gilbert and Sullivan production 70 years ago there has hardly been a moment when their Savoy operas are not being performed. It is hard to say which man contributed more to this enduring success. Some say it's tunefullness of Sullivan's music that has kept these operettas alive. Others say it's Gilbert's lyrics which have never gone out of date. With the incredible success of Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas, D'Oyly Carte decided to purchase a tract of land in the Savoy section of London for a new playhouse for the troupe. He wanted to build the finest theater London had ever known and even went so far as to light it with electric lights! (A first which was conspicuously pointed out in the opening night program Oct. 1881. Hence, the name Savoy from Carte's magnificent playhouse was given to all Gilbert and Sullivan operas, even those produced before its opening. Hence, the name Savoyard for the followers that have become enchanted with this comic art for the 70 years since.

The Daily Free Press--April, 1973

Penzance:Wit and Fun

The Boston University Savoyards gave an impressive opening of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. This production captures the light and happy quality of the opera with its familiar music. The dancing and acting of the area group was highly professional and entertaining. The performance of Jeffrey Davies as Major-General Stanley stood out. Ellen McLain, playing Mabel, seems to have talent as an actress. The performance of Bob Locke as the Pirate King was also enjoyable. The story itself is full of British wit and fun. It is the far-fetched story about a group of tender-hearted pirates who show mercy to their victims if they claim they are orphans. The opera opens up with Frederick, played by Douglas Hunt, finishing up his apprenticeship as a pirate and ready to leave the group to join the honest world. The only reason he stays in the group is because of a sense of duty. At this point a group of Major-General Stanley's beautiful daughters enters the scene. Frederick falls in love with Mabel, who forgives him for his past life as a pirate. Then the pirates capture the Major-General's daughters with the intention of marrying them. They only release the girls when the Major-General claims he is an orphan. The main point in the plot is that Frederick was born on leap year and is still a pirate, in reality, until 1940. The story ends happily, however, when it is revealed that the pirates are really members of the House of Lords. Highlight of the show was Major-General Stanley's patter song where he dances lightly across the stage telling about his life in as many syllables as possible. Another high point was the Cleveland song where the chorus of policemen sing, "A policeman's lot is not a happy one." The able Savoyards are performing this entertaining opera Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Hayden Hall.

The Daily Free Press

Green of D'Oyly Carte fame gives personal papers to Mugar

Martyn Green, actor, singer, and writer, known especially for his operatic career with London's D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, has donated his personal papers and memorabilia to the Twentieth Century Archives at Boston University. Dr. Howard Gotlieb, head of special collections at the University's Mugar Memorial Library, noted, in making the announcement, that the gift includes Green's extensive collection of Gilbert and Sullivan materials--original letters and manuscripts by the two composers as well as artifacts from various stage productions of the operettas. Green, who was born in London in 1899, made his debut in 1919 with the Theater Royal in A Southern Maid and joined the D'Oyly Carte Company three years later. In 1927 he made the first of several tours of the United States and Canada, appearing in a vast variety of Gilbert and Sullivan productions. In subsequent years he appeared repeatedly on Broadway in both singing and acting roles. Green has recorded most of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas for London FFRR and is the author of "Here's-A-How-De-Do" and "A Treasury of Gilbert and Sullivan." A veteran performer on television, he has also appeared in films, the latest being Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, in which he stars with Frederick March, Robert Ryan, and Lee Marvin. The film is scheduled for release later this year.

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