The sardonic, scintillating, sonorous sounds of Gilbert and Sullivan will be in the air beginning this weekend with the Troupers Light Opera production of The Yeomen of the Guard. This madcap adventure which occurs in the 16th century near the Tower of London, involves a motley crew including a strolling jester, a young maid, the Yeomen of the Guard, etc. In researching the history of this time period, William Gilbert assiduously studied Shakespeare to discover the cadences and rhythms of Elizabethan English. As Darlene Geis points out, Gilbert successfully copied Shakespearen nuances and manners in the following song performed by his jester, Jack Point to his sweetheart Elsie Maynard:
"It's the song of a merryman, moping mum,
Whose soul was sad, and whose glance was glum,
Who sipped no sup, and who craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye.
Heighdy! Heighdy!
Misery me, lackadaydee!
He sipped no sup, and he craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye."
Arthur Sullivan's memorable melodies beautifully support the lyrics of this work.
This show may be seen from Marchc 14-22, 2008 at St. Luke's Performing Arts Center in New Canaan. For further information about the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan, the Library has Caryl Brahms' Gilbert and Sullivan: Lost Chords and Discords, Alan Jefferson's The Complete Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Guide and Geoffrey Smith's The Savoy Operas: A New Guide to Gilbert and Sullivan.