The Austin Gilbert and Sullivan Society announces Auditions for Princess Ida Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3, 2013 by appointment only.The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin announces auditions for its June 13-23 Grand Summer Production of Princess Ida by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Ralph MacPhail, Jr. and Jeffrey Jones-Ragona will be returning as artistic and music directors, respectively.
Auditions are approximately ten minutes long, by appointment only. All roles are open for casting, including principals and chorus. A prepared musical selection and completed audition form are required. A résumé and headshot are requested. A small honorarium will be paid to all performers. Auditions will be held at Genesis Presbyterian Church, 1507 Wilshire Blvd (click for map).
Those auditioning should memorize a song from Gilbert and Sullivan or something similar that will show their voice and range to best advantage. An accompanist will be provided, although singers may bring their own pianist if they wish. Please note that unaccompanied (a cappella) auditions are not accepted, nor are self-accompanied auditions. A public domain version of the Vocal Score and Libretto are available.
Call Pat Turpin at 512-963-9021 (7 am - 8 pm) or email audition@gilbertsullivan.org to reserve an audition time slot. Complete information at www.gilbertsullivan.org.Music rehearsals will begin on April 30 and the grand summer production takes place June 13 - 23, 2013.
Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant was Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert’s eighth comic opera out of fourteen. The Society is producing it for the first time in its history. Sullivan’s score is majestic, and many consider Gilbert’s libretto one of his funniest. This is the only three-act Gilbert and Sullivan opera.
This melodic and hilarious comic opera features proto-feminist Princess Ida, the daughter of King Gama. The princess founds a women’s university from which all men are barred, and she and her faculty teach that women are superior to men and should rule in their stead. Romantic Prince Hilarion, to whom Ida had been engaged in infancy, sneaks into the university along with two friends with the aim of claiming Hilarion’s bride, instigating a riotous war between the sexes. Princess Ida satirizes feminism, women’s education, masculine pugnacity and militarism, grand opera, and Darwinian evolution - topics which were controversial in conservative Victorian England. It is based on a narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson called “The Princess.”
The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin was founded in 1976 with the purpose of education by preserving and presenting the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.
The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin PO Box 684542 / Austin, Texas / 78768-4542 / 512.472.4772 / info@gilbertsullivan.org
No comments:
Post a Comment