GILBERT AND SULLIVAN.

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 84, 8 April 1936, Page 7

GILBERT AND SULLIVAN.

Gala Opening- on Saturday.

Although the booking for J. C. Williamson, Ltd.'s, Gilbert and Sullivan opera season, which begins on Saturday next when two brilliant gala- performances of "The Gondoliers" will be staged, is belter than that recorded for

"Wnile Horse Inn," it is so evenly distributed over the various operas that a seat in central positions for the two gala opening performinces in either the dress circle or reserved stalls may be selected at the D.I.C. The company, which is enjoying a triumphant tour, will arrive here on Friday morning and will have a complete rest before the opening performance here. Ivan Menzies made himself immensely popular when the operas were last staged in Wellington, and he will most likely receive a hearty welcome from local playgoers. Miss iivelyn Gardiner, Mr. Gregory Stroud, Mr. Bernard Manning, and Mr. Clifford Cowley are all popular artists who have previously delighted' us with their artistry, and newcomers are Miss Winifred Lawson (soprano), Mr. Godfrey Stirling (tenor), Mr. Kichard Watson (bass), Miss Helen Langton (soprano), Miss Eileen Kelly (mezzo-soprano), Miss Phyllis Dickinson, and Mr. Vincent Mac Murray are all making their first appearance here. The English-speak-ing public have much, indeed, to tnank Gilbert and Sullivan for, and rightly recognise the fact, tor'what other men have given pleasure so clean, so refreshing, and so untiring to so many millions of people of au ages and of all classes? This has been clearly demonstrated for many years throughout New Zealand, where young as well as old have revelled in the operas, the elders returning to the old themes as to an old friend, and the young, who had never seen or heard them,: recognising their worth on the instant and becoming converts on the 'spot. Small wonder that the Gilbert and Sullivan operas have been running somewhere or somehow ever since they were born. Only the two nights can be devoted to "The Gondoliers," and on Tuesday and Wednesday nights next "The Pirates of Penzance" will be staged. On. Thursday and Friday nights, April 16 ■ and 17, and Saturday afternoon, April 18, "The Yeoman of the Guard" will be revived, and on Saturday and Monday nights, April 18 and 20, "lolanthe" will be produced. Then, in rapid succession will be staged "The Mikado," "Patience," and "H.M.S. Pinafore."