GILBERT AND SULLIVAN COY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 94, 20 March 1936, Page 10

GILBERT AND SULLIVAN COY.

Plans arc now open at Messrs Collinsori and Cunniiighamc’s, Ltd., for the three performances to be given by _ the J. C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company next Tuesday and Wednesday in the Opera House, Palmerston North. “Tho Gondoliers” will bo presented on Tuesday night, “Tho Mikado” on Wednesday afternoon, and “The Yeomen of t'ic Guard” on Wednesday night. The Savoy operas are not merely evergreen; they are a*> well assured of immortality as any work of art 'can bo in a changing world. _ At a timo when America and the Continent have almost taken charge of the light operatic stage and native English humour is said to bo languishing in tho theatre, Gilbert and Sullivan is more appreciated and enjoyed than over. A Savoy company sent to tho United States for the first time last year was received with tumultuous acclaim, and after many weeks New Yorkers could hardly bear to let it go. Tho gramophone and the radio have spread Sullivan’s lifting airs ever more widely year after year, and have prepared countless thousands for the operas themselves whenever there is an opportunity to ' hear them. New Zealanders are behind no one in their loyalty to these classics of melody, humour and satire. Every five years or so, J. C. Williamson, Ltd., sends an accredited company of high standing on a tour of Australia and New Zealand. Thousands of ardent Gilbert and Sullivan devotees look forward to its corning, and each visit makes new converts among tho younger folk.