"The Sorcerer" was our 49th Show and the 4th time we have produced the operetta.
The production was dedicated to the memory of Gordon Clayton who was our Musical Director from 1994 through 1996.
The opera opened on 17 November 1877 at the Opera Comique in London, where it ran for 178 performances. It was considered a success by the standards of that time and encouraged the collaborators to write their next opera, H.M.S. Pinafore.
The Sorcerer has made its way into popular culture. Isaac Asimov wrote a short story, "The Up-To-Date Sorcerer", an homage to the opera consisting largely of a series of puns on phrases from it.
From Gilbert's Bab Ballads:
Producer/Director : Barry Atkinson
Musical Director : Keith Webster
Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre : (an elderly baronet) | Kenneth Davison |
Alexis : (of the Grenadier Guards, his son) | Ian Townend |
Dr Daly : (Vicar of Ploverleigh) | Robert Thurman |
The Notary: | Keith Horner |
John Wellington Wells : (of JW Wells & Co) | Malcolm Parkinson |
Lady Sangazure : (A Lady of Ancient Lineage) | Stephanie Roe |
Aline : (her daughter betrothed to Alexis) | Carol Parkinson |
Mrs Zorah Partlet : (a Pew Opener) | Alison Sowerby |
Constance : (her daughter) | Helen McCree |
Gillian Bardon, Marie Bullock, Janice Child, Rachel Clegg, Margaret Hanson, Elaine Mantle, Karen Morton, Dina Powell, Sue Ralph, Caroline Roberts, Catherine Roberts, Sally Roberts, Debbie Stringer, Pamela Thorne, Kathryn Thurman & Dorothy Whitworth.
Joseph Bardon, John Berry, Ian Castle, Paul Child, David Hirst, Stephen Roe, Chris Sowerby, Matthew Thorne & Matthew Thurman.