Gilbert And Sullivan

Lend a tenor, a few soprano and baritone voices to J. Ernest Green, and he'll transform them into a big, beautiful choral sound.He has been doing that with the Annapolis Chorale since coming to direct it in 1985. What was then a 70-voice chorale is now 145 voices, performing Renaissance to contemporary music during its regular season, and pop classics at its summer outdoor concerts.And he has been doing that with Baltimore's Young Victorian Theatre Company since 1985, when he became music director of the operetta company, which specializes in the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.

What better place to take in a clever musical play about the arts and the military than at the Naval Academy.Local show-goers will have a chance to see the proof of that proposition over the next two weekends as the academy glee club presents Gilbert and Sullivan's delightful "Patience."Composed in the late Victorian era when the writings of Oscar Wilde were all the rage, the story line of "Patience" involves the officers and men of England's Royal Dragoon Guards who are in love with a chorus of maidens led by the imposing Lady Jane.

"At present there are forty-two companies playing 'Pinafore' about the country. Companies formed after six p.m. yesterday are not included."That item appeared in an American newspaper in 1879. Although meant as a joke, it was not far from the truth. "H.M.S. Pinafore" was a theatrical phenomenon, far more successful and influential in its time than "The Phantom of the Opera" in our own.More than a century later, the show still packs power. When Baltimore's Center Stage decided to produce a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta this season, "H.M.

Gilbert and Sullivan's famed operetta "H.M.S. Pinafore" is generally produced on a lavish scale with a slew of sailors, not to mention the Lord of the Admiralty's myriad sisters, cousins and aunts.But Center Stage has shrunk the ship down to dinghy size and turned the show into a chamber operetta with a crew of only six sailors and a mere quartet of sisters, cousins and aunts. "Pinafore," however, is not only a sturdy enough vessel to remain afloat, it comes through shipshape.This charming and amusing production is the theater's first Gilbert and Sullivan, and it's hardly surprising that director Irene Lewis has tampered with tradition in staging it. After all, G&S can be seen as the Shakespeare of operettas, and this is a theater -- and a director -- never content to stage Shakespeare as it was done in his day.Nor is size (which is mainly a budgetary concern)

The audition notices in Sunday's Arts section listed an incorrect telephone number for information on the Young Victorian Theatre Company's July production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance." It should have read (410) 659-1308.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 2/19/97

Bidders raised an all-time high of $168,418 at last Sunday's 20th anniversary radio auction for Center Stage, beating the previous record of $159,461, set in 1994, and bringing the two-decade auction total to more than $1.7 million.A set of tickets to London via Virgin Atlantic Airways fetched $5,300 -- the highest bid. And as always, sports-related items proved to be favorites, said Sydney Wilner, auction coordinator. A set of opening-day Orioles tickets behind the dugout went for $1,300; the chance to be a batboy brought in $825; and an autographed Cal Ripken Jr. bat sold for $390.

In Sunday's Arts section, an incorrect day was given for auditions for the Young Victorian Theatre Company's July production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance." The auditions will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Bryn Mawr School, 109 W. Melrose Ave. Call (410) 659-1308.The Sun regrets the error.The Walters Art Gallery is looking for volunteers interested in helping with the day-to-day operations of the exhibition "The First Emperor: Treasures from Ancient China."

The summer concert series in Quiet Waters Park begins Saturday with "Operetta in the Park," a presentation by Annapolis Opera.The program will feature songs from such works as Victor Herbert's "Naughty Marietta," Jerome Kern's "Showboat," Sigmund Romberg's "The Student Prince," George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess," Rudolf Friml's "The Vagabond King," and Johann Strauss' "Die Fledermaus." Gilbert and Sullivan favorites from "The Pirates of Penzance," "The Mikado" and "H.M.S. Pinafore" are also scheduled.

The audition notices in Sunday's Arts section listed an incorrect telephone number for information on the Young Victorian Theatre Company's July production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance." It should have read (410) 659-1308.The Sun regrets the error.Tickets to Orioles and Ravens games, airline bargains, accommodations in Tobago, Aruba and Toronto, city vacations, Bermuda cruises and lunches with celebrities are just a few of the more than 700 items going on the auction block next Sunday to benefit Center Stage.

In Sunday's Arts section, an incorrect day was given for auditions for the Young Victorian Theatre Company's July production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance." The auditions will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Bryn Mawr School, 109 W. Melrose Ave. Call (410) 659-1308.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 2/25/97

There is something gloriously indestructible about the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan. The music sounds fresh and charming, even in the most jaded or cynical of times. The plots manage to hold up, even when their seams show, and still generate sufficient interest and humor. The Pirates of Penzance is a particularly strong example, boasting a felicitous score that reveals the remarkable depth of Sullivan's lyrical craft and his ability to complement Gilbert's clever words imaginatively.

Light entertainment and a heavy heat/humidity quotient somehow go together perfectly. In one of Baltimore's more charming summer traditions, the Young Victorian Theatre Company makes that point each year with the help of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. The work chosen for the troupe's 38th season is as welcome for its relative novelty as for the general quality and flair of the presentation. The Gondoliers marked the final triumph of the extraordinary Gilbert and Sullivan franchise. Shortly after the premiere in 1889, an absurd, protracted quarrel over the expense of new carpeting at the duo's home base, London's Savoy Theatre, took a hefty toll on creative juices.

One of the greatest partnerships in musical theater - wordsmith W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan - encountered periodic misunderstandings and conflicting goals. A particularly trying time for these two strong-willed creators of the world's most-popular operettas came in 1889, when Sullivan decided he needed a text that would be secondary to the music. Naturally, the librettist took severe umbrage at the idea. Testy letters were exchanged, egos severely bruised. The duo seemed on the verge of disunion when, thanks to diplomacy by producer Richard D'Oyly, who had made a fortune on G & S, a handshake saved the day. The result was the 12th Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, and one of their biggest successes: The Gondoliers.

By putting a current spin on The Pirates of Penzance, Anne Arundel Community College Opera may well transform students and other young audience members into Gilbert and Sullivan devotees. This production, which opens Friday for a two-weekend run, is even more accessible than the operas presented in past seasons, though all gained relevance by changing location and period. The Bartered Bride was transported to Maryland's Eastern Shore and The Elixir of Love was set in a 1930s village in Tennessee.

Gilbert and Sullivan fans - and those not yet in their ranks - will find 2nd Star Productions' The Pirates of Penzance at Bowie Playhouse a highly entertaining show. Considered by many Gilbert and Sullivan devotees to be the best and funniest operetta ever penned by the British duo, Pirates is their only work to premiere in the United States, when in December 1879, Arthur Sullivan conducted the New York theater's orchestra. 2nd Star's current reincarnation succeeds on several levels - as a tuneful musical, a clever spoof and an old-fashioned romance that is well cast.

For its annual production of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, the Young Victorian Theatre Company has not so much sprinkled Baltimore-isms on H.M.S. Pinafore as drowned the old vessel in them. That's not to say the result is all wet, but merely to point out that anyone who prefers G&S reasonably undiluted may have some trouble swallowing this concoction. Saturday night's opening performance at the Bryn Mawr School generated enough musical values and high spirits, though, to keep the ever-fresh spark of Sullivan's brilliant score burning nicely.

There are obvious reasons that The Sorcerer is not among the most popular Gilbert and Sullivan operettas: a creaky plot about a love potion turning a quiet English village into a sea of pressing marital intentions; a score that is more pleasant than brilliant and infectious. There are also very good reasons to ignore those flaws and give The Sorcerer a spirited go. That's what the Young Victorian Theatre Company has sensibly - and admirably - chosen to do for its 36th season of dedication to the G&S repertoire.

It is not too much of a stretch to say that the world might not know Gilbert and Sullivan today had it not been for The Sorcerer, the first full-length operetta they created together. It's also not much of a stretch to say that an awful lot of people don't know a note or a line of The Sorcerer. And that's a pity. THE SORCERER -- 3 p.m. today and July 16, and 8 p.m. Thursday and Saturday -- Bryn Mawr School, 109 W. Melrose Ave. // Tickets $35 -- 410-323-3077 or yvtc.org.

With laughing song" and "ringing cheer," Gilbert and Sullivan's greatest operetta, The Mikado, took London by storm in 1885. Today, 120 years after "a most brilliant house" at the Savoy Theatre gave the first performance a "tremendous reception" (as Sullivan wrote in his diary), the work remains widely prized nearly everywhere for its wordplay, tunefulness and just plain fun. The Young Victorian Theatre Company celebrates its 35th anniversary this month, as it celebrated its 30th, with a production of The Mikado, opening tonight at the Bryn Mawr School.

Great fun and masterful music-making marked the Annapolis Chorale's concert opening its 32nd season and yearlong celebration of J. Ernest Green's 20th anniversary as artistic director. Green's estimable tenure has seen the company grow into the largest performing arts organization in Annapolis, with nearly 300 in the full chorale, chamber chorus, Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and Youth Chorus. The groups will perform more than 20 concerts this season. In the opening moments of Saturday's concert, Green reminded the audience of the Sept.