On Nov. 3, the Valley Light Opera (VLO) opened their fall opera “Iolanthe” by Gilbert and Sullivan at the Academy of Music, marking the organization’s sixth staging of the comic operetta since 1976. The production boasts delightful performances from Valley Light Opera veterans Elaine Crane and Thom Griffin, and captivating ensemble numbers that kept the audience laughing.
The Valley Light Opera is a volunteer-run nonprofit founded in 1975 by “a group of Gilbert and Sullivan devotees,” according to their website. The organization produces one fully-staged opera at the Academy of Music each fall, with smaller-scale productions during the spring. While thanking the show’s sponsors, the Valley Light Opera’s announcer noted that each fall opera costs an estimated $50,000 to produce.
The VLO’s “Iolanthe” opened with a whirlwind of fairies lighting the night sky with fiber-optic wands, adorned in brightly colored wigs, pastel handkerchief skirts and ballet slippers. Set in pastoral, Victorian England, the opera follows titular character Iolanthe — a fairy banished from fairyland for marrying a mortal — and her half-fairy half-human son Strephon.
Strephon vies for the hand of Phyllis, a ward of the court of equity, but is swiftly rejected by the Lord Chancellor and the members of the House of Peers, who too are all enamored with Phyllis. Thus begins the show’s conflict, as Strephon calls upon Iolanthe and the fairies to battle the Peers in the name of true love.
The VLO’s “Iolanthe” features stand-out performances from soprano Elaine Crane in the role of Phyllis, and baritone Thom Griffin in the role of the Lord Chancellor. Crane’s interpretation of Phyllis epitomizes the Gilbert and Sullivan ingénue — both sweet and sardonic, with the vocal prowess to match. Griffin’s performance proved equally impressive, his booming baritone voice apt for creating a convincing villain, while still maintaining the deftness required for solo recitative and song “Love, unrequited.”
In addition to Crane and Griffin’s performances, the production’s ensemble numbers beautifully encapsulated the joy community theater can bring, with a particularly memorable performance from the Peers. Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe” draws much of its comedy from satirizing the British government through the inane members of the House of Peers. Dim-witted as they were, however, the Valley Light Opera’s Peers were both laughable and endearing.
From the moment they arrived on stage, the Peers transformed the Arcadian landscape with their energy and humor. The Peers had no shortage of goofy choreography to keep the audience laughing. Outfitted in red royal mantles and exorbitant crowns, the group of men formed chorus lines and spun in circles like debutantes at a ball. Some of the most memorable moments of the show included the Peers pulling various items out of their tuxedos — from handkerchiefs to paper cut-out hearts — as they squabbled over who was to marry Phyllis.
These few knock-out performances, however, seemed to overshadow the rest of the show’s plot; the love stories (and conflicts) between Phyllis and Strephon, and Iolanthe and the Lord Chancellor felt tacked-on to an otherwise entertaining performance, despite being key moments in the show. Though this is perhaps more-so a result of Gilbert and Sullivan’s strange course of events over the performance itself, with Strephon being the ultimate mama’s boy, and the battle between the fairies and the Peers resulting in weddings en masse.
Overall, the Valley Light Opera’s most recent rendition of “Iolanthe” was an endearing one, with compelling performances from both leads and ensemble members true to the spirit of Gilbert and Sullivan.
