GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The award-winning chorus Crescendo concludes its 20th anniversary season with two semi-staged performances of light opera compositions by the famous English librettist/composer duo: Sir W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan.

 

There will only be two performances: on Saturday, May 4 at 6:00 PM at Trinity Church, 484 Lime Rock Rd., Lakeville, CT, and on Sunday, May 5 at 4:00 PM at Saint James Place, 352 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA. Tickets are $40 (general seating), $75 (preferred seating), and $10 (youth under 18 years). Purchase your tickets online at www.crescendomusic.org.

 

A limited number of tickets will be available to be sold at the door, starting 45 minutes before each performance.

 

According to a press release

 

Their works feature intentionally absurd plots in which authority and the rigid norms of society are cleverly made fun of, as the music combines elements of the parlor ballad, Victorian church music, and the operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Verdi. The program showcases some of their most beloved choral numbers, and a few of the most famous solo roles from several of their fourteen operettas, loosely tied together by brief narration, and the complete one-act operetta Trial by Jury. The Crescendo chamber chorus of 18 amateur and 12 professional singers is joined by soloists and actors from New York City to Europe who specialize in this genre.

 

Trial by Jury is a satirical setting for a "breach of promise" trial, ridiculing the British judicial system and the double standards of Victorian society. The second half of the program will feature popular selections from The Mikado, Patience, The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, Iolanthe, Ruddigore, Princess Ida, and The Gondoliers. The change of scenes will be enhanced by costumes and props designed by Kate DeAngelis

 

The production is co-directed by John-Arthur Miller, an experienced Gilbert & Sullivan performer and long-time soloist and section leader at Crescendo, together with Crescendo’s founding artistic director, Christine Gevert.

 

Among the principal soloists is comic baritone Stephen Quint as The Learned Judge. Austria-based soprano, Rebecca Palmer, plays the role of Angelina (The Plaintiff). The lyric tenor, Igor Ferreira, playing Edwin (The Defendant).

 

The cast of soloists also includes – among others – tenor Kevin Ray, who has appeared as a soloist with The Metropolitan Opera, Portland Opera, Arizona Opera, and New Orleans Opera.

 

These concerts have been made possible in part with support from funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature.