22 May 2005
G&S at Opera Australia
When the irascible W.S. Gilbert was directing this break-through operetta, he admonished a soprano: “This is not Italian opera. It is only a low burlesque of the worst possible kind.”
When the irascible W.S. Gilbert was directing this break-through operetta, he admonished a soprano: “This is not Italian opera. It is only a low burlesque of the worst possible kind.”
HMS Pinafore/Trial by Jury (Graphic: Opera Australia)
HMS Pinafore, Trial By Jury
John Slavin [The Age, 23 May 05]
When the irascible W.S. Gilbert was directing this break-through operetta, he admonished a soprano: "This is not Italian opera. It is only a low burlesque of the worst possible kind."
It is impossible to tell whether Gilbert was serious or whether this was an example of his refined sense of mockery of everything in British life that took itself too seriously.