Patience

I am not an opera aficionado, but I do enjoy the Gilbert and Sullivan English comedy operas. Some family and friends are in the same boat. So, for others of like ilk who may be considering whether to watch a G&S opera, I offer this bit of encouragement. This performance of "Patience" is quite good. I can't compare individual performers to other opera actor-singers, but think that all in this cast did quite well. I agree with another review that some of the men seemed quite old for the parts of single cavalry lancers pursuing fiancés.

Donald Adams was quite good as Col. Calverly (was that a Gilbert malapropism for cavalry?), and I thought Terry Jenkins was a riot as Lt. The Duke of Dunstable (might he be a little unstable?). Sandra Dugdale was very good as Patience, and John Fryatt as Archibald Grosvenor was another riot. I think his long in the tooth interpretation of the arrogant poet was just right to bring on the laughs. He surely did with me. I wasn't as elated as some reviews are of Derek Stroud as Reginald Bunthorne. If Bunthorne was supposed to be a pan of Oscar Wilde, he should have been an actor of some physical stature. Wilde was huge and 6-foot-3-inches tall. Stroud was shorter than most of the women, so I found that to be a distraction in his mimicking or panning of Wilde's character.

Others noted the set for this production, and I agree. It's far beyond what one would see on stage, and excellently done. I think it adds something to the production – it allows for more fluidity between numbers and scenes. Overall, a very good production of "Patience," and one I think Messrs. Gilbert and Sullivan would heartily endorse.