| . | 01/18/2002
Pirates and Penzance
By: Bruce-Michael Gelbert
Photos credit: Michael Nemith
The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players' debut season at City Center, which began early in January with "H.M.S. Pinafore," continued with a weekend of frothy performances of "The Pirates of Penzance," with Artistic Director Albert Bergeret presiding. Vocal honors went to tenor Keith Jameson as Frederic, the pirate apprentice and "slave of duty" of the subtitle, kin to Verdi's honor-bound bandit Ernani. Jameson, who sings with the New York City Opera, delivered a smooth and lyrical "Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast," capped by a fluid cadenza. He collaborated with Heide Holcomb, as his beloved Mabel, on an exquisite "Stay, Frederic Stay," the love duet, and with Megan Friar, a relatively light-voiced Ruth, his erstwhile nurserymaid, on an ably realized, mock dramatic "Oh, False One, You Have Deceived Me," surely modeled on the Manrico-Azucena scena in Act Two of "Il Trovatore." In the florid "Poor Wand'ring One," Holcomb's filigree singing floated when she sang lightly, but hardened when driven. A flute-accompanied, Lucia di Lammermoor-like cadenza at the solo's conclusion proved a mixed blessing. The soprano's legato "Go, Ye Heroes" and line in the romantic duet were happier experiences.
Comic baritone Stephen Quint skillfully dispatched the polysyllabic patter of "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General" and its rapid-fire encore. He was a sight in nightshirt and fluffy puppy slippers for a balletic "Sighing Softly to the River" in Act Two. Jameson, Friar and Pirate King Duane McDevitt's jolly revelation scene, "When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold," and ensuing vengeance trio, "Away, Away! My Heart's on Fire," were highlights. The full ensemble's polished "Hail Poetry" and "With Cat-like Tread" earned sustained applause, as did an encore of the latter, complete with "A Chorus Line"-inspired glitzy top hats and kickline.
Ariane Reinhart, in the supporting part of Edith, contributed a distinctive "Let Us Gaily Tread the Measure" and lent flexible tone to the reprise of "Poor Wand'ring One(s)," with Holcomb, in the finale. Further boosts to the merriment came from Sergeant of Police Philip Reilly and his bumbling troop of Keystone-style Kops and from choreographer Bill Fabris, who made a nimble Samuel, the Pirate King's Lieutenant. "The Mikado," during the third weekend in January, follows.
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