THE HANGOVER REPORT – The 81-year-old MasterVoices performs a starry, utterly delightful staged concert of Gilbert & Sullivan’s IOLANTHE

Christine Ebersole and the company of MasterVoice’s staged concert of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Iolanthe (or, The Peer and the Peri)” at Carnegie Hall (photo by Adrian Dimanlig).

Earlier this week at Carnegie Hall, MasterVoices finished off its astonishing 81st concert season with a starry, utterly delightful staged concert of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe (or, The Peer and the Peri), a wacky operetta concerning the overlapping affairs of fairies and the British Parliament (!). As the gods would have it, the one-night-only concert coincidently fell on May 3rd, which happened to be International Gilbert & Sullivan Day. It’s as if the gods were smiling down upon the event.

To be sure, the longstanding MasterVoices fills a specific niche in the city’s rich cultural landscape by bridging classical music and musical theater, effectively fostering the cross-pollination between the two worlds. Indeed, last week’s presentation luxuriously featured musical theater stalwarts like Christine Ebersole (Queen of the Fairies), David Garrison (The Lord Chancellor), Shereen Ahmed (in the title role), Santino Fontana (Lord Mountararat), Jason Danieley (Lord Tolloller), and Philip Boykin (Private Willis) – all of whom delivered comedic and vocal performances that were deliciously and spontaneously on point. Joining them as the operetta’s requisite young lovers Strephon and Phyllis were Schyler Vargas and Ashley Fabian, both of whom brought vocal finesse to the evening. Last but not least was the inclusion of New York City Ballet’s superstar ballerina Tiler Peck as the Dancing Fairy.

As conducted by the great Ted Sperling (who also served as the event’s director), the Gilbert and Sullivan score sparkled with impeccable musicianship. Just as importantly, Sperling – and by extension, his magnificent cast and chorus – also thoroughly understands the beloved writing team’s deliriously droll sense of humor, which was apparent in both his elegantly unfussy and witty staging (the supertitle asides had me in stitches!), as well as the aforementioned performances.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

IOLANTHE (OR, THE PEER AND THE PERI)
Concert
MasterVoices at Carnegie Hall
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Closed

Categories: Music, Opera, Other Music

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