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Poor play unable to cage talent of cast
HELD BEHIND
BARS: But Edinburgh’s Gilbert and Sullivan Society
rose above the
mediocre subject matter of Princess Ida.
PRINCESS IDA is by far the
least performed of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operatic canon and the reason
why is being demonstrated this week.
Despite the best efforts of
Edinburgh’s Gilbert & Sullivan Society talented cast and crew, the
laboured dialogue and dubious sexual politics of Princess Ida all serve to
dull the senses and numb the buttocks.
While many of the songs
bristle with the lyrical and musical genius of Gilbert and Sullivan, they
are slung over a puny plot.
Despite its anti-feminist subtext, the
opera wasn’t a hit when it was first performed (a generation before women
were allowed to vote), and it never will be - the lampooning of an
all-girl university and the suggestion that such a venture is doomed to
failure is unlikely to be readily accepted these days.
Which is
why the courage, dedication, and sheer talent of the society in making the
best of such a flawed work must be applauded. The vibrancy, riotous colour, movement, and comedy which enlivens much of the work is delivered
with gusto , while the orchestra under the baton of musical director David
Lyle sweeps out the Handelian score with perfect poise.
The plot
sees the rakish but charming Prince Hilarion infiltrate the all-girl,
all-man-hating university of his arranged-marriage bride Princess Ida in a
valiant attempt to convince her to cast off those dungarees and walk down
the aisle with him.
Rather disappointingly for any would-be
Victorian bra-burners who took in the opera’s first performance in 1884,
it takes little more than a couple of songs and the prospect of a snog to
undo 20 years of feminist education and make Ida see the error of her ways
before rejoining the cod-piece wearing society of Prince Hilarion, where
women know their place.
As the warbling Ida, Fiona Main is
perfect, but unfortunately for her, the character is vaguely irritating
and bland.
However, even such a watery character could not prevent
Main from wringing out the best in gems like The World is But a Broken Toy
and I Built Upon A Rock.
Perhaps the most sexist aspect of the
work is the fact that for the most part, the men have the best lines and
the best songs. Playing the delightfully Fagin-like despot and
professional grouch King Gama, Ian Lawson seemed to be making a conscious
effort not to let his fringe character outshine the rest of the cast.
However, he failed when his playfully devilish rendition of
Whene’er I Spoke brought forth cascades of applause from the audience.
Much of the success of the production, however, must be owed to
the technicians and designers who peppered the often tedious plot with
some riotous flashes of sumptuous colour and movement.
It is
unlikely that a more visually or aurally spectacular production of
Princess Ida will turn up in Edinburgh for quite some time. And who wants
to see HMS Pinafore for the 400th time anyway?
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