Thursday 23^rd September 2010
7:30pm

White Horse Opera

We welcome White Horse Opera to open our season with the classic Gilbert & Sullivan ‘Pirates of Penzance’. Based in Devizes, in the heart of Wiltshire. White Horse Opera was founded in 1990 by Geraldine and Keith Lawley to bring opera to the local community of Devizes. It has since produced over 20 operas including the big A, B, C, of Opera (Aida, La Boheme & Carmen), and performs in venues of all types across the area.

The story of ‘Pirates of Penzance’ concerns Frederic, who, having completed his 21^st year, is released from his apprenticeship to a band of tenderhearted pirates. He meets Mabel, one of four daughters of Major-General Stanley, and the two young people fall instantly in love. Frederic finds out, however, that he was born on February 29, and so, technically, he only has a birthday each leap year. He has a profound sense of duty and as his apprenticeship indentures state that he shall remains apprenticed to the pirates until his 21^st birthday, he determines that he must serve for another 63 years. Mabel agrees to wait for him faithfully. Meanwhile the Major-General has incited the Police to capture the pirates, and the climax of the opera is the fight between police and pirates, which the pirates easily win, until the Sergeant invokes the name of Queen Victoria – and the pirates out of their duty to the Queen immediately surrender. However, the pirates are all released as soon as it is discovered that they are all noblemen who have ‘gone wrong’, and all ends happily ever after as Frederic marries Mabel and the other three sisters marry the ex-pirates-now-noblemen.

White Horse Opera was founded in 1990 with the aim of bringing full-costume grand opera, sung in English, to the people of Wiltshire at an affordable price.

Based in Devizes – performing at the Town Hall and Corn Exchange, with members and supporters from far and wide. Their annual productions have included some of the best-loved of the opera repertoire: Aida, La Boheme and Carmen together with more challenging works such as Count Ory and Faust.

Combining local talent with professional music directors, soloists and orchestras gives a result well beyond that normally achieved but this costs money, for example, 2004’s Carmen cost in excess of £20,000 to produce and involved a cast of over 70 with a 21-strong professional orchestra.