Tickets are now on sale for Houston’s Gilbert & Sullivan Society’s RUDDIGORE at Cullen Performance Hall

Tickets for the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston’s July production of Ruddigore (or The Witch’s Curse) at the University of Houston’s Cullen Performance Hall are now on sale to the public. Two performances are scheduled for Saturday evening (July 20 and July 27 at 7 p.m.), while two performances are scheduled for Sunday morning (July 21 and July 28 at 2:30 p.m.).

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston, the city’s oldest opera company, has presented several Gilbert and Sullivan works over the years, including HMS Pinafore, Princess Ida, The Mikado, The Yeomen of the Guard and The Pirates of Penzance, with Ruddigore’s final run in 2007.

Ruddigore’s director is opera veteran Buck Ross, professor emeritus and founder and former director of the Moores Opera Center at the University of Houston. Renowned conductor Eiki Isomura, who directs Houston’s Opera in the Heights, takes the reins for the second year as music director. Joseph Rawley returns once again as Artistic Director/Choir Conductor.

Ross and Isomura will certainly bring a unique take on the operetta, which is not as well known as most other Gilbert & Sullivan productions (The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado), but which has much to offer the eye and ears. members of the public. Once again, famous production designer Jodi Bobrovsky will demonstrate her creativity as the public will discover superb digital landscapes, evoking ghosts and a Halloween atmosphere.

“I am thrilled to work with the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston to bring this rarely produced operetta, which I would describe as ‘Jane Austen meets Young Frankenstein,’ to the public,” says Ross. “The gothic elements, imbued with a sense of humor, will bring a level of madness in the best possible way. The costumes are Regency era, the music is first class and for the first time the company will experiment with digital sets. I predict that audiences of all ages will be wowed by this fun and spooky period piece. »

“Ruddigore is an ensemble tour de force with lots of fun character roles,” Ross continues. “The stage of the historic Cullen Performance Hall will come to life with a plethora of great personalities, singing, dancing and acting in this send-up of Victorian melodrama. The projected supertitles will allow the audience to easily follow the fast pace of the operetta.

Ross went on to say that he considered his involvement a “reunion week.” “During my tenure at UH with Moores, I worked closely with many cast members, including Richard Paul Fink (Sir Roderic Murgatroyd), Wes Landry (Robin), Lisa Borik Vickers (Rose), Thomas O ‘Neill (Richard) and Johnny Salvesen (Adam),” says Ross “We have a wealth of operatic talent in Houston, and Ruddigore is a great way to showcase that talent with infectious music that empowers singers. to exercise their vocal gifts.”

“I have a lot of affection for Ruddigore with his wealth of great roles and his music featuring some of the best stars in all of G&S,” says Isomura. “The chilling music of the ancestors, especially the tune “When the Night Wind Howls,” is powerfully evocative. And of course, G&S are known and loved for their fast-paced songs, and Ruddigore features a rhythm trio “My Eyes Are Fully Open” that sounds like the Major General’s song (The Pirates of Penzance) times three.

“On a personal note, Ruddigore was my very first experience of opera in any form,” Isomura continues. “I played one of the ancestor ghosts in a junior production in sixth grade. It’s just a testament to Gilbert and Sullivan’s gifts that 30 years later it comes back to me largely memorized and feeling just as fresh as it did then.

The parcel

A satirical take on the Victorian melodrama genre, Ruddigore’s zany plot has it all: ghosts, witches, curses, disguises, and reluctant evil villains who try to elope with the beautiful maiden. All of Ruddigore’s baronets are under a curse pronounced by a witch long ago: each of the successive baronets must commit some sort of crime every day, or they will die in agony.

Robin Oakapple has lived as a farmer for years and found the courage to propose to the beautiful village girl, Rose Maybud. However, he keeps a secret – he is in fact Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, the baronet of Ruddigore who hid in disguise while his younger brother Despard assumed the title – and the curse.

Betrayed by his adopted brother Richard, Robin is discovered and must now commit a crime every day in order to appease the curse and the ghosts of all his ancestors, unhappy with his attempt to escape his title. Robin must find a way to live the honest life he loves, but how? The public will know it when they come to see Ruddigore.

The casting

Cast members include Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd – Wes Landry; Richard Dauntless – Thomas O’Neill; Sir Despard Murgatroyd – Dennis Arrowsmith; Old Adam Goodheart – Johnny Salvesen; Rose Maybud-Lisa Borik Vickers; Mad Margaret – Meaghan Heath; Lady Hannah – Jana Ellsworth; Zorah – Riley Vagis; Ruth – Chloe Owens; and Sir Roderic Murgatroyd – Richard Paul Fink.

Members of the women’s choir are Justine Ash, Tarryn Ballard, Giselle Bautista, Tiffany Dawkins, Melisa Gultan, Emma Hayden, Lena Lowe, Samantha Taylor and Whitney Wells.

The men’s chorus includes Jadon Campos, Zaccai Campos, Gage Campos, Geoff Copper, Trey Fitzgerald, Zachary Frank, Joe Key, Mike McCarver, Benjamin Rorabaugh, Joe White and Martin Wolff.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.hgns.org/tickets. Prices range from $49 to $94, plus handling fees. Make sure to buy early to get the best seats.

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