Review (PDF) Ruddigore, Or, The Witch's Curse
(Vocal Score). Complete vocal score.
Paperback: 220 pages
Publisher: G. Schirmer, Inc. (November 1, 1986)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0881887277
ISBN-13: 978-0881887273
Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.5 x 10.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #925,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #24 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Sullivan #26 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Gilbert #135 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Musicals
Gilbert & Sullivan's "Ruddigore" has the unfortunate distinction of being the opera written right after perhaps their greatest work, The Mikado. As such, it is sadly overlooked, but unjustly so, in my opinion.I am currently in a production of Ruddigore, with performances set to begin in June 2007, and I can tell you that this is a fun show. The music is as fun as anything in Pirates or Mikado, and it has the "topsy turvy" feel that all G&S shows do.Here is a summary from the online Gilbert & Sullivan Archive (do a Google search and you'll find it):"'Ruddigore, or The Witch's Curse' was the 10th collaboration between Gilbert and Sullivan. The 'supernatural opera' opened on January 21, 1887 at the Savoy Theatre and ran for 288 performances. [A very small number, compared to Mikado, which ran for nearly 600 performances.] It was not revived until 1920 when it was substantially cut an provided with a new overture arranged by Geoffrey Toye. [Lots of dialogue was rightly cut. Gilbert's widow said that the revised version was better than her late husband's original.]"The opera is a parody of the stock melodrama -- the villain who carries off the maiden; the priggishly good-mannered poor-but-virtuous-heroine; the hero in disguise, and his faithful old retainer who dreams of their former glory days; the snake in the grass who claims to be following his heart; the wild, mad girl; the swagger of fire-eating patriotism; ghosts coming to life to enforce a curse; and so forth. But as one critic noted, Gilbert turns the moral absolutes of melodrama upside down: Good becomes bad, bad becomes good, and heroes take the easy way out."The Baronets of Ruddigore are cursed.
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