Our 2002 production was that most operatic of the Savoy repertoire, Yeomen of the Guard.

	The Gentlemen of the Tower in all their harmony:   "Gallant pikemen, valiant sworders"
	Part of the final scene   "Comes the pretty young bride"   (Paloma Bruce as Elsie)

Yeomen is a very demanding show musically, and we had a well-prepared cast under the musical direction of Anne Meggett (and well-drilled, thanks to our Director, Robert Ormsby). As our publicity material put it:

Romance, Intrigue, Execution, Handsome soldiers, Modest maidens, Great music!

We ran the show in two local venues:

The recently refurbished Lower Hutt Little Theatre (we were the first show to benefit from the improvements) 28 Aug to 4 Sept;

and then at Southwards, Paraparaumu, which is a full-sized theatre attached to a first-class car museum, 14 & 15 Sept.

Principals:

Connie Barfoot (DAME CARRUTHERS), Neil Brewer (WILFRED), Paloma Bruce (ELSIE),
Stuart Gordon (SIR RICHARD), Derek Miller (JACK POINT), Rebecca Murphy (PHOEBE),
Kevin O'Kane (COLONEL FAIRFAX), Stephen O'Neil (LEONARD),
David Skinner (SERGEANT MERYLL), Pamela Searle (KATE).

The Yeomen of the Guard was Gilbert and Sullivan's 11th collaboration, and the nearest they came to creating a 'Grand Opera'. It is the only one of their works that does not use satire.

Gilbert's plot was inspired by a poster he saw for the Tower Furnishing Company at Uxbridge train station. The poster featured a picture of the Tower of London, and set Gilbert to thinking about using the Tower as a location for the next Savoy opera. The opera has been performed four times in the moat of the actual Tower itself, allowing the use of the real executioner's bell at the appropriate moments.

The Plot

The Yeomen of the Guard tells the story of Colonel Fairfax during the last days of his imprisonment in the Tower. He has been denounced as a sorcerer, and is facing execution within the hour. Sergeant Meryll, a Yeoman of the Guard, and his daughter Phoebe, both of whom wish to save Fairfax, lead the audience through plot full of cunning twists.

The Music

Many of the songs that Sullivan wrote for Yeomen would not feel out of place in a grand opera, while in the rest, Sullivan makes full use of a range of styles, from madrigal to folk song