Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera, The Sorcerer, debuted in 1877 with a bizarre cast of priests, lovers, and sorcerers. This Victorian-era opera about marriage and love potions was not exactly what one would expect from the occasionally club and drug-obsessed—dare I say depraved—city of Montreal. Suffice it to say, when[Read More…]
Tag: McGill Savoy Society
Opening the curtains for the Montreal theatre scene
ACT I //Enter Canadian Theatre.// In 1949, Vincent Massey led the Massey Commission in an investigation of Canadian cultural and intellectual production. After its completion, the commission declared the country guilty of ignoring home-grown artistry in favour of foreign cultural products. While the American monopoly over publishing was a part[Read More…]
The show goes on: The McGill Savoy Society returns to live theatre after a two-year hiatus
As Montreal loosens its restrictions, live theatre has regained its place as an integral part of campus life. In going to see the McGill Savoy Society’s wildly entertaining show, The Pirates of Penzance, I was reminded of what makes going to the theatre such a distinctive experience: The connection between[Read More…]
The McGill Savoy Society opens their curtains again
It’s hard to imagine staging a theatre production—something so full of life and so reliant on personal connections—over livestream and video recordings. However, this is precisely what The McGill Savoy Society, a Gilbert and Sullivan-focussed theatre troupe at McGill, did last year. The McGill Savoy society specializes in putting on[Read More…]
Gilbert and Sullivan remain fresh in ‘The Gondoliers’
Gilbert and Sullivan are ubiquitous in the theatre world and beyond. Their songs appear in television shows both in their original form and in parody, in shows like Star Trek and Family Guy. Yet while other productions play with their time period, projecting plot and characters into modern scenarios, much of the charm[Read More…]
High infidelity: McGill Savoy Society’s “The Merry Widow” brings a classic into the modern era
Opera is an art form that has been in jeopardy for at least the last few decades. With a near complete lack of any notable new operas since the early 20th century, the entire genre is in danger of becoming stagnant without the intervention of passionate fans who are willing[Read More…]
