3463 - Gilbert and Sullivan's "lolanthe' and "Yeoman of the Guard" (Peter Campos)
Course Description
Instructor: Peter Campos
Gilbert and Sullivan are best known for their operettas “The Mikado,” “The Pirates of Penzance,” and “HMS Pinafore.” However, there were 11 other plays where Gilbert’s witty and satirical libretti and Sullivan’s gorgeous, rousing musical scores delighted audiences for over 100 years. “Iolanthe” and “Yeoman of the Guard” were two of the more popular of these shows. In this four week course, we will feature full Act I and Act II performances for each play, and short introductory and concluding remarks. “Iolanthe” takes us to the world of fairies and their awkward love interests with members of the House of Lords. It features a rousing lampoon of the Peers with “When Britain Really Ruled the Waves.” Yeoman of the Guard takes a different tack on a love theme; this is a more “serious” operetta about unrequited love set in Tudor England in the Tower of London! “Yeoman” features the hauntingly soulful “I have a song to sing, O.” If you are so inclined during class, please feel free to sing along! I will provide you with the list of musical numbers and direct you to websites that feature the entire score and libretto for each play.
Bio: I was trained as a Clinical Psychologist and was formerly on faculty at Emory Medical School’s Psychiatry Department and SUNY-Binghamton’s Psychology Department. I taught undergraduate and graduate level courses for over 35 years and ran a private research and evaluation consulting firm for 20 years. I now enjoy retirement spending my time teaching classes and volunteering at OLLI at Emory, as well enjoying Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, writing, learning languages, and traveling.