Our summer concerts
In action at Holy Name
In the past week there have been two opportunities to hear the Society in summer concert mode. The first was at St Andrew’s Clermiston Church of Scotland, Edinburgh, on the evening of Wednesday 22nd June – unlike the December carol concert, this didn’t need to be cancelled because of problems with the Forth Road Bridge! Our second was a slightly shorter afternoon concert at the Church of the Holy Name, Oakley on Sunday 26th June, which was followed by an opportunity to chat with the audience and share the hospitality of the church – thank you for a great tea!
Two audiences warmed to our performances, with an eclectic mix of music from the shows from chorus and soloists, and two ‘tasters’ from our forthcoming production of Ruddigore. We hope that we’ll be seeing them again at Carnegie next February, and that they will spread the word that Dunfermline G&S are great entertainers.
Palestrina at the Priory
Our “Palestrina at Rosslyn” on 11 June sold out, so we’re repeating most of the same programme: great music; wonderful acoustic; by candlelight (probably); drinks afterwards. And it’s a retiring collection rather than charging for tickets. What’s not to like?! Details on the flyer – click the image.
Midsummer Music
Details of the dates and venues on our Next Show page, or click the image for a downloadable poster.
Well done, Robbie!
Congratulations to Robbie Milner, our immensely hard-working rehearsal accompanist, on having been accepted into the music department at McGill (in Canada)! He starts there in September, and we wish him well. We’ll miss you!
AGM notice
The Annual General Meeting of Dunfermline Gilbert and Sullivan Society will be held in Whitefield Day Hospital on Sunday 22 May 2016 at 2.30 pm.
An agenda has been sent out to members by email. If you haven’t received this, please contact our Chairman, George Alexander (george@dgass.org.uk).
It’s all about ghosts!
Thanks to the indefatigable Geoff for finding in his archives the Dunfermline Press article about our last production of Ruddigore, back in 2005. You can read the article if you click the image: as it says: “There’s more than one phantom in the opera”! If you know someone who’d like to join our team, be they gentle maiden or bad baronet, do please encourage them …
What NODA thought …
As you know from our Home page, we had a visit from Dorothy Johnstone, the Regional Rep for District 6, at our Saturday matinée. She enjoyed the show, and provided this official report:
Both Gilbert and Sullivan considered ‘The Yeomen of the Guard’ to be their best work and it is certainly one of my G&S favourites.
A first class orchestra immediately settled the audience with the strong, stirring overture. This coupled with an open stage revealing a striking Tower Green set the scene for what was a most colourful production with some strong choral singing and fine individual performances.
This is not a ‘happy ever after’ story but one of confusion and heartache. Claire Turnbull who played Elsie Maynard, the strolling singer, has a soaring soprano voice which captivated the audience particularly in her number ‘Tis Done, I Am A Bride’ when she has secretly married the dashing Colonel Fairfax. Chris Young with his relaxed stage presence and gentle, lyrical tenor voice was well suited to this role.
The strolling jester Jack Point lives in the hope that someday he and Elsie will marry. Robin Ozog who had perfectly clear diction throughout his patter songs successfully developed his character from the lively, agile jester through his mixed emotions to his pathetic, tragic ending. The staging of the final scene with its dimmed lighting and the chorus turning their backs and ignoring poor Jack Point was most effective.
Liz Landsman was a formidable Dame Carruthers who managed to virtually blackmail Sergeant Meryll (Ian Osborne) into marrying her. Susanne Horsburgh gave an excellent, feisty performance as the coquettish Phoebe playfully taunting the doltish Wilfred Shadbolt ( George Alexander) who extracted the comedy from his role in a bumbling manner. Other principal characters were all well played and well sung.
As well as having a very strong principal cast, this company also has a vocally strong male and female chorus who produced a wonderful, harmonious sound. The reprise of the opening chorus after the curtain calls reinforced this. Sullivan writes some beautiful ensemble numbers. In Act 2 ‘Strange Adventure’ ‘When a Wooer Goes a Wooing’ and ‘A Man Who Would Woo A Fair Maid’ had an excellent blend of voices and were neatly choreographed.
Good use was made of the different levels in the Tower. This was a most enjoyable, polished production which I was very pleased to have been invited to attend.
Next appearance
Your next chance to see the Society on stage at Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline will be on 19–21 February 2026 in a sparkling production of Strictly Patience.
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
