Paris, that most cosmopolitan of cities, has long been a magnet to members and would-be members of society from all of Europe. Our opera opens at the Parisian embassy of the small, eastern European country of Pontevedro, where the ambassador, Baron Zeta, is giving a party and ball.

Olga and Sylviane, wives of two of the embassy staff, find the Frenchmen at the party very attractive, in contrast to their husbands. Baron Zeta's own wife, Valencienne, is smitten with the handsome Camille de Rosillon. The party's featured guest will be Hanna Glawari, the young widow and heiress of the richest man in Pontevedro, recently arrived in Paris.

Now the widow makes her entrance, and all of the Frenchmen (especially the diplomats Cascada and St. Brioche) fawn over her. Valencienne suggests to Rosillon that he marry the widow in order to camouflage their own romance.

The ambassador, however, is determined that Hanna should marry a Pontevedrian man, to keep her fortune from leaving the country. His candidate for this position is the embassy's secretary, Count Danilo, a playboy who spends most of his evenings at the nightclub Chez Maxim with the Grisettes, the cabaret's dancing girls. Persuaded to come to the party, Danilo encounters Hanna and we learn of their earlier romance, quashed by his uncle because, at the time, she was a mere farm girl.

Ego and perceived honor prevent Danilo from rekindling his relationship with Hanna, but he agrees to discourage any French suitors for her hand. The party ends with a spirited ladies' choice dance at which Hanna and Danilo play cat-and-mouse with each other.

Very next evening, Hanna hosts a party at the embassy, celebrating Pontevedrian folk customs. Danilo warns Cascada and St. Brioche that, if either of them tries to marry Hanna, he will reveal their dalliances with Olga and Sylviane. Baron Zeta tells Danilo he is overlooking the most likely suitor, Rosillon.

Eventually Danilo returns to the party and dances with Hanna, who is determined to win him again but wants him to declare his love first. Baron Zeta receives a telegram from the Prince of Pontevedro expressing concern about Hanna's fortune. He schedules a meeting of the embassy staff at a summer house on the embassy grounds to draft an answer. Meanwhile, Rosillon leads Valencienne to the summer house for one last kiss. When Baron Zeta arrives for the meeting, he finds the summer house in use. He peeks through the keyhole and sees his wife with Rosillon.

Demanding that the occupants come out, Baron Zeta is greeted instead by Rosillon and Hanna. Hanna explains that she is engaged to Rosillon. This news upsets Danilo greatly, and he goes off in a huff to Maxim's. Hanna conspires with Njegus, the embassy's factotum, to bring him back.

Returning to the embassy, Danilo finds the garden transformed into Maxim's. The Grisettes, augmented by Valencienne, liven up the party. After their dance, Danilo tells Hanna that, for the sake of the Fatherland, she must not marry Rosillon. To his great relief, she replies that she won't.

Of course, we can't reveal the ending of the story. Let us simply say, together with Njegus, that past wrongs have been righted and two loving couples again reunited.

-- Kurtiss Gordon

Act I -- Late Afternoon in the Embassy Garden

	Opening Chorus	"Pontevedro here in France"
	Pontevedrian Folk Dances
	Duet (Valencienne and Camille)	"A dutiful wife"
	Entrance (Hanna and French men)	"Gentlemen, I pray"
	Song (Danilo)	"Then off to Chez Maxim"
	Duet (Hanna and Danilo)	"All's one to all men"
	Finale	"Ladies' choice"

Act II -- Evening of the Next Day

	Entrance of the Guests
	Song (Hanna and Guests)	"Vilia"
	Duet (Hanna and Danilo)	"The Cavalier"
	March Septet	"Women"
	Scene (Hanna and Danilo)
	Duet (Valencienne and Camille)	"Oh, say no more!"
	and Romance (Camille)	"Love in my heart"
	Ensemble	"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
	Interlude (Orchestra)
	Cakewalk
	Dance	"Butterflies"
(Piano -- David Kidwell)
	Song (Valencienne and Grisettes)	"The girls at Maxim's"
	Waltz Duet (Hanna and Danilo)	"Though I say not"
	Finale	"Men"

COSTUMES--Sandra Burgess, Phyllis Jordan, Diane Kelton, and Elaine Walker, co-heads;

Kathy Blaisdell, Esta Busi, Connie Cappelli, Flora Chamlin, Anne Clark, Jamieson M. Cobleigh, Rachel Cobleigh, Carl Erikson, Barbara Freed, Beverly Fuller, Glen Gordon, Kurtiss Gordon, Laura Green, Marese Hutchinson, Betty Jacobson, Marge Johnson, David Kidwell, Jacki Kidwell, Wendy Larson, Sally Laughton, Elysse Link, Louise MacDonald, Adele Mack, David Mix Barrington, Lee Pershyn, Mary Ellen Sailer, Carolyn Samonds, Ken Samonds, Sally Venman, Sharon Wentworth, Lee Whitcomb

JEWELRY--Ken Samonds, head; Carolyn Samonds

LIGHTING--Steve Morgan, head;

Aline Roy, light board operator; Ben Howard, sound board operator; Emma Dayhuff, Isabel Guenther, John Howard

MAKE-UP--Catherine Lee, head;

Carol Lee, Caylin Lee, Shirley Pérez, Barbara Rose Spierer, Linda Stark

HAIR DRESSING--Hair by Harlow

SET CONSTRUTION and PAINTING--John Foster, head;

Mary Annarella, Sudro Brown, Frances Caporello, Nick Easkin, John Foster, Gordon Freed, Bob Graham, Jim Hanner, Martha Hanner, John Healy, Steve Henderson, Kevin Hutchinson, Lew Jordan, Elysse Link, David Mix Barrington, Dave Mullins, Gene Patenaude, Lee Pershyn, Judi Pierce, Nina Pollard, Linda Stark, Bill Venman, Jim Walker, Roy Williams

PROPERTIES--Marese Dolan Hutchinson, head;

John Foster, John Healy, Kevin Hutchinson, Judy Pistrang, Bill Venman, and the costume crew

PROGRAM--Kurtiss Gordon, head;

Terry Atkinson, Louise Krieger, Paul E. Peelle, Lee Pershyn, Jim Walker

PUBLICITY and TICKETS--Steve Stoia, publicity; Laurel Kushi, tickets;

Jim Walker, poster design; Pat Desmarais, Donna Roy, Megan Melanson, Chris Sloan, and Town of Amherst Leisure Services

BANNER PAINTING--Linda Stark, head;

Martha Hanner, Elysse Link, David Mix Barrington, Judi Pierce, Nina Pollard, Evie Simkins, Nancy Simkins

USHERS

Emma Blaisdell, Kathy Blaisdell, Phoebe Blaisdell, Anne Burton, Jamieson M. Cobleigh, Rachel Cobleigh, Jemma Constant, Kessie Constant, Briana Cook, Meghan Devine, Emery DeWitt, Mary Ellen DeWitt, Anju Diggs, John Diggs, Kimaya Diggs, Makeda Diggs, Savita Diggs, Jonathan Evans, Schuyler Evans, Kaeza Fearn, Courtney Gordon, Elliot Jerry, Joe Jerry, Matthew Jerry, Eileen Keegan, Molly Keegan, Hannah Lee, Emily Lewis, Maud Low, Jinny Mason, Tom Massa, Alan McArdle, Melinda Mesick, John Robinson, Lucy Robinson, Rebecca Sailer, Kim Scannon, Elora Simkins, Stephen Simkins, Jane Simonds, Jonathan Simonds, Sam Simonds, Liz Smith, Allen Vance, Janet Vance, Mira Vance, Killian Venman, Chris Wood

COMPANY PHOTOGRAPHY

Gigi Kaeser, Jacqueline Haney Kidwell

GIFT SHOP--Mimi Cary, head;

Teddy Milne, Lee Pershyn

COMMISSARY--Mimi Cary, head;

Paul E. Peelle, and cast

COMPANY PARTY--Lee Pershyn, head;

Esta Busi, Barbara Freed, Gordon Freed, Alan Harris, Kevin Hutchinson, Marese Hutchinson, Elysse Link, Paul E. Peelle

PERFORMANCE REFRESHMENTS--Amherst Regional High School Theatre Company

Mary Annarella -- Valencienne -- joins VLO for her sixth fall show, having performed as Phyllis (Iolanthe), the Princess of Monte Carlo (The Grand Duke), and Edith (The Pirates of Penzance). Elsewhere in the valley, she has played Fiona in Brigadoon (Arena Civic Theater), Tuptim in The King and I (R&L Productions), Rosaline in Love's Labors Lost (Hampshire Shakespeare Co.), and one of three pigs in New Century's Paintbox Theater. Mary sings in the choir at The Edwards Church where she is a soloist and section leader.

Theodore Blaisdell -- Rosillon -- knew VLO by reputation, thanks to Savoynet, long before he moved to the Pioneer Valley a year ago. Ted studied voice with Thomas Houser in Lancaster County, PA, where he sang in many venues. Among his favorite roles are Ralph Rackstraw (H.M.S. Pinafore), Bardolph (Falstaff), Squire Slender (The Merry Wives of Windsor), and Alfred (Die Fledermaus). Ted is a seventh grade teacher in South Hadley, where he lives with his wife and daughters.

Esta Busi -- Proskowia -- has been singing and emoting with VLO since The Sorcerer (1988). Her last named part was Margot in The Vagabond King. She has also been seen doing her thing as Grandma Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof and Sister Berthe in The Sound of Music with other area groups. Singing is her passion, so she sings with Hampshire Choral Society, Greater Westfield Choral Association, and Berkshire Choral Festival.

Nicholas Dahlman -- St. Brioche -- has acted in plays across the Pioneer Valley since 1993. This is his fifth production with VLO, having appeared last year as Robin Oakapple in Ruddigore. He also was recently featured in Amherst College's La Cage aux Folles, Smith's Arcadia and Six Characters in Search of an Author, and Hampshire Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and Midsummer Night's Dream. Nick swing- and contra-dances and works in Amherst College's IT Department.

Gordon Freed -- Bogdanowitsch -- first appeared in The Grand Duke as the cake mover. This is his fourth VLO, though his wife, Barbara, in the pit, and daughters preceded him. He played Mr. Bumble in LSSE's production of Oliver (he had the same part in high school) and the Rabbi in their Fiddler on the Roof. He and Barbara practice dentistry together in Amherst at Newmarket Dentistry.

Glen Gordon -- Footman -- is one of the original members of VLO and has been in every fall production but one (when he was on sabbatical). He also has helped plan and has written scripts for many of the spring shows, and regularly serves as a rehearsal accompanist. In the real world, Glen recently retired from UMass where he had served for many years as Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Kurtiss Gordon -- Kromow -- has sung in the chorus of most VLO productions since 1976. He has had a few minor leads, most enjoyably Guron in Princess Ida. Kurt serves VLO as Webmaster and Clerk of the Board. He and his wife, Courtney, live in Amherst. Kurt recently (semi-) retired from managing databases at UMass. Since then, he has composed a few short pieces for the choir of the Unitarian Universalist Society.

Alan Harris -- Baron Zeta -- portrayed the ghostly Sir Roderic last year in Ruddigore and, earlier, Sgt. Meryll in The Yeomen of the Guard (1990). He studied classical theater at Carnegie Tech and Florida State University, avant-garde theater in Paris with Le Grand Magic Circus, and performed locally with ABIA Theatre's Land Of The Free. He started the mid-'90s Valley group Playwrights in Progress. Besides his love of opera, Alan is a chef and owner of Noble Feast Catering. He resides with his family in Shelburne Falls.

John Healy -- Cascada -- was last seen on the VLO stage as the Boatswain in H.M.S. Pinafore (2003) and as the Lieutenant in The Yeomen of the Guard (2002). His other Pioneer Valley performances include Bill Calhoun/Lucentio in Commonwealth Opera's Kiss Me Kate, William Butler Yeats and Robert Emmet in Wilde Irish Women, and Captain Albert Lennox in A Secret Garden. John is an Occupational Therapist and, when not on stage, sings with Da Camera, a choral ensemble performing a diverse classical repertoire.

Steve Henderson -- Njegus -- an award-winning actor and playwright, may be most known for bringing comedy to audiences across New England and in New York City as a writer and performer with Disturbed Theatre. His original show, "Jerry Atric," has been successful throughout the eastern United States. Steve resides in Indian Orchard with his three children, Orion, Keli, and Sara, and the beautiful Mary Ellen. He joins VLO for the first time.

Louise Krieger -- Hanna Glawari -- was last seen here in 2002 as Phoebe in The Yeomen of the Guard. Her other favorite VLO roles include Princess Zara in Utopia, Ltd. and the title role in Iolanthe. On other valley stages, Louise has played Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Guenevere in Camelot, Irene Molloy in Hello Dolly, Laurey in Oklahoma!, and Abigail Adams in 1776. She played Claire in the world premiere of Zeke Hecker's Bemused with Vermont Theatre Company. Louise has also been a guest artist with Hampshire Choral Society, Holyoke Civic Symphony, and in recitals.

Elysse Link -- Sylviane -- has been a member of the VLO chorus since 1988. She has played Grandma Tzeitel, Fruma Sarah, and Yente in local productions of Fiddler on the Roof (Amherst LSSE, South Hadley Community Theater, and PACE). She played the Nightingale in Once Upon a Mattress directed by Jacki and David Kidwell. Elysse has sung with the New York Oratorio Society and with many choral groups throughout the valley. She has been a soloist at several churches and sings at weddings.

David Mix Barrington -- Pritschitsch -- is in his first named role for VLO after two seasons in the chorus. He has been in four plays with the Comitatus Shakespeareanus Hampshirensis, including ensemble roles in Julius Caesar and Midsummer Night's Dream last summer, and in several musicals with Amherst LSSE, including The Music Man as the Mayor. By day he teaches computer science at UMass and commutes from Northfield Mount Hermon School where his wife Jessica teaches and his daughter Julia is a sophomore.

Lucy Robinson -- Olga -- returns to the VLO stage after seven fall shows and a bit of a hiatus. Among her favorite VLO roles were Juno in Orpheus, Lady Blanche in Princess Ida, and Mrs. Partlett in The Sorcerer. She is newly graduated from teaching and is pursuing acting in films (Scorcese!), commercials, voice-overs, and the theater. She lives with her leading man, John, in Amherst, while kids Alex and Caitlin are now far flung.

Matthew Roehrig -- Count Danilo -- is appearing in his twenty-first role with VLO. Audiences will remember him as Colonel Fairfax in The Yeomen of the Guard, Capt. Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore, and Sir Despard in last year's Ruddigore. His other Pioneer Valley performances include Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, and El Gallo in The Fantasticks. He also appears regularly as a recitalist. Matt is a sixth grade teacher in Belchertown.

Graham Christian -- Choreographer -- is a dance historian and leader who has taught English Country Dance in the United States and Europe. The Merry Widow is his second production with Valley Light Opera. He is a doctoral candidate in English Literature at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; his current specialty is the literature of the Renaissance.

Carl Erikson -- Stage Manager -- although new to VLO, has many years of experience "behind the scenes" in this area and in Vermont. For a few brief butler moments, he has even been seen on stage. In his real life, Carl is a textile artist and a freelance editor and writer. He has a play out looking for a production and an opera libretto in the hands of a composer. On occasion he earns money as a non-profit administrator and financial manager.

John Foster -- Technical Co-Director -- joined VLO in the spring production of The Grand Duke nineteen years ago. He has been a regular member of the chorus ever since, and served a four-year stint as a producer. Over the years, he has built many of the props and special effects. John was a Professor of Biology at Hampshire College for 25 years before retiring eleven years ago. He lives in Amherst with his wife Nancy. His daughter Lorena Healy and son-in-law John Healy have sung principal roles in previous productions.

Robert Graham -- Technical Co-Director -- returns for his fifteenth year with VLO. He has been a technical director for ten shows, a producer for five, and is starting his second three-year term as a VLO Board member. A central Michigan native, he began his theatrical career as the production assistant and stage manager for the University of Michigan Student Players. While stationed with the U. S. Army in Tokyo, he was stage manager for the Ernie Pyle Players as well as playing The Monk in The Lady's Not for Burning. In his other life, he is Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at UMass.

Richard Gregory -- Costume Designer -- joins us for his nineteenth VLO production. He has designed costumes for most of VLO's shows since 1985. He also directed one of them (Utopia, Ltd.) and designed sets for three others. Dick has been seen on the boards as Cupid in Thespis and the Duke of Plaza Toro in The Gondoliers. He has designed sets and costumes for several Commonwealth Opera productions and for dozens of Williston Theatre productions, many of which he directed. Now retired from The Williston-Northampton School, he has joined the faculty of The Northampton Community Music Center.

Michael Greenebaum -- Director -- has been with VLO since its inception in 1975. He has staged Iolanthe, The Gondoliers, Princess Ida, H.M.S. Pinafore, and The Vagabond King. He has conducted H.M.S. Pinafore, The Mikado, The Yeomen of the Guard, Ruddigore, Princess Ida, Orpheus in the Underworld, and Patience. Over the years he was music director for nine musicals at Amherst High School and two at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter High School. From 1977-1986 he conducted the Western Massachusetts Young People's Philharmonia. He was principal of Mark's Meadow School for twenty-one years.

David Kidwell -- Music Director -- is Music Director and Conductor of the Holyoke Civic Symphony and Minister of Music at the Edwards Church of Northampton. His association with VLO began in 1991, playing violin in the orchestra for Ruddigore. Since then he has been a violinist and piano accompanist for many VLO shows, and he directed the music for Princess Ida (1995), The Mikado (1996), and The Vagabond King (1997). David holds a Masters degree in music composition and studied conducting at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Jacqueline Haney Kidwell -- Coordinating Producer -- has been involved with VLO since 1995 in a wide variety of positions. She also works with Amherst Leisure Services Community Theatre, and is President of the Board for Holyoke Civic Symphony. In her "day job," she's a researcher for TalentFusion, a Northampton firm specializing in out-sourced recruiting for larger corporations. Jacki and her husband, David, live in Leeds with two spoiled cats.

Steve Morgan -- Lighting Designer -- has been involved with VLO since 1977 as performer (most recently as Sergeant Meryll in 2002 in The Yeomen of the Guard ), producer, technician, and designer. His most intense theatrical experiences were learning Same Time, Next Year in less than two weeks and taking two Amherst productions to Ireland where he performed in one show (The Secret Garden), directed one (Wilde Irish Women), and technical directed both. He lives in Leverett with his wonderful family of scholars and golden retrievers.

Lee Pershyn -- Producer -- has been active offstage (set crew, costumes, gift shop) in VLO fall shows since 2001. She sings in the spring shows and in the choir of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst. She is a first-time producer and serves on the VLO Board of Directors. She has performed in the All Souls Players in New York City. Lee is a postpartum doula, working with newborns and their families in their homes.

Linda Stark -- Set Designer -- takes on a new role after designing make-up for eight VLO productions. Linda studied fine art and received a degree in interior design at the University of Connecticut. She also studied painting in Italy and watercolor in New York, under the instruction of well-known American artists Sondra Frectleton and Jack Beal. Linda has lived in Amherst for 32 years. She is the mother of four and grandmother of seven. She is a trained pastry chef and runs a home business making special occasion cakes.

Elaine Walker -- Producer and Costume Coordinator -- has been involved in VLO productions every year since 1980, first as a soprano in the chorus. She soon took on duties in the costume shop and has been a producer on and off for several years. She also co-founded and co-produced several musical shows with the St. Brigid's Players. In "real" life, Elaine recently retired from Hampshire College, where she supervised the costume shop. The extra time allows her to spend more time with her family, especially her six grandchildren.

Jim Walker -- Producer -- played third trombone in the orchestra of VLO's 1980 production of The Gondoliers. Every year since then, he has been on stage in the tenor section of the chorus. He also serves VLO as treasurer (since 1996). Jim is one of the founding members of St. Brigid's Players of Amherst. He recently retired from a 35-year career at UMass as a faculty member in physics, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Advising, and Acting Dean of the Graduate School.

1905 was a Very Big Year. The Russians had a revolution. A young physics graduate student named Albert Einstein proposed a special theory of relativity. Early in December, the music world was scandalized and titillated by Richard Strauss's opera based on Oscar Wilde's Salomé. It may seem strange today to include a light opera premiere in such a list, but at the time Die lustige Witwe seemed every bit as momentous.

In fact, librettists Léon and Stein must have had a malicious gleam in their eyes when they set The Merry Widow in the Parisian Embassy of "Pontevedro", a not-too-veiled allusion to the tiny Balkan principality of Montenegro, squeezed between the vast Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. Prince Nicholas of Montenegro was determined to modernize his tiny state, and took exception to the way its customs were portrayed and the names of persons and places spoofed in the operetta. After its December 30, 1905, premiere in Vienna, Montenegran students demonstrated. Its first performances in Italy were interrupted by riots in the auditorium, and in Constantinople it was received with general rowdiness.

Little wonder, then, that when The Merry Widow opened in London and New York in 1907, "Pontevedro" had been transformed into an unlocatable "Marsovia", and Montenegran names were made innocuous. In the century since she made her first grand entrance, the Merry Widow has been roughed up by arrangers, librettists, film directors and, yes, even stage directors. Relocating the operetta in time and place has become habitual, just as it has with Shakespeare and Gilbert & Sullivan. Librettists have played free and easy with the book, and music has been added, subtracted, and re-arranged. So Valley Light Opera audiences have every reason to wonder, what Merry Widow are you seeing in this performance?

The answer is, Franz Lehár's. Every note of his music is here in the rich orchestrations that we associate with it. We have restored Pontevedro and its names. We have kept la belle époque time frame and styles of dress. The lyrics are those of the 1907 English and American premieres, adjusted for our return to the original names. We are (mostly) true to the story, too, although the book has been shortened and, I hope, sharpened.

VLO audiences accustomed to Gilbert & Sullivan may notice some differences. The Viennese light opera tradition shares with Gilbert & Sullivan a profusion of lovely and varied melodies, but while Gilbert inspired Sullivan to compose music both inventive and satirical, Lehár's music is romantic and sumptuous (which is what Sullivan really wanted to write, too). The Viennese audience of 1905 felt a real empathy for the romantic complications of The Merry Widow's ambivalent lovers, whereas strong emotion was the last thing Gilbert wanted from his audiences (or allowed himself). However, to prevent VLO audiences from drowning in the gemütlichkeit of Viennese light opera, a number of G&S allusions have snuck into this production. See how many you can find.

As I applaud the gifted performers we see on the stage and in the pit, I will also be cheering for the talented costumers, sewers, set designers, builders, and technical crews whose countless hours of artistic vision and hard work have created the foundation for this production. As director, I am deeply in their debt. During these recent bleak months of devastation at home and abroad, I have sometimes wondered whether it is seemly to spend energies on light opera. But then I remind myself that we are engaged in two great projects: creating beauty and creating community. Everyone whose name you see on your program has participated in these projects, and on this occasion you have joined us too. Thank you.

-- Michael Greenebaum

I have tried to give this production a 1905 "feeling," with dances and styles of the period: the "gliding" waltz style, waltz variations (including a "Waltz Minuet" and a free variant of a waltz cotillion), the can-can, and the Grand March ("Polonaise"), with its elegant crossed trails. The minisuite of folk-dance duets in the first act is closely based on authentic courtship and wedding dances of the southwestern Krgyzntlny region of Pontevedro close to the Ruritanian border, as recorded by Madame de la Torre-Stitch in her Pontevedrische Volktänze of 1886. The cakewalk had a long journey to fin-de-siècle Vienna: it originated in dance contests staged by plantation owners for their slaves in the American South, in which contestants mimicked upper-class mannerisms to win a cake. As adapted by upper-class ballrooms of the late 19th century, the cakewalk swept both North America and Europe, and strongly influenced ragtime and jazz dance. The creator of the epoch's most famous "Butterfly" dance was the pioneering Loïe Fuller, with her swirling robes and light effects; it has been my assertion that "Butterflies" (first seen in the London production of the operetta) imitated her acclaimed innovations. Our little tribute to "La Loïe" opens with a dance for three in the manner of Isadora Duncan, who learned much from Fuller and had begun to supplant her in the popular imagination by the turn of the last century; they are the flowers that the butterfly awakens.

-- Graham Christian

Valley Light Opera expresses thanks to the following for helping to make this production possible: the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools' staff, especially the staff of the Superintendent's Office, the music and theater faculty, and the custodial staff, particularly Mike Riley and Maryellen Biso, for their good nature, flexibility, and unstinting support; the Town of Amherst Department of Public Works for hanging the banner; Fred Stark for architectural drawings of our set; Lukasik Game Farm for donating feathers for our ladies' hats; Kate George for lots of jewelry-making materials and tools, technical help, and design advice; ALSCT and The Common School for some costumes; Bertucci's for chairs for the cabaret; Gemmy Peelle for the donation of her priceless collection of buttons and buckles; Sunraise for help with publicity and other printing; WMUA for public service announcements; the UMass Fine Arts Center for production assistance; and to Sally and Bill Venman for caring for the VLO year-round and always being there when we sought advice.

Valley Light Opera is on the World Wide Web at http://www.vlo.org/. We express our gratitude and appreciation to BerkshireNet for hosting our site. BerkshireNet (http://www.berkshire.net/) provides Internet service to Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

Valley Light Opera, Inc., is a nonprofit Massachusetts corporation founded in 1975 by a group of Gilbert and Sullivan devotees. Over the years, VLO has been guided by two principles--to promote broad community participation and to produce fine entertainment. The company has produced all fourteen of the G&S operas as well as Cox and Box, The Zoo, The Rose of Persia, and Sullivan's oratorio The Prodigal Son. In addition, VLO has performed Rudolf Friml's The Vagabond King, Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, John Philip Sousa's El Capitan, Warren Martin's The True Story of Cinderella, and several of Peter Schickele's P.D.Q. Bach works.

The affairs of VLO are in the hands of a Board of Directors elected by the membership at the Annual Meeting in February or March. Officers of the Board this year are Glen Gordon (President), Connie Cappelli (President Elect), Kurtiss Gordon (Clerk), and Jim Walker (Treasurer). Members of the Board are Richard Asebrook, Jamieson M. Cobleigh, Barbara Davis, Erin Freed, Bob Graham, Phyllis Jordan, Elysse Link, Paul E. Peelle, Lee Pershyn, and Nina Pollard.

Donations to Valley Light Opera are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

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