Welcome!

Valley Light Opera has been bringing exceptional Gilbert & Sullivan productions (as well as a few other operettas) to the Pioneer Valley since 1975. Along the way we've developed some very special traditions -- an adventurous (and slightly irreverent) spirit, an emphasis on fun and community, and a wonderful mixture of newcomers and company veterans working together. Each year almost a third of our cast and crew members are new to the organization. Everyone is a volunteer!

If you like to sing, come to auditions and try out for one of the principal or chorus roles. If you'd like to get involved behind the scenes, give us a call -- there are always plenty of jobs for every level of skill and time commitment. (See page 4 for some of our great crews). Join us for our 30th fall production -- you'll have a great time!

None of the village girls stand a chance at marriage, because all the young men of the village of Rederring love Rose Maybud, but do not measure up to her strict standards of etiquette. Robin Oakapple also loves Rose, but he is too shy to court her, partly because he is the accursed Baronet of Ruddigore, disguised. His brother Despard bears the burden of the curse: he must commit a crime every day or die in agony. Robin's foster brother, Richard, seeking Rose for himself, tells Despard about Robin's deception, and Despard transfers the curse back to Robin. The ghosts of his ancestors step from their picture frames to confront Robin for failing to conscientiously carry out his duty. Robin agrees to execute the curse faithfully, but finds a clever solution to the whole problem after all!

Ruddigore Production Staff

Juli Holmes returns as music director, having conducted for The Grand Duke, The Yeomen of the Guard and H.M.S. Pinafore. She has directed the Amherst Community Band since 1998, plays horn with Pioneer Valley Symphony and the Massachusetts Wind Orchestra, and teaches instrumental music in four Franklin County elementary schools.

Joe Donohue, stage director, appeared as Captain Corcoran in VLO's first production, and has played many other roles since then. He staged VLO's The Pirates of Penzance in 1979 and H.M.S. Pinafore in 2003. He teaches dramatic literature in the UMass English Department and writes frequently about nineteenth-century theatrical subjects.

Dick Gregory will once again design the beautiful costumes for which VLO is famous. Recent VLO credits include H.M.S. Pinafore ('03), The Yeomen of the Guard ('02), The Grand Duke ('01), The Pirates of Penzance ('99), Patience ('98), The Vagabond King ('97), and The Mikado ('96).

Ken Samonds returns as our set designer. He has created many wonderful VLO sets, including Yeomen ('02), The Pirates of Penzance ('89), The Sorcerer ('88), The Mikado ('87) and Iolanthe ('86) and, of course, our seaworthy H.M.S. Pinafore.

Jacqueline Haney Kidwell is coordinating producer for Ruddigore. Other producers on the team this year are Jamieson M. Cobleigh, Jim Walker, and Elaine Walker, all veterans of VLO and as producers.

You've never auditioned before? Very few of our chorus members had auditioned elsewhere before they tried out for us that first time! While auditions can be nerve-wracking for newcomers and seasoned veterans alike, we try to make them as simple and non-threatening as possible. You will sing before a small committee of five or six people. We look for voice projection, intonation, musical quality, diction, and stage presence. You will be asked to perform a short, easy bit of choreography with a small group of other auditioners.

An accompanist will be provided, and scores for all G&S operas will be available. If you bring your own music for a non-G&S piece and want piano accompaniment, please bring a copy for the accompanist as well. Remember, the accompanist will probably be sight-reading your piece -- so keep it simple!

The full score and an audio tape of Ruddigore are available for copying at the circulation desk of the Jones Library in Amherst.

Callbacks: If we feel we need more information in some cases to cast principals, we will hold a callback session on Monday, May 10th, at 7:30pm in the Amherst Regional High School auditorium.

Directions to First Congregational Church: From the traffic light in the center of Amherst (Fleet Bank on one corner, Subway sandwich shop diagonally across), take Main Street east two blocks. The church is on the right, just beyond the police station. You may park in the lot at the rear of the church, or on the street.

What to Sing?

Chorus: To audition for the chorus, prepare one verse of a song -- something straightforward and simple, not too long, which displays your range, projection, diction, and ability to sing on pitch.

Principals: If you are auditioning for a principal role, prepare a solo number for the character in Ruddigore you hope to play. You will also be asked to read some dialogue.

Rehearsal Schedule

Because we depend on each other, we take our rehearsal policy very seriously. We start and end rehearsals on time, and we work hard. If you are asked to join the company, you are required to attend all your scheduled rehearsals (except for sickness and real emergencies), and to arrive early enough to begin on time. Everyone who auditions will be asked to agree to this policy in writing, and anyone who cannot adhere to it may be dropped from the cast.

Character Sketches

Sir Ruthven (say "Rivven") Murgatroyd / Robin Oakapple. A baronet of the Ruddigore line, in chronic flight from a mortifying curse and disguised as a prosperous farmer. In love with Rose Maybud, Robin is painfully shy and longsuffering, yet lively and witty and deserving of the felicity that comes his way at last. Light baritone or second tenor, with good overall musicality, excellent diction for patter singing, and uncommon talent for dancing. Audition: No. 7 "My boy, you may take it from me."

Richard Dauntless. Robin's foster-brother and a man-o'-war's-man. A suspected refugee from the foremast deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, full of arcane nautical terms and possessor of a conscience that leads him relentlessly toward his own advantage, Richard is smitten with Rose Maybud but settles for the bridesmaid Zorah at the end. A fine lyric tenor with energy and élan, and no mean dancer of hornpipes. Audition: No. 8 "The battle's roar is over."

Sir Despard Murgatroyd, of Ruddigore. Younger brother of Sir Ruthven, thrust into the role of a wicked baronet but deeply conflicted over his own nefarious actions. The object nonetheless of forlorn Mad Margaret's love, Sir Despard reforms her and himself at the end, demonstrating the wondrous virtues of a civil service job. A dramatic baritone or bass-baritone with better-than-average diction and presence and a good dancer as well. Audition: No. 13 "Oh why am I moody and sad?"

Old Adam Goodheart, Sir Ruthven's / Robin's faithful servant. The prototypical good old man of Victorian melodrama, fidelity is his strong suit; obedient to the last, he can even on occasion abduct a superannuated village maiden, but his heart is not in it. A good bass or bass-baritone for ensemble singing. Audition: No. 15 "Hail the bride" (madrigal only).

Sir Roderic Murgatroyd, twentieth Baronet of Ruddigore. A poor ghost who, along with his aristocratic portrait predecessors, magically comes to life in the second act, adjudicates Sir Ruthven's questionable fulfillment of his curse-driven duties, and then survives to reclaim Dame Hannah, his long-abandoned lover. A distinctive bass or bass-baritone with good high-register notes for the second-act solo. Audition: No. 20 "When the night wind howls."

WOMEN

Rose Maybud. A graceful village maiden with impeccable standards of behavior and an inordinate appetite for fruit. An orphan who survives and thrives with the help of a trusty book of etiquette, she loves Robin Oakapple, is horrified to discover his true aristocratic lineage, and allows herself to wander but returns at the end to her tried-and-true lover. A clear, full-voiced soprano with fine diction and uncommonly good dancing ability. Audition: No. 3 "If somebody there chanced to be" and No. 15 (madrigal only m. 1-17).

Mad Margaret. An object lesson of what results from disappointment in love, this crazy lady sends most people running, even as she carries a torch for Sir Despard and ends up joining him as a visiting social worker, despite a regrettable tendency toward recidivism. A vibrant mezzo-soprano with flair, better-than-average acting ability, and flawless diction for patter singing. Audition: No. 11 "Cheerily carols the lark."

Dame Hannah, Rose Maybud's aunt. A proper Victorian lady of a certain age, she sings the history of the Ruddigore curse and gives her young charge good advice, while secretly yearning for fulfillment of her own and blessed, at the end, in a reunion with her dead-but-not-gone old lover, Sir Roderic. A mezzo-soprano with good diction for story-telling and good-to-formidable presence. Audition: No. 2 "Sir Rupert Murgatroyd."

Zorah. A winsome young woman and, because of her high organizational abilities, chief of the cohort of professional bridesmaids constantly looking for work in the Gilbertian fishing village of Rederring. She is put out of employment permanently, at the end, by Richard, who claims her for his bride. A pleasant, melodic soprano. Audition: "Fair is rose as bright May day" (solo only).

Ruth. Second in command of the bridesmaids garrison, she occasionally engages in the conversation when not singing along with her lady friends. A speaking role, with good projection. Audition: "Fair is rose as bright May day" (solo only).

It takes more than 150 people to put on a VLO show every year -- people who hammer and sew and paint and proofread and do all the other jobs that turn words and music on a page into glorious magic on the stage. Experience is not required, and you decide how much time you can give. Be a part of it!

Costumes -- We are famous for our dazzling costumes, which we construct during rehearsals and on weekends. There are tasks for experienced tailors as well as those who do not sew!

Sets -- Help us turn plywood and paint into lavish scenery during weekend work sessions. Carpentry and painting skills are warmly welcomed, but not required. Lunch is provided!

Make-up -- Transform the cast, starting about two hours before each performance.

Lobby decorators . . . Stage crew . . . Props Builders . . . Lighting Crew . . . Proofreaders . . . Ushers . . . Souvenir Sales . . . Pianists . . . Orchestra Musicians . . . Dance Assistants . . .

You may wish to return to the VLO Home Page.