VLO News

Annual Meeting Edition

January, 2007

CALL TO ANNUAL MEETING

The Thirty-second Annual Meeting of Valley Light Opera, Inc., will be held on Friday, March 16, in the auditorium of the Amherst Regional Middle School, Chestnut Street, Amherst, Massachusetts at 7:45 p.m.

The agenda for the meeting will include announcements and action on reports from officers of the corporation and from committees, as well as election of the Board of Directors for 2007-2008. The Board does not anticipate any other business, but questions and suggestions from members of the VLO are always in order.

The Board of Directors
Connie Cappelli, President

But read on . . .

One of the things that make our Annual Meetings different is that they are usually very short. This leaves time for entertainment. The program at this year's meeting will be quite special. Over the years we have used the Annual Meeting to do a number of different things--introduce new people to Gilbert and Sullivan, try out new works, present works of different composers, and even on one occasion present a newly reconstructed Gilbert and Sullivan work, Thespis. This year we present a two-part program entitled Parody of Parodies.

The Mikado next fall

Next, look for the Audition Edition of the VLO News in April, which will contain information about auditions for next fall's production, The Mikado. It will be our thirty-third fall show. In addition to singing, though, there are lots of jobs in VLO, and we're looking for volunteers: folks who have interest, time and energy and want to learn more about how a community theater really works. Can you work with sets, sew costumes, do make-up or publicity? Organize the ushers or sell souvenirs? Just let us know what you'd like to do. For most jobs experience is not required and you decide how much time you are able to give!

What is a Parody of Parodies?

In the first part of this year's show Mary Jane Disco (better known to many of you as Mary Jane Schulze Disco) performs a routine which she originally introduced to VLO audiences in the 1998 Spring Show. This routine entitled How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera introduces our audience to Gilbert and Sullivan through the wit of the wonderful English soprano/comedienne, Anna Russell (27 December 1911 - 18 October 2006), who recently passed away. Born Anna Claudia Russell-Brown, Anna Russell gave many concerts in which she sang and played comic musical sketches on the piano. Among her best works were her concert performances and famous recordings of The Ring of the Nibelungs (An Analysis), a humorous 30-minute synopsis of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, and (on the same 1953 album) her parody How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera. Mary Jane Disco is a long-time soloist with the VLO and a wonderful comedienne in her own right, who has sung almost all of the G & S contralto roles. You won't want to miss this hilarious routine. She will be accompanied by Glen Gordon who has been with VLO since the very beginning, as a chorus tenor, as accompanist, and frequently as writer and narrator of Spring Shows.

The second part of Parody of Parodies features VLO soloists and chorus 'striking back' at Anna Russell's parodies with examples from several of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas of the very things that she has made fun of. This portion is narrated by (who else) Glen Gordon.

You can be a part of it:

We invite you to come and sing with us. The spring productions are an excellent chance to get to know VLO, because there are no auditions and no memorization. We'll be rehearsing at the Middle School auditorium from 7:00 to 9:30 on Monday evenings, starting February 5, but you can join us even if you've missed the first rehearsal. Contact Jim Walker (253-9662) for more information. Our performance at the Annual Meeting will be your only opportunity to experience Parody of Parodies.

Valley Light Opera is on the World Wide Web!

VLO has a Web site! Michael D. Bathrick, President of BerkshireNet, donates space on internet service provider BerkshireNet. Kurt Gordon is our WebMaster. Check us out at www.vlo.org! You will find information about VLO and, in addition, links to other G&S Web sites throughout the nation.

SavoyNet
-- Another note about the Internet and Gilbert and Sullivan --
Here's another G&S resource. SavoyNet is the international Gilbert and Sullivan Bulletin Board. It offers a chance to communicate with G&S lovers all over the world. To subscribe, without obligation, send an e-mail message to list-serv@bridgewater.edu (leaving the "Subject" line blank) that says only subscribe savoynet [your full name] and instructions will follow.
SavoyNet logo

Membership Renewal Time!

Finally, it's Membership Time. If you haven't become a member of VLO before, why not consider it now? Membership provides valuable support for Valley Light Opera, which gets all of its income from members, friends and patrons. None comes from advertising! Almost everyone in VLO is a volunteer. At $10 for individuals and $15 for families, annual dues for VLO are among the best deals in town. Membership puts you in a special category of VLO supporters. We send you advance notification by first class mail of ticket sales for the annual fall production and you get a vote at the Annual Meeting. Just fill in the form below and mail it with your check (or bring them to the Annual Meeting). It's that easy! (And, if you wish, you can make an additional, tax-deductible donation.)

Cut off and mail to:

Valley Light Opera, Inc.
P. O. Box 2143
Amherst, MA 01004-2143

Individual membership: $10 _____

Family membership: $15 _____

Additional donation (optional) $ _______

Name: ______________________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________ZIP__________________

Phone: ________________ Email: ________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

You may wish to return to the VLO Home Page.

Send Questions/Comments to: info@vlo.org
Jan. 27, 2007.

Individual membership:		$10 _____
Family membership:		$15 _____
Additional donation (optional)		$ _______

Name:	______________________________________________________________________
Address:	______________________________________________________________________
	_________________________________________________ZIP__________________

Phone:	________________ Email: ________________________________________________