Thursday 25 June 2015

The Producer replies

The Producer replies: Dear confused second ghost (and villagers, bridesmaids, ancestors), I can only answer one of your paradoxes - how come Ruthven and Richard are foster brothers?

I fear I and my script re-writes may be the cause of this confusion. In the original script, Ruthven has been 'dead and buried' for 20 years, not 10. I changed it to line up with Roderic dying and Despard inheriting 10 years ago. In a deleted song, Ruthven says he is 35. So when he was 15, he must have run away from Ruddigore castle to Rederring village and claimed to be a orphan, whereupon he was fostered by Richard's family. Despard is younger than Ruthven; we don't know how much, but I think of him as 3-5 years younger. So the last time he saw his brother, he may only have been 10 or 12.

Maybe this answers the 'Why don't they recognise each other?' question. [Clear as mud. I am still trying to count my fingers and toes here. Six eights are forty eight, take away eleven. If it's more ... 2nd Ghost]

And I bet, having lost Ruthven, the picture gallery kept a tight hold of poor 10 year old Despard so that he could inherit - since they all got sick of crime, they could be sure Roderic would do the same, and they need an heir or they'll be left as paintings with no one to torture! But I hadn't thought about Despard inheriting again if he manages to persuade Ruthven to abdicate - yep, stupid.

PS. Everyone thinks Rose is not very bright, but she is bright enough to get herself the richest husband she can, considering that when her (presumably adopted) Aunt Hannah dies, she'll be back at the workhouse she was found at if she doesn't marry. I see parallels with Pride and Prejudice's Mrs Bennett trying to marry off her 5 daughters!

The MD replies: Anything to get you grumbling, blockheads, sluggards, dullards, dreamers, shirkers, shufflers, crawlers, creepers, snifflers, snufflers, wailers, weepers, earthworms, maggots, tadpoles, weevils ... back row malingerers to wake up and keep time ... why, you almost managed it last night.

And another question to ponder: Did Richard Dauntless's ship actually let the 'Frenchie' off scot-free or did they simply miss?

Thursday 18 June 2015

Ruddi-poor thoughts from the back row

Not having anything to sing for the first 35 minutes of Ruddigore allows us chaps in the back row to settle in nicely and get a tiny bit of shut-eye while the MD attempts to galvanise the wayward bridesmaids into showing some enthusiasm for their task. It is a time when one's mind can wander.

Following the Mikado must have been difficult for the original production of Ruddigore but it is a return to the more conventional form of G&S opera, if one can use the word 'conventional' at all given Gilbert's creativity. Most G&S operas hinge on exchanged identities, disguise, (most ingenious) paradox or all three.

Mikado, Pirates and Iolanthe all contain some paradox that needs to be resolved: whether you can be guilty of executing the heir to the throne, which you have just described in enormous detail, when he is still alive but in disguise (disguise: tick); what your real age is if you are born on 29 February; whether you can, as appellant, address yourself, as judge, in a court of law ... and so on. In Ruddigore the main paradox is the solution to the witch's curse but Richard is also faced with a dilemma - and one he spends little time debating to himself: whether he should reveal the true nature of his foster brother.

In Rose Maybud we have the quintessential G&S Heroine: naive, beautiful and aware of it, and indecisive when it comes to love. Indeed, it is hard to think of any other heroine who changes her mind as often: I make it about five times but, unusually, she seems unable to choose between three men. If there were a third act, she would no doubt change it again and add Old Adam to her roster of 'lovers'.

She cannot be terribly bright, however, to be so slavishly devoted to the Book of Etiquette that was left with her on the steps of the workhouse. So this must be a heroine with real sex appeal.

There are paradoxes for the attentive audience as well. For instance, it seems strange that Sir Ruthven managed to avoid becoming the baronet and having to submit to the curse by simply disguising himself (disguise: tick). If it were this easy, why did Despard or the ancestors not do the same?

And how come Ruthven and Richard are 'foster-brothers'? Was Ruthven sent to foster parents or was Richard brought up as a member of the family in Ruddigore Castle? If Ruthven was fostered then why? And why away from his brother Despard?

If Richard and Ruthven were brought up in the Castle then how come Despard does not recognise either of them since he too was presumably brought up in the Castle like any self-respecting Murgatroyd? Maybe Despard is as innocent and dim as our heroine. He clearly deserves Mad Margaret.

And towards the end, Despard, now an honourable married man, attempts to persuade Ruthven, restored to the baronetcy to abandon his evil ways. Um ... has he thought this through. If Ruthven follows his advice then he will 'die in unspeakable agony' and guess who will inherit: yes, none other than Despard. Definitely dim.

Hang on, is that Margaret muttering something about a lark ...? Open your eyes, chaps. Look lively. We are running out of time. It is OK. There is not much to do and we will soon be into the Act I Finale, a few ghostly rumblings and we can all go home.

And what about Richard? He sounds like something left over from HMS Pinafore. Did a copyist swap the scores when G&S were not looking? Did they simply have a few tunes left over or was it part of a running gag to mention Pinafore in as many other operas as possible ('And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore')?

Hang on, no time to answer that one. The MD is looking at us and seems to be crossing her fingers. Anyone who gets the timing wrong on this number is going to get more that the witch's curse. Adjust your false teeth, try to sound enthusiastic and  ... oh damn! We did not sound sufficiently Elysian and have all been turned to ghosts. Still, it will be useful for Act II.