The Beautiful Galatea 1982

Artistic Team

Philip A. Kraus......................................................................Stage Director
Barnard Jones........................................................................Conductor
Karen H. Laner..................................................................... Choreographer
Nels Anderson.......................................................................Scenic Designer
JoEllen Bendall......................................................................Costume Designer
Mark S. Mongold...................................................................Lighting Designer

Cast

Pygmalion.............................................................................. Donald Kasch
Galatea................................................................................... Gayle Royko
Ganymede.............................................................................. Sally Braswell
Midas...................................................................................... John E. Giles

The inaugural season at LOW was as always with many new companies, an artistic and critical success, but a financial disaster. Starting the season, the company found it had a sizable deficit mainly due to the typical problems building an opera company from scratch and a development director who couldn't seem to effect any "development". Philip Kraus thought it prudent to open the new season with a double bill that wouldn't require the company to hire a chorus which would be somewhat of a savings. An additional hurdle was presented when Cahn Auditorium became unavailable. So with one season down, the company moved to Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette for the opening show of the season.

Franz von Suppé's charming one act operetta is a burlesque of the Pygmalion story from Greek mythology where a sculptor falls in love with one of his own creations who comes to life. Of course in an operetta, Galatea's vivification proves more a hazard on many levels than a gift! The overture to the work is justly famous and Suppé's score exemplifies the early Viennese style. Kraus elected to use the George and Phyllis Mead translation from the original German libretto by Poly Henrion. Unfortunately, it would be the only work of the composer that the company would mount. Kraus had long planned the composer's Boccaccio, but it remained unproduced on his departure and is not likely to be seen at the present incarnation of the company.

The small cast was perfectly chosen. Beautiful Gayle Royko returned as the statuesque
Galatea and with her rich lyric voice and stage charisma carried the production. Kraus employed a recent Northwestern graduate, Donald Kasch for the tenor lead. Possessing a sweet, lyric voice, Kasch like other early LOW cast members would go on to an international career. (He actually changed his last name to Kaasch, possibly because it appeared more European?). Lovely Canadian mezzo Sally Brasswell played one of the few pants roles in operetta to perfection and character tenor John Giles was the very essence of the crotchety old codger Midas.

Barney Jones returned for his second season as conductor and stalwart friend of the company, Karen Laner provided the spirited choreography.

With the success of the Pinafore production, Kraus reengaged the same design team with fortuitous results. Nels Anderson cleverly provided a unit set for both operas on the bill by using reversible panels; one side for Galatea which would emulate an ancient Greek sculptor's studio and one side that functioned as the interior of a proto-Renaissance bedroom in Florence. All that needed to be done at intermission was to turn the panels around and redress the set. Not one of the critics mentioned the cleverness and ingenuity of this solution to doing two settings with wildly different periods and needs. Kudos also to Mark Mongold for his seductive lighting of Ms. Royko when revealed as a statue as can be seen in the picture on the left.

The Beautiful Galatea provided a frothy, ebullient curtain raiser to the double bill contrasting in style and construction to the more through composed Gianni Schicchi which would follow it.

Use the buttons on the left to view reviews and pictures from the production.