Lamplighters to Begin 65th Season with the Most “Operatic” G&S Creation

Next month Lamplighters Music Theatre will maintain its commitment to performing the canon of the works of Gilbert & Sullivan (G&S) by beginning its 65th season with a production of The Yeomen of the Guard. Sullivan’s score certainly ventures into more elaborate contrapuntal textures and more elaborate embellishments than are encountered in the rest of the G&S canon. For his part, Gilbert prepared a libretto with dark seriousness that took him about as far from those “topsy-turvy” allegations of the critics that often plagued him. Mind you, there is still no shortage of memorable tunes; and Gilbert’s wit still provides an added kick to the momentum that advances yet another plot involving mistaken identity, all set in the shadow of the Tower of London during the sixteenth century, when that shadow was at its darkest:

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company 1906 revival of The Yeomen of the Guard, from Wikipedia (public domain)

As usual, this production will be given four performances in San Francisco, at 8 p.m. on Friday, August 18, and Saturday, August 19, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 19, and Sunday, August 20. The venue will be the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA). The Conductor will be Music Director Baker Peeples, and the Stage Director will be Barbara Heroux.

The theater is located at 700 Howard Street on the northwest corner of Third Street. Premium Orchestra tickets are $59, those in Center Terrace and the remainder of the Orchestra are $49, and those in the Side Terrace and Boxes are $44. Seniors (aged 62 or older) are entitled to a $5 discount in all sections; and a $10 discount per ticket is available for a Group Rate of ten or more tickets. $20 tickets are available in all sections for children (aged seventeen and under), students (aged 25 and under), and K-12 educators. Finally, student rush tickets are available one hour prior to each performance for only $15 with presentation of appropriate identification. The Box Office can be reached by telephone at 415-978-2787. Tickets may also be purchased online. Each of the four hyperlinks attached to a date above connects to an event page; but it is necessary to create a YBCA account if one does not yet exist. (This is a change from how online purchases were managed last season.) The Box Office is closed on Mondays and opens at 11 a.m. on all other days. It closes at 8 p.m. on Thursdays and closes at 6 p.m. on the remaining days. The Box Office also opens 90 minutes prior to each performance.