THE SAVOY SINGERS, based in Camberley, Surrey, are a leading and long-established amateur operatic society which prides itself on the excellence and professionalism of its productions. From Gilbert & Sullivan operas through operetta to the modern musical, the Savoy Singers performing at the Camberley Theatre, combine musical quality with innovative production.
This NODA award-winning society presents musical theatre at its very best.
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- State Fair or Oklahoma! [Wednesday 22 February 2012, 19:18]
- STATE FAIR [Sunday 19 February 2012, 20:34]
- The Sorcerer [Wednesday 8 February 2012, 8:42]
- Savoy Singers Workshop at Ravenscote School [Wednesday 8 February 2012, 7:34]
- Savoy Singers in Heatherside Link Magazine [Monday 26 December 2011, 17:33]
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Coming Events
| The Sorcerer - Production Rehearsal Sun, Feb 26th, @2:00pm - 05:00PM |
| The Sorcerer - Full Production Rehearsal Tue, Feb 28th, @8:00pm - 10:30PM |
| The Sorcerer - Production Rehearsal Wed, Feb 29th, @8:00pm - 10:00PM |
| The Sorcerer - Band Call Sun, Mar 4th, @2:00am - 05:00PM |
| The Sorcerer - Technical Rehearsal Mon, Mar 5th, @7:00pm - 10:00PM |
This is the Chairman's Blog! This is where the current chairman and members of the committee will dump their thoughts on a hopefully regular basis. You can also send your own content directly here and it will appear automatically in the blog. Any particularly good blog entries, if they have a photo, may appear in the News Section. Note: send all photos in a separate email. Please read our commenting policy here .
| "State Fair" for October 2012 |
| Written by M.Walker |
| Sunday, 19 February 2012 17:25 |
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At the EGM today, Sunday 19th October, the membership voted for the October 2012 production. This will be Rodgers & Hammerstein's "State Fair". This should prove an exciting and challenging project for The Savoy Singers and we look forward to starting rehearsals after Easter. Our Musical Director for "State Fair" will be Andrew Thomas. Details will be posted on the website shortly. |
| Countdown to Ravenscote Workshop! |
| Written by M.Walker |
| Wednesday, 08 February 2012 07:46 |
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Only two days to our Rodgers & Hammerstein workshop at Ravenscote Community Junior School, Frimley on Friday 10th March. Scenery flats delivered this morning, power point presentation finished, Penny Hanlon has taken a day off work to be our pianist, warm-ups and new movements for the songs in my head and James Casselton booked to kick-start the day with his "fun with tonic solfa". A treat for the afternoon will be Geoff Horton joining us to sing from Carousel and South Pacific so that in the presentation we have musical numbers from the five most popular of the R&H musicals. Great thanks to my ex-colleague, Judith Dodds, for stepping in to help me out in the absence of Jane Clifford who has had to fly off to France. For more, see the article on our News Page. |
| 19th Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, Buxton |
| Written by Philip Barton |
| Monday, 23 January 2012 19:05 |
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The full programme for this year's festival has now been published and the booking form is available. See the following links: http://www.gsfestivals.org/sites/default/files/newsletter/BuxtonNewsletter20 12/index.html http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=13303113&msgid=35532&act=GWIG&c=10 73254&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gsfestivals.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles %2Fnewsletter%2FBuxtonBookingForm2012%2Findex.html There's still time to put your name down to be in the Savoynet production of THE SORCERER which takes place on Wednesday 8 August. We will be rehearsing the production during the previous week. If anyone is interested in being in performing on the stage at Buxton Opera House or would like to know more about the festival, speak to Philip Barton (production coordinator), Stuart Box (stage director of last year's award winning production of The Mikado), or Chris and Sarah-Jane Hall. |
| G&S on a steam train: 30 June |
| Written by Philip Barton |
| Monday, 23 January 2012 18:53 |
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The Gilbert and Sullivan Society (whose secretary is Stuart Box) is working with the Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells to put on a G&S themed day on their steam railway on Saturday 30th June. Along with a number of other G&S societies in the South of England, the Savoy Singers has been invited to participate in what looks to be an enjoyable day out. Put the date in your diary as we will be collecting names of those interested to sing selections from THE SORCERER and other G&S operas. Although the exact format of the day is still being finalized, different amateur groups - ideally in costume - will be presenting at different times in the day - some travelling on the train and some at stations. We will be able to use this event to advertise our future productions and everyone who is involved will get free entry into the event and a ride on the steam train. There may also be a short concert at the Tunbridge Wells station in the late afternoon or early evening. |
| Union Theatre's all-male PATIENCE |
| Written by Philip Barton |
| Monday, 23 January 2012 18:15 |
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Following on from their all-male Pirates and Iolanthe, Union Theatre will be performing PATIENCE at the Union Theatre in Southwark (close to Waterloo station) from 15th February to 10th March. A fund-raising concert last weekend at Wilton's Music Hall featured extracts from previous Union Theatre musicals as well as a sneak-preview of their new production of PATIENCE which promises to be great fun. For more details visit: http://www.uniontheatre.biz/#/patience-info/4559322589 Some performances are already sold out. Kathryn and I have tickets for the production on Saturday 25 February. Philip |
| Savoy Singers take Rodgers & Hammerstein to Ravenscote School |
| Written by M.Walker |
| Saturday, 21 January 2012 07:37 |
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A Rodgers & Hammerstein workshop day in February is now fixed for Ravenscote Community Junior School in Frimley. Members of The Savoy Singers will be singing and working with the three choirs on that day. More details to follow on Savoy News page. |
| THE GRAND DUKE - The first fully staged professional UK production since 1896 |
| Written by Philip Barton |
| Sunday, 11 December 2011 08:35 |
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Apart from a concert version by D'Oyly Carte in the mid-seventies, and a number of amateur productions (including one by the Savoy Singers in Camberley and Buxton in 2001), Gilbert and Sullivan's final opera, The Grand Duke, has not been seen in a fully staged professional production in the UK since the original production in 1896. This is being performed at the Finborough Theatre in Earls Court (one of our favourite off-West End venues) and it has just been announced that tickets have gone on sale. There are just six performances: Sunday and Monday evenings at 7.30pm: April 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 & 16 (we've booked to go on Sunday 15th). If you want to go, you need to book straight away. There are only 50 tickets available for each production and this is bound to be a sell-out. http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/productions/2012/the-grand-duke-sunday-mo nday.php Philip & Kathryn |
| Mike Robins' Photos: Rodgers & Hammerstein Revue |
| Written by Philip Barton |
| Monday, 05 December 2011 02:57 |
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Several people have asked to see the photos which Mike Robins took at the R&H Revue dress rehearsal. To view, please follow this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16651292@N07/sets/72157628286574143/ |
| The Ghosts of Ruddigore at Windsor |
| Written by Philip Barton |
| Sunday, 27 November 2011 15:14 |
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Kathryn and I have been "Lunatics" for many years. That's to say we have supported Opera Della Luna, the small professional opera company www.operadellaluna.org which specializes in somewhat off-the-wall productions of G&S and other operas. One of our favourites has been their adaption of Ruddigore: The Ghosts of Ruddigore. This production is touring nationally and last week was at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. What makes ODL productions unique? Their artistic director, Jeff Clarke manages to perform (almost) the complete opera with only 7 performers playing a total of 15 named parts (as well as filling-in with many of the chorus numbers), and with no regard to any gender-specific roles. In this production, Ian Belsey played the role of Kevin Murgatroyd who arrives at Rederring with his girlfriend Amanda Goodheart (Louise Crane) in search of their ancestors and discover that the corps of (now elderly) bridesmaids are still waiting to perform their duties. Kevin and Amanda actually sing the Robin and Hannah/Adam roles in a fast moving production which captures the essence of the show. As with all ODL G&S productions, Jeff devises his own unique denouement, which has the audience leaving the theatre in stitches. Ian Belsey's depiction of Kevin deserves a special mention, performing a role originally created by Simon Butteriss (Ian had previously been Zorah). This character was played as a cross between a young Alan Bennett and DOC's John Fryatt, and it was great to hear Robin's Act 2 patter-song - A Highly Respectable Man (which is now normally cut from most productions). Also, Angela Simkin, who we had previously seen at Buxton, played Mad Margaret with a great deal of emotion. The portrait scene- with its dancing picture frames - is one of the highlights of the production . . . What a contrast this production is to the new Opera North production of Ruddigore which has been playing at the Barbican this week. Maybe Jeff Vivian can let us have his views on this lavish and spectacular production which we saw earlier this year in Leeds. I really not sure which one I prefer; they are so dissimilar, but both are true to G&S and the story of Ruddigore. Philip |
| Death of Founder Member |
| Written by M.Walker |
| Friday, 25 November 2011 16:49 |
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Ethel Gilman, a founder member of The Savoy Singers, has died just days before her 100th Birthday. She played one of the supporting fairy roles in the first fully staged production of Iolanthe in 1970. |
| John Cecil Morley (1938-2011) |
| Written by Philip Barton |
| Friday, 11 November 2011 04:00 |
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I attended John's funeral on Thursday 10th November at Woking Crematorium as a way of paying tribute to John's involvement with the Savoy Singers over many years. He appeared on stage in a number of our shows, helped with Front of House, and served on the Committee for several years. John was very good at persuading local businesses to advertise in our programmes. In his tribute at the funeral, John's son mentioned his father's love of all things musical, and the family chose to end the funeral service with a recording of "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" from The Pirates of Penzance. John and his wife, Anne, also hosted one of our summer barbecues at their house in Crowthorne. We send our condolences to Anne and her family. Kathryn Barton Front of House Manager |
| savoysingers.org.uk goes live |
| Written by Webmaster |
| Monday, 31 October 2011 06:44 |
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There has been some behind-the-scenes chicanery that means that the new website is now up and running on a different domain name, the previous site domain: savoysingers.org.uk. That is now our main address and the new website is now fully working under this domain name. The story of the transfer may well be told here soon, so watch this space! The other domain we used as an interim, savoysingers.co.uk will still work as it used to, it has just been relegated to a parked domain on top of the old savoysingers.org.uk. Margaret has asked for some advice in ensuring that the new site savoysingers.org.uk appears in your browser. The problem is that browsers store all your previous website visits in local storage on your hard disc. They do this to speed up browsing, you may have noticed a first time page load is always slower than a revisit... This means that even when the old site has gone your browser may display the old site for quite a while. So, what do you need to do? You need to clear the browser's cache. Let us state from the outset there are no instructions for clearing your cache that work with all browsers. These are a few of the main browsers used by web surfers: IE6 IE7 IE8 IE9 Firefox Opera Chrome/chromium Safari Webkit browsers in Android handheld devices There are now so many browsers dependant upon what device you use so no instructions will fit all. Instead I will attempt to provide instructions for just two well-used browsers. What do you do if you aren't using either of these? You need to go to Google and search for "clearing cache in 'xxxxxx' browser", Replace 'xxxxxx' with the name of your browser. If you don't know what browser you use then you need to find out. Instructions for Internet Explorer 8 If you use IE8 then clearing the cache is the menu under _internet options_ then look at the _general_ tab and search for "delete temporary files, history, cookies, saved passwords and web form information". Press the delete button. You only want to delete delete temporary internet files. Instructions for Firefox 3.6 In FF 3.6.2 then you need to select the menu, look for _options_ - _advanced_ - then the network tab, then press the clear now button. Done! the new site should just pop up when you put savoysingers.org.uk in your browser. |
| International G&S Festival Buxton - 2012 |
| Written by Philip Barton |
| Friday, 28 October 2011 16:47 |
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Details of next year's Gilbert & Sullivan festival have now been published in the latest festival newsletter: http://www.gsfestivals.org/sites/default/files/newsletter/2011OctoberNewslet ter/index.html One of the highlights will be the Savoynet production of The Sorcerer which takes place on Wednesday 8 August. We will be rehearsing the production during the previous week. If anyone is interested in being in this production and would like to know more about the festival, speak to Philip Barton (production coordinator), Stuart Box (stage director of this year's award winning production of The Mikado) or Chris and Sarah-Jane Hall. Philip |
| Sweeney Todd a personal recommendation |
| Written by Webmaster |
| Wednesday, 19 October 2011 07:47 |
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A reputable recommendation for a night out to see a good show is always a good thing to have. Well this is one. Your webmaster went to see Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton in the Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd at the Chichester Festival Theatre last night. I would strongly recommend you get a seat in one of the remaining 30 performances. Imelda steals the show with perfect timing and wonderful charcterisation. Michael Ball is a very good Sweeney, believable. Someone tells me Michael has been in other things but I can say I have never met anyone else like Sweeney on stage, or off. This version of Sweeney Todd is so good that it is one of those lifetime experiences you would be wrong to miss. So a personal recommendation from one of your web team - Sweeney Todd at the Chichester Festival Theatre. |
| savoy Web Editor: Yvonne\'s friends comment: |
| Written by Anonym |
| Tuesday, 18 October 2011 16:28 |
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This is an enquiry e-mail via http://www.savoysingers.co.uk from: Yvonne Tozer <ytozer@hotmail.co.uk> a joy to see new people, new faces singing grand to see Cara taking a little singing spot and what a pretty voice she has good to see new principals loved the band and conductor great to see so many people taking cameo roles cracking pace and really interesting |
