The librettist W S Gilbert was fond of paradox. This is amply demonstrated by his comic operas—famously co-written with the composer Arthur Sullivan—in which dramatic conventions, social expectations and everyday logic are repeatedly turned upside down. It was this fascination with subverting the rules that inspired the title of Mike Leigh’s masterful biopic Topsy-Turvy (1999), in which Jim Broadbent gives a first-class performance as the doggedly perfectionist lyricist.
Without wishing to strain a point, one might describe Gilbert and Sullivan’s legacy today as rather paradoxical. On the one hand, they are beloved by hundreds of thousands of people across the world, inspiring slavish devotion in amateur dramatics groups and university societies, and popping up in popular films and TV shows such as The Simpsons and Despicable Me. On the other hand, the two great men of Victorian opera have acquired a reputation as old-fashioned and conservative that is difficult to shake off, prompting the great theatre director Sir Jonathan Miller to describe their work as "UKIP set to music".
Given Miller’s apparent dislike of Gilbert and Sullivan—somewhat surprising since his production of The Mikado has passed into theatre legend—one wonders what he would have thought of Jo Davies’s production of Ruddigore, first staged in 2010 and revived here by James Hurley. While we can only speculate on this, I’m happy to report that Ruddigore is stupendously enjoyable and—for my money—the best production that Opera North has staged all year.
First produced in 1887, Ruddigore may not enjoy the same level of fame as its predecessor The Mikado, but there is no denying the level of imagination on display. This clever and ambitious parody of Victorian melodrama tells the strange story of the Baronet of Ruddigore, Sir Despard Murgatroyd (John Savournin), who has inherited a family curse which forces him to commit a crime every day—or face an agonising death.
However, it is revealed that Despard is not the rightful inheritor of the curse, as his long-lost elder brother Ruthven (Dominic Sedgwick) has been masquerading as Robin Oakapple in order to dodge his fate. Gilbert’s love of paradox is in full display at the end of the first half, which sees Ruthven and Despard—the show’s ostensible hero and villain—switching roles, suggesting that morality is less clear-cut than the binaries of Good and Evil presented in Victorian melodrama.
One of the great joys of this production is the way that it relocates Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera from the Victorian period to the 1920s. This is made immediately clear by a short film, shot to resemble a melodrama from the silent era, which establishes the Ruddigore curse during the overture. The time shift is also flagged up by Gabrielle Dalton’s fabulous costumes, with Despard made to look every inch the moustachioed, cloak-twirling villain one commonly associates with damsels tied down to train tracks.
Another pleasure of Ruddigore is the excellent use it makes of Opera North’s formidable Chorus. Seemingly doomed to dress as bridesmaids until the local belle, Rose Maybud (Amy Freston), gets married, the female members of the Chorus are a constant delight. Their insistence on Maybud’s wedding, regardless of to whom, put me in mind of Monty Python’s Flying Circus at its most surreal.
Also impressive are the male Chorus members, who get to shine in the second half as the deceased members of the Murgatroyd family. The scene in which they appeared to spring to life from their portraits, before castigating Ruthven / Robin for his fecklessness, is one of the most impressive that I have seen mounted on the stage of the Leeds Grand Theatre.
The paradoxical nature of the characters—who constantly upend your expectations by behaving in unconventional ways—are beautifully captured by the lead performers. Amy Freston gives a charming performance as Rose, deriving many laughs from the heroine’s reliance on an etiquette guide for every conceivable social situation. Dominic Sedgwick makes for an amiable hero, his endearing bumptiousness clashing nicely with the more eccentric characters surrounding him.
John Savournin—who directed a terrific production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury in 2017—cuts a dash as the dastardly Sir Despard, commanding the stage with effortless flair. Equally splendid is Helen Évora—styled to resemble early film icon Theda Bara—who has considerable fun playing Mad Margaret, including a memorably eccentric dance with Savournin in the second half.
Xavier Hetherington brings considerable charm to the role of Richard Dauntless, whose cheerful sailor exterior disguises the fact that he is arguably the most villainous character of them all. There are also touching performances from Claire Pascoe and Steve Page as long-lost lovers Dame Hannah and Sir Robert Murgatroyd who manage to reunite despite the small matter of the latter character being dead.
Ruddigore may not boast a song as memorable as “The Major-General’s Song” or “I’ve Got a Little List”, but Sullivan’s sophisticated score—which ranges from the cheery "Fair is Rose as Bright May Day” to the sinister "When the Night Wind Howls”—is expertly performed by the Orchestra of Opera North.
If you are a fan of inspired silliness, then treat yourself to Ruddigore. Besides Leeds, you can also catch the show in Salford (14 November) and Nottingham (21 November).