Colin Reed wrote:
> Have many people come across these "Operatic Society" versions of shows?
Yes, I've been involved in several of them. I think you're probably referring to the ?infamous? Phil Park versions, published by Weinberger, and I have mixed feelings about them. I don't think you can push purism too far when finding good music for an amateur society which has certain demands, including plenty for the chorus to do, including small solo parts, voice ranges which won't put the show out of the running because they have nobody who can reach the extremes, and scoring which works for the kind of small orchestra that is all most of these groups can afford or fit into their small spaces.
I think the arranger - Ronald Hanmer in the case of all the ones I have done - has done an excellent job of bringing these pieces to a wider performing sector; you may or may not like his bringing in music from other operettas to swell the quantity of chorus work, as happens in a couple of cases. But many people find Phil Park's libretto excruciating enough to put them off doing the shows at all.
I've sung in Orpheus in the underworld and the Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, conducted Lilac Time (a particularly good score, and nothing at all like the older version I had on vinyl) and seen amateur productions of La Belle Helene, La Vie Parisienne and The Merry Widow (which my daughter misheard as "The Merry Wierdo")
cheers
Linda
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