On the weekend of Feb. 3, a familiar sound will vibrate the walls of the Spaulding Auditorium at the Hopkins Center as the Dartmouth College Glee Club takes the stage with their major winter performance. They will be performing Gilbert and Sullivan's famous operetta, "HMS Pinafore," in full costume and choreography.
The operetta is a satirical and comic play based on a romance between a young sailor and a daughter from a wealthy and prominent family. While HMS Pinafore is anchored at the shore, it is revealed that one of the sailors, Ralph, is madly in love with the captain's daughter, Josephine, who is already betrothed to another man. Despite the fact that Josephine is of a much higher social class, the pair want to elope. The story continues with humorous and ironic situations and songs to be performed by the members of the Glee Club.
The Glee Club, one of Dartmouth's musical ensembles, is composed of 40 to 50 students each year. Sarah Ball '06, president of the performance group, explained, "Roughly one fourth to one third of us are music majors, depending on the year, but we all share a passion for creating beautiful music. We sing everything from large scale choral masterworks to Gilbert and Sullivan and other fully staged musicals."
Rehearsing six hours per week, the singers are veterans of the stage at the Hop, having already performed Handel's "Messiah" last semester. They also sang a stunning rendition of the Alma Mater at Convocation for the Class of 2009, performed at the Homecoming bonfire and sang carols at the campus Christmas tree lighting and the Aquinas House Catholic Student Center's Christmas celebration.
While Glee Club is composed of only students, faculty member Louis Burkot has directed the Glee Club since 1981. An active member of the Dartmouth music department, Burkot received the Distinguished Lecturer award in 2000. Until Burkot took over the position as musical director, the Glee Club was an all-male ensemble led by Paul Zeller. Besides his work for the Dartmouth musical community, Burkot is the artistic director for Opera North, a Lebanon-based performance company that puts on numerous musicals each year, and sponsors a competitive Young Artist Program.
In the past, the Glee Club has performed a staged version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Evita," works by Mozart and Brahms and another Gilbert and Sullivan production, "Iolanthe." In the spring, the Glee Club will perform an a capella concert of Dartmouth's classic traditional songs, as well as works by Brahms, Bach and other legendary composers.
The members of the Glee Club don't confine their talents to the Dartmouth campus. Instead, they travel each year during spring break to perform in locales around the world.
"We usually travel domestically and perform for alumni clubs. But this year, we are headed to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for nine days. While we're there, we'll perform three concerts, including one with a Brazilian choir," said Ball.
Before they head for the Southern Hemisphere, students will have the opportunity to see and hear the Glee Club at their finest in their operetta production this term. Tickets for "HMS Pinafore" are available at the Hop box office, priced at $3 for Dartmouth students and $18 for all others. The show will begin at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3, and Saturday, Feb. 4.
