Gondoliers

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

THE STORY
When Casilda (the heroine), the daughter of the impoverished
Duke of Plaza-Toro, was a baby, she was married to the infant
son (of the same age) of the King of Barataria. Don Alhambra,
the Grand Inquisitor, because of constant strife in Barataria,
rescued the baby heir and brought him to Venice, where he
was given over to the Palmieri family of Gondoliers, who
brought him up with their own boy, a baby of the same age.
One baby was named Marco, and the other Giuseppe.

At length, the throne of Barataria became vacant as the result
of an insurrection, and Casilda’a father, the Duke of Plaza-Toro,
travels to Venice to find the young king and to establish his
daughter, Casilda as the Queen of Barataria. Accompanying
the Duke are the Duchess, and his personal drummer, Luiz,
with whom Casilda is secretly in love.

Marco and Giuseppe have grown into two handsome young
men, the most popular of all the Venetian Gondoliers. The
Contadine (country girls) are in love with them. Eventually,
Marco and Giuseppe choose their brides, Tessa and Gianetta,
from the adoring Contadine, and the other Gondoliers quickly
select their own brides.

Either Marco or Giuseppe is the baby who was taken from
Barataria and is now the rightful heir to that country, but no
one knows which is which. The only person who can solve the
puzzle is the old woman Inez, who originally nursed them. The
Grand Inquisitor sends for Inez to settle the question, and
meanwhile Marco and Giuseppe, together with their fellow
Gondoliers, sail for Barataria to reign jointly until the rightful
king is confirmed by Inez.

Act II of the Opera is set in the Republican Court of Barataria,
reigned over by Marco and Giuseppe. After many
complications, the old nurse, Inez arrives and reveals the
rightful king and the husband to Casilda. . .and it all ends
happily!

DIRECTOR’S DEDICATION AND THANKS
This production of The Gondoliers is dedicated to Dr. Ralph
Scales, Dr. Thomas K. Hearn, Dr. Nathan Hatch, and also to
Dr. Edwin Wilson, Dr. Donald Wolfe, Dr. Harold Tedford, and
to Mrs. Marie Bagby, the retired administrative assistant of the
Wake Forest Theatre Department. . . and to all my friends and
colleagues in the Departments of Theatre and Dance, and
Music and to all the students who have supported me during my
30 years at Wake Forest.

SPECIAL THANKS
The Board of Trustees Little Theatre of Winston-Salem Jeannette Adams Carol Brehm Dr. Thomas K. Hearn Carol Lavis Bob Mills Reid Morgan Jennifer Richwine Lillian Shelton Barbara Trautwein Dr. Edwin Wilson	The Board of Visitors North Carolina School of the Arts Avril Bevan Dr. Nathan Hatch Dr. Peter Kairoff Maureen Lister Philip Morgan Mike Odom Dr. Steven Schipper Dr. Harold Tedford Mr. & Mrs. C. C. Willard Dr. Donald Wolfe
. . .and particular thanks to Lisa S. Sykes, who appeared in Wake Forest’s first Gilbert & Sullivan production, HMS Pinfore in 1982 and has returned to play the role of Inez in this production.