About Savoy
- Who we are and what we do
- Membership
- Community Service
- Performance History
- Board of Directors
- The Savoy
Who we are and what we do
Founded in 1975, The Savoy Society of Ottawa is an organization of people who share a common interest in performing the comic operas of Sir William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan. The name "Savoy" is taken from the London Theatre of the same name, where Gilbert and Sullivan's operas were performed in the late 19th century.
Our first production, The Pirates of Penzance, opened on April 29, 1976, at L'Ecole Secondaire de LaSalle on Old St. Patrick Street, and played for 4 performances. We moved to the Centrepointe Theatre in Nepean when it opened in 1988 (as its first client), and we now play 7 public performances, including a Sunday Matinee, plus a Benefit performance.
Savoy is an organization in which we take great pride. It is comprised of a large number of devoted and talented people who produce a very high quality of performance on stage, is self-supporting and financially sound, enjoys a solid reputation in the community, and has a very strong family atmosphere which allows individuals to engage in artistic expression in a warm and supportive environment.
Membership
Our membership is drawn from all walks of life in the National Capital Region. For those who wish to perform, our casts are selected through open auditions each year, and are usually in the range of 40 people. For those interested in offstage roles, some 150 people are required each year to fill all the back stage positions necessary to present the show. Except for directors and a professional orchestra, all cast and back stage members are volunteers.
For more information on becoming a member of the Savoy Society, see our Getting Involved section.
Community Service
The Savoy Society has a tradition of service to the community, which we perform in several ways:
- Each year we present a Benefit Performance, which takes place on the Thursday evening before public opening night, to which we invite individuals who could not otherwise enjoy the humour and charm of Gilbert & Sullivan. Some 800 complimentary tickets are made available through more than 50 agencies to seniors' centres and residences and a wide variety of community support groups.
- From the outset, Savoy has supported a local charity. We do this by offering our show program without charge, but encouraging patrons to make a contribution to our 'Wishing Well'. The proceeds are forwarded to the agency, and we add to the amount when we can. We currently support the Children's Wish Foundation. Over the years we have raised over $75,000 in this fashion.
- For the annual Kiwanis Music Festival, we sponsor the Robert Van Dine Scholarship for the Gilbert and Sullivan music category. This scholarship is named after our first Music Director.
- Where we can, we take the music of Gilbert and Sullivan to those who would otherwise not be able to hear and enjoy it. In recent seasons we have been holding our orchestra rehearsal at the Perley and Rideau Veterans Health Care Centre, enabling the residents there to hear and enjoy the music of the show that we are presenting that season.
Performance History
As of 2008: In 33 years, we have opened the curtain on 237 public performances and 31 Benefit performances of 31 different productions, and have played to some 130,000 people.
There are 11 Gilbert and Sullivan operas that are still generally performed we have performed each of them at least once.
| 2009 | The Gondoliers |
| 2008 | Pirates of Penzance |
| 2007 | Iolanthe |
| 2006 | HMS Pinafore |
| 2005 | Patience |
| 2004 | The Mikado |
| 2003 | The Sorcerer |
| 2002 | The Gondoliers |
| 2001 | Ruddigore |
| 2000 | The Pirates of Penzance |
| 1999 | The Yeomen of the Guard |
| 1998 | Trial by Jury, H.M.S. Pinafore |
| 1997 | Princess Ida |
| 1996 | Iolanthe |
| 1995 | The Mikado |
| 1994 | The Gondoliers |
| 1993 | Patience |
| 1992 | The Pirates of Penzance |
| 1991 | Trial by Jury, H.M.S. Pinafore |
| 1990 | Ruddigore |
| 1989 | The Yeomen of the Guard |
| 1988 | Iolanthe |
| 1987 | The Mikado |
| 1986 | The Gondoliers |
| 1985 | The Pirates of Penzance |
| 1984 | Princess Ida |
| 1983 | Trial by Jury, H.M.S. Pinafore |
| 1982 | Ruddigore |
| 1981 | The Yeomen of the Guard |
| 1980 | The Mikado |
| 1979 | Patience |
| 1978 | The Gondoliers |
| 1977 | Iolanthe |
| 1976 | The Pirates of Penzance |
2010 - 2011 Board of Directors
The operations of the Savoy Society are governed by our volunteer Board of Directors. The 2009-2010 Board is:
| President | Dennis Watson |
| Vice-President | Bruce Patterson |
| Treasurer | Ted Metelnick |
| Secretary | Kim MacDonald |
| Directors at Large |
Vance Bolling Pam Ford Andrea Kinsley Kevin Gehrels |
| Past President | Penny Mapleston |
The Savoy
Why should an Ottawa group devoted to Gilbert and Sullivan be called The Savoy Society? Do we have anything to do with that region in France nestled between Italy and Switzerland?
"Savoy" actually refers to the Savoy Theatre in London, which was built by impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte in 1881 from the profits of the early G&S operas. This theatre, on the Thames Embankment just off the Strand, now has its entrance in part of the renowned Savoy Hotel, which Carte built in 1889.
The name was chosen from the fact that the site was once occupied by the Savoy Palace, built on land granted in 1246 by King Henry III to his wife’s uncle, Peter of Savoy (later the Duke of Savoy). The Palace was the most splendid nobleman’s residence in London, and in the 14th century came to be occupied by John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, until it was burned down during the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.
The Savoy Theatre was built during the run of Patience, and it was hailed as London's most modern theatre, with innovations such as numbered seating and free programme booklets (the latter no longer the practice in London!). Most notable of all was the fact that the Savoy was the first public building in the world to be lit by electricity.
The Gilbert and Sullivan operas are also known as the Savoy Operas due to the fact that all of them, with the exception of first, Thespis, either premiered or were revived at the Savoy. According to some definitions, a Savoy Opera can be any opera that was performed at the theatre, which would take in a number of other works from the 1890s and 1900s, such as Hood and German's Merrie England, as well as collaborations Gilbert and Sullivan made with other partners.
In the 20th century, the Savoy continued its life as one of the great West End theatre, and it occasionally welcomed back the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company for some of their London seasons. The theatre was substantially renovated by Rupert D’Oyly Carte (son of Richard) in 1929, and much of the interior was gutted in a fire in 1990, the theatre being restored and reopened three years later.
The name "Savoy" has thus become firmly linked with the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. There are dozens of Gilbert and Sullivan groups around the world that pay tribute to the original home of the operas by using the name "Savoy", the Savoy Society of Ottawa being one.
