"As on through the seasons we sail." Words of Cole Porter, but an apt description indeed of Ohio Light Opera as it celebrates its 35th anniversary season in 2013. From the saucy satire of Offenbach to the exhilarating waltzes and gypsy rhythms of Strauss to the wit and endless melody of Gilbert and Sullivan to the jazzy, sophisticated, and romantic musical stylings of America's most popular stage composers and lyricists - Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and the Gershwin brothers - the 2013 summer festival promises to be one of OLO's most entertaining and rewarding.

THE KING AND I
(1951)
Music by Richard Rodgers - Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Placing his hand on her waist and issuing the command "Come!" the King of Siam and Anna launch into what must be Broadway's most exuberant dance sequence. The polka "Shall We Dance," together with such R&H classics as "I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Hello, Young Lovers," "Getting to Know You," and "I Have Dreamed" all support an endearing, but bittersweet, tale of the clash between Eastern and Western cultures. When the attractive English widow Anna arrives in Siam to serve as governess for the king's children, she confronts a monarch who is willing to adapt to Western values, but whose pride and sense of tradition ultimately prove an obstacle. When Anna's efforts to champion the love of Burmese courtier Lun Tha and his beloved Tuptim - who is being gifted to the King - fall on deaf ears, Anna readies to leave Siam. But news reaches her that the King is very ill ... When The King and I closed in 1954 after 1,246 performances, it joined Oklahoma! and South Pacific as the three longest-running book musicals in Broadway history. Come to OLO and see why!

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SILK STOCKINGS
(1955)
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter - Book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows
Suave, sophisticated, and filthy rich, Cole Porter brought more of himself and his times to his stage works than any of his contemporaries. His double entendres - some quite risqué - were so cleverly integrated into his lyrics that they sailed right over the heads of the censors into the laps of his audiences. Closely based on the 1939 film Ninotchka, starring Greta Garbo, Porter's final Broadway show, Silk Stockings, represents, according to The New York Times, "the best goods in the American musical comedy emporium." Russia has sent the stern and ice-cold envoy Ninotchka to Paris to retrieve a composer, who, encouraged by his American agent Steve Canfield, is thinking of defecting. Steve and Paris work their magic on Ninotchka, but her Russian pride intervenes and she returns to her home country. Steve follows, but is detained for conspiracy to undermine the government. The immensely witty dialogue bristles with Cold War jibes: When informed that the composer Prokofiev is dead, a Russian official retorts: "I didn't even know that he was arrested." The score contains many Porter gems, including "All of You," "As on Through the Seasons We Sail," "Paris Loves Lovers," "Satin and Silk," and "Stereoscopic Sound."

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H.M.S. PINAFORE
or The Lass that Loved a Sailor
(1878)
Music by Arthur Sullivan - Libretto by William Gilbert
Gilbert and Sullivan's rollicking romp through naval life, class distinctions, and melodramatic villainy has entertained millions since its London premiere. Where else can one find a First Lord of the Admiralty who had never seen a ship, or a seafaring captain who gets seasick, or a nursemaid who can't tell one baby from another? It was the 1879 success of this show in New York - and during that year, there were said to be more than 150 productions playing across the United States - that inspired the American musical community to create its own musical theater tradition. Josephine, the Captain's daughter, is in love with able seaman Ralph Rackstraw. But her father has other plans for her: an advantageous union with the exalted Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B. When the young couple's elopement is thwarted by cantankerous seaman Dick Deadeye, it remains for Little Buttercup to confess that her baby-farming techniques had left something to be desired ... a many years ago. Never mind the why and wherefore - to list the catchy tunes in Pinafore is to cite the entire musical score. Discover or rediscover for yourself why H.M.S. Pinafore, returning for its 15th season at OLO, has been the Company's most performed show.

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THE GYPSY BARON
(1885)
Music by Johann Strauss - Libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer
Forgoing the light-hearted atmosphere of champagne in Die Fledermaus and gondoliers in A Night in Venice, Johann Strauss, in The Gypsy Baron, turned to a less frivolous Hungarian tale of gypsies, lost treasures, and class conflict. The dizzying array of toe-tapping tunes - rollicking, romantic, and sentimental - attests to Strauss' success in combining the best of the Viennese waltz and Hungarian gypsy rhythms. Government officials have returned to Barinkay dispossessed family property. Neighboring pig farmer Zsupán tries successfully to interest him in a tactical marriage with his beautiful daughter Arsena. She, however, will accept nothing less than a baron for her husband. When Barinkay is ennobled as baron by a band of gypsies, but is still refused by Arsena, he plights himself to the gypsy girl Saffi, but backs off when he learns that she is the daughter of a Hungarian pasha. He joins the Hussars, returns as a war hero, and gets the girl - but which one? From the instantly recognizable "Treasure Waltz" to Barinkay's remarkable catalogue aria in which he enumerates his past occupations to an anvil chorus reminiscent of Verdi, this is Viennese operetta at its most engaging.

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LADY, BE GOOD!
(1924)
Music by George Gershwin - Lyrics by Ira Gershwin - Book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson
A landmark show, Lady, Be Good! was George Gershwin's first Broadway collaboration with brother Ira, and the show that confirmed the stardom of Fred and Adele Astaire. Just as importantly, in George's musical hands, it brought jazz and fascinating rhythm, front and center, to the Broadway stage. The plot focuses on brother and sister orphans, Dick and Susie Trevor, who are evicted from their lodgings by the wealthy, scheming Josephine Vanderwater, who has her sights set on Dick. He, however, is in love with Shirley Vernon, but feels that he has no choice but to marry Jo. Susie, in the meantime, has paired up with a disheveled passerby, Jack Robinson, who is the disinherited nephew of a wealthy, now-deceased uncle. Complications arise by way of lawyer Watty Watkins, who convinces Susie to impersonate a wealthy Mexican widow as part of a scheme to save his own skin. Gershwin "standards" include the title song, "Fascinating Rhythm," "So Am I," "Hang on to Me," "The Half of It, Dearie, Blues," "Little Jazz Bird," and (believe it or not) a patter song with yodeling, "Swiss Miss."

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THE GONDOLIERS
or The King of Barataria
(1889)
Music by Arthur Sullivan - Libretto by William Gilbert
On June 26, 1979, the Ohio Light Opera inaugurated its premiere season with a production of The Gondoliers. This comic opera, the last great success of Gilbert and Sullivan, is set in 1750 Venice and has what for many is the pair's most lilting, sparkling, and dance-filled score. The story deals with two foster brothers, gondoliers Marco and Giuseppe, who learn that one of them is presumably the heir to the throne of Barataria and was wed as an infant to Casilda, daughter of the impoverished Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro. The two gondoliers, however, through a game of blind man's bluff, have selected and married Gianetta and Tessa. Toward the goal of replenishing his coffers, the Duke has come to Venice to seek the missing monarch for his daughter's hand. To further complicate matters, Casilda is in love with Luiz, the Duke's attendant and drummer. But ... things are seldom what they seem! Song hits include "From the Sunny Spanish Shore," "Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes," "Dance a Cachuca," and "When a Merry Maiden Marries."

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THE GRAND DUCHESS OF GEROLSTEIN
(1867)
Music by Jacques Offenbach - Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy
Credited as the "inventor" of operetta, Jacques Offenbach wrote more than 100 stage works, none more successful or engaging than The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, a military satire whose title character has proved irresistible to both audiences and great singing actresses, including Lillian Russell. The young Duchess has come of age, but her scheming ministers search for means to keep her distracted from state business. They try turning her attention to the flash and dash of the army, but she takes a special shine to Private Fritz, whom she promotes through the ranks until he makes general. Somewhat dense, he wants nothing more than to wed his sweetheart Wanda, on whom army chief General Boum has his own eyes set. The incensed Duchess seeks revenge and plots with her ministers to bring down the new Commander-in-Chief. The show features dazzling Offenbach tunes, including the justly famous "Here is the Sabre of My Father," in which the Duchess entrusts the "official sword" to General Fritz, and "Tell Him, Please," in which she tries to convince the naïve youth that a certain "friend of hers" has a crush on him.

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