The mirth and the melody of Gilbert and Sullivan: lecture and melody by J. Charles Gilbert with Rhea Shelters at the piano

              The MIRTH and MELODY of GILBERT and SULLIVAN
A Lecture-Recital by J. CHARLES GILBERT with Rhea Shelters at the Piano




Mikado Pinafore Iolanthe Pirates of Penzance Yeomen of the Guard Gondoliers Trial by Jury Ruddigore PrincessIda The Sorcerer Patience




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J. Charles Gilbert
 actor, singer, theatrical producer, and lecturer, began his varied career as a member of the faculty of Northwestern University.




The musical stage was his main interest, however, and after a few years of teaching, he went to New York where he came to the attention of the Shuberts who cast him in the coveted role of 
Franz Schubert
 in 
Blossom Time,
 a part in which he subsequently achieved the imposing record of 1826 performances.




New York next saw him in 
The New Moon,
 
The Count of Luxembourg,
 and 
The Mikado.
 On tour, he was heard in 
The Student Prince,
 
Maytime,
 and 
The Chocolate Soldier.
 During this period, he added directing and producing to his many activities.




Mr. Gilbert returned to Chicago in 1938 to become Managing Director of the Civic Opera House and the Civic Theatre, a post he still holds.  In the summer of 1939, he presented a ten week season of his own productions at the Civic Theatre, a season climaxed by a brilliant revival of 
Seventh Heaven.
  In the same year, he was named Assistant General Manager of the Chicago City Opera Company for the 1939 season.




On July 16, 1941, Mr. Gilbert returned to the concert platform at Grant Park as soloist with the Chicago Opera Orchestra, and received an ovation from the public and plaudits from the press.




Rhea Shelters
 brilliant Chicago pianist and accompanist, is an outstanding interpreter and coach in both the light and grand opera repertoires.  She is the official accompanist of the Tribune Music Festival, and has also served the Chicago Opera Company in the same capacity for the past two season.




Herman Devries, Dean of Chicago music critics, writing in the Herald & American, called her 
the accompanist de luxe!



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Mr. Gilbert Begs to Explain



was first prepared as a 
lecture-recital
 at the suggestion and request of my good friend Professor Clarence Simon of the School of Speech of Northwestern University.




S
HORT, entertaining, and delivered in the spirit of sheer fun, the work had its first performance before a huge audience of members of the faculty and students of the School of Speech on July 23, 1941.  In this original form, the performance ran fifty minutes.




A
LL OF US looked upon the program as an entertaining lark, and certainly no one was prepared for what was to follow.  What 
did
 follow, at the end of the program, was a cheering, whistling, stamping burst of approval that nearly turned the great hall into a bedlam!




V
IRTUALLY carried away by this unexpected reception, Miss Shelters and I were brought suddenly to the conviction that a vast public still cherished the bubbling humor and the sparkling melodies that made the Savoy Theatre the brightest spot in London sixty years ago.




O
VER THE YEARS, these comic operas have not diminished in popularity.  Today, a new generation that has heard 
about
 them is eager to hear them in their entirety.  And to hear them again is to fall completely under the spell of their ever-fresh gayety and charm.




Y
IELDING to the flattering and unexpected encouragement of the first reception to our program, Miss Shelters and I decided at once to enlarge upon the idea and to offer it to the public as a full-length evening of lecture and entertainment.




J. C. G.




The 
Lecture
 is the story of the most amazing partnership in the history of the theatre.  It bubles over with innocent merriment, and sparkles with delicious humor.  It is the back-stage picture of the exciting Savoy Theatre.




In the 
Recital,
 which interrupts our story at frequent intervals, you will hear the best known airs from the most popular of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas, sung by Mr. Gilbert and played by Miss Shelters.






Press comment:



Mr. Gilbert's baritone is still the smooth, highly cultivated, and extremely pleasant one that we admired so much when he appeared in light opera.  The transition from light to grand opera seems to have broadened the style of his delivery, and added volume to his voice.—


HERMAN DEVRIES, Herald & American, July 17, 1941




Gilbert's perfect diction and the beautiful texture of his voice delighted the audience.—


EDWARD BARRY, Chicago Tribune, July 17, 1941




Mr. Gilbert was in excellent voice and topped his performance with a skilled projection of the Largo al factotum … that brought cheers from the large crowd … his audience determined to hear as much of his repertoire as it could possibly persuade from him.—


LOIS WATT NORTH, The Music News, August 21, 1941




Miss Shelters is one of the best accompanists we have ever heard, for she has musicianship, good taste, sympathy, and technical facility.


THE MUSICAL LEADER (Chicago)




Rhea Shelters at the piano was an invaluable asset, providing beautifully wrought accompaniments with superb judgment.


THE MUSIC NEWS (Chicago)




It was gratifying to hear the skillful support of Miss Rhea Shelters … a pianist with the silvery gold of an evening star.


WM. DODD CHENERY, Illinois State Register






For Information Concerning Dates and Terms 
address:
 Miss Rhea Shelters SUITE 635 LYON AND HEALY BLDG. PHONE WEBSTER 7338 CHICAGO, ILL.