Witness the laughter and excitement as a group of young performers stage an opera in only ten days at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, held each year in Buxton England!
Nearly one hundred youths aged between eight and eighteen travel from across England and from around the world for a chance to sing on the Buxton Opera House stage. Under the direction of a talented American director these children and teenagers audition, and rehearse Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" in ten short but intense days. For some staging an opera is an event eagerly awaited every year, for others it is their first time taking the stage.
49-North Productions set out to document the exciting process, starting with the auditions. A flood of talent swept the stage for the morning hours, and after casting the opera, rehearsals started a few moments later. This intense process is captured in the film, as the leads, chorus, director and crew keep things moving at a clip as they learn the music, staging and choreography.
A section of each of the ten days of rehearsal is featured in the film.
A Source of Innocent Merriment is a tale of excitement, amusement, music and inspiration for both young and old.
Pamela Leighton-Bilik, an American stage director is a staple at the Buxton International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival. Every year she arrives in England with her producers and they stage a Gilbert and Sullivan opera starring children and teenagers.
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NTSC, 4:3, Runtime:90 min
Dolby Stereo, English Subtitles
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Please write to the Buxton International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival or visit their web site for information on how to buy the PAL version of the film.
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One of the delightful stars of this documentary is Ceri Lyn Humphreys. Ceri-Lyn was recently awarded best advanced piano, advanced classical vocal, advanced popular vocal, ensemble and best overall performance at the 2005 Anna Markland Music Competition .
We thought her 2004 Buxton Opera House performance of "Yum Yum" in the "Mikado" showed undeniable talent and poise and we used her extensively in our documentary. We obviously made a good choice! To learn more about her personal thoughts, go behind the scenes by reading her first-handl account of the excitement and tension of auditions. Ceri-Lyn Humphreys graciously allows us to post excerpts from her daily diary. Click on the book below to read them!
Ceri-lyn has since gained acclaim by winning the "Young Singer Vocal Scholarship 2005" and was named "Welsh Young Musical Theatre Singer".
She garnered National attention later in 2005 when she won 1st place in the International Eisteddfod music competition, theatre section, edging out Singapore and Austria, accepting her award on national television.
Our heartfelt congratulations go out to Ceri-lyn.
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