Opera 'Pinafore' promises fun, laughs

What do opera and "Saturday Night Live" have in common? The ability to delight audiences even after years have passed, according to IU stage director, Vince Liotta.\nLiotta, who will be directing the performers in the coming performances of Gilbert and Sullivan's famous comic operetta, "H.M.S. Pinafore," spoke about the opera's place in the modern repertoire.\n"The opera is a comedy, and it is also a forerunner of American musicals, where the comedy is the predominant element, rather than the text," he said.\nLiotta called the opera "typical Gilbert and Sullivan" with its lighthearted comedy, over-the-top humor and lack of dramatic elements.\n"If you look at Gilbert and Sullivan, they were played to be the English equivalents of Jacques Offenbach's operettas. They're full of gags, funny situations and parody, which was the typical humor of the time," Liotta said.\nDespite the humor being characteristic of the 1880s and '90s, Liotta said that the opera still has relevance to today's world without needing to be updated in any way.\n"If you try to update this work or make it modern, it only seems that much more dated, like the covers of The Saturday Evening Post," he said.\nYet the opera has been continuously popular without needing any updates.\n"The 'H.M.S. Pinafore' is popular because it's funny," Liotta said. "It feels good in its own time. That way it can provoke laughter, when we can translate it to another time and place."\nThe opera does not lie completely in the past, however. It shares many comic techniques familiar with millions of television viewers across the country.\n"The essence of the style is overblown, while maintaining a lot more levels to laugh at things. The characters are caricatures of familiar types, much like the Marx brothers. I also keep looking back to 'Saturday Night Live,' where each company member became a formulaic character so that the audience would be familiar with that character type," Liotta said.\nDespite his analysis of character types and comic techniques, Liotta said that the opera is not about subtlety.\n"Burlesque doesn't work with subtlety," he said. "You have to make a point to take everything over the top."\nTo heighten his point, Liotta quoted Stephen Sondheim's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."\n"Morals tomorrow, comedy tonight," he said.\nGilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore" will be showing a the MAC July 29 and 30, and August 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $12-29 and $8-18 for students. For more information, call 855-2255.