Washington Savoyards
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Washington Savoyards, Ltd., is a professional light opera repertory performing company. Founded in 1972, the company annually produces three fully-staged works of light opera, operetta, and musical theatre, normally including at least one Gilbert and Sullivan production each year. The company performs primarily in the Duke Ellington School for the Arts at and at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, both in Washington, DC. The company has also performed at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage and at the Arts Club of Washington, among other venues. In 1986, former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court William Rehnquist joined the Washington Savoyards as "the Solicitor" in their production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience.
The company draws its singers from among opera and theatre professionals resident based in the Washington DC metropolitan area, as well as from music, theatre, and opera students at local universities. In 2004, the company has been accepted into residency at Flashpoint, Washington, DC's arts incubator. The company's President, Kathleen Mitchell, works professionally with the 56 nonprofit state and jurisdictional humanities councils through the Federal/State Partnership of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Its stage directors include Catherine Huntress-Reeve, Hal Simons, Scott Kenison and David Simmons. Its music directors include Richard Fazio and N. Thomas Pedersen. The company receives support from charitable foundations and individual donors, as well as from ticket sales and program advertizing.
During its 2006-2007 season, the Washington Savoyards is scheduled to produce Patience, Kiss Me, Kate (as part of the "Shakespeare in Washington" festival), and The Merry Widow. It will also perform The Condensed Mikado, an adaptation of The Mikado during the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
