An Evening of Musical Mystery in New Hyde Park

The Island Now
Gearing up for "Disguise and Deception: An Evening of Musical Mystery" are (rear from left) Tamara Shyngle, Claudia Arroyo and Richard Risi, and (front from left) Karina Vartanian, Catherine Diakou and Nancy Magnatta, all members of the Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island's 2020 production of "The Mikado." (Photo courtesy of the Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island)

To launch its 2020 production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Mikado,” the Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island will host a special, one-night-only musical celebration of masks and mystique, entitled “Disguise and Deception: An Evening of Musical Mystery,” to be presented at Westy Self Storage in New Hyde Park on Saturday, March 14 at 7 p.m.

“Every Gilbert & Sullivan opera is different,” Chris Jurak, company president, said. “’The Mikado’ is distinctive for the web of plots, counter-plots, and counter-counter-plots that makes up its hilarious story. Practically nobody in ‘The Mikado’ really understands what’s going on, which is a big source of the opera’s comedy.

“This concert is partly to help our audience get into the mood for ‘The Mikado,’ but it’s also to help us get in the mood,” Jurak said. “Opera as a whole is filled with disguise and deception—everywhere you look, someone is posing as someone else, conspiring against a rival or plotting something underhanded. This year’s production of ‘The Mikado’ is set on the Gold Coast of Long Island in the 1920s, the era of ‘The Great Gatsby,’ one of the most secret-driven novels ever written, and we want ‘Disguise and Deception’ to help our audience get into the spirit of things.”

The concert will feature some highlights from “The Mikado,” but it’s not a Gilbert & Sullivan show. Artists from the company will perform songs dealing in secrecy and intrigue, drawing on everything from opera to Broadway, from folk songs to pop, from Mozart and Puccini to Cole Porter and Billy Joel.

“Our membership includes some amazingly talented people,” Jurak said. “Gilbert & Sullivan is something we all do, but we also do a lot of other things. This is a chance for our singers to show their stuff—songs from ‘Carmen’ and ‘Faust’ next to songs from ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘Kiss Me Kate.’ This show is going to be full of surprises, but of course, I can’t tell you about them, because that would give away the disguise and spoil the deception. Let’s just say that everyone on stage will be having a great time, and so will the audience.”

All proceeds from the evening will benefit the Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island and its production of “The Mikado.” Founded in 1954, the company is one of the nation’s oldest organizations devoted exclusively to the promotion and performance of the works of Gilbert & Sullivan.

Its performers are all volunteers and come from every walk of life. While very different in many ways, they all have one thing in common: a passion to preserve and present these classic comic operas that have enriched and entertained generations of Long Island audiences.

“Disguise and Deception: An Evening of Musical Mystery” will be presented on Saturday, March 14, at 7 p.m. at Westy Self Storage, 2400 Marcus Ave. in New Hyde Park. Admission is $15, available only at the door. For further information, visit www.gaslocoli.org.

Submitted by The Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island

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