Can you tell the difference?

Raphael

Dow

Zoffany

A quick offering I prepared earlier, relating to my post on the famous Gilbert and Sullivan patter song

Tarantara

My peripatetic life finds me based at Hatch End, near Harrow, North London for five weeks. So I must ask…what is Hatch End famous for? 

My go-to introduction to an area, Wikipedia, mentions Mrs Beeton, dubbed the world’s first celebrity chef who lived here in the middle of the 19^th century. More on her and this quite erroneous title at a later date.

The ancient earthworks Grimsdyke also run through the area, and gives its name to W.S. Gilbert’s home, now a hotel, at which I am eagerly anticipating taking high tea at with a friend now its midterm break. This is the Gilbert whose name is now inextricably linked with Sullivan, Gilbert and Sullivan fame. He was the wordsmith of the pairing. 

My love of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas is truly lifelong. I believe the amateur production of Pirates of Penzance in Waipukurau was the first live production my parents took me to, at the age of 7 or 8. I was entranced, especially by the transformation of one of my school teachers by the simple expedient of a pretty pink dress into the heroine Mabel.

A few years later, I attended the Mikado, performed by Morrinsville College students. Fast forward a few more years, and I am cast as the Duchess of Plaza Toro in the Gondoliers in our Whangarei High School musical. Not quite the heroine of the piece, but lots of fun and hard work, led by our talented director, Michael Hainsworth aka Head of Languages.

By this time my love for G & S was sealed. (My love of G & T comes a little later). I am drawn by the mix of ludicrous plot lines and clever lyrics with hummable tunes and grand harmonies. Then of course there is the dressing up

I am surprised by the lack of publicity for the Topsy Turvey, the film based on the professional pairing of Gilbert, Sullivan and their manager, d’Oyly Carte. I managed to catch it at the Mission Bay Berkeley cinema, back in its more boutique days (c. 2000), but it seems to have died a death, despite the casting of the notable Timothy Spall. It’s a great introduction as many of the operas are showcased here.

The film Chariots of Fire made a big impression on me too, and I will always remember with pleasure the inclusion of several G and S songs into the groundbreaking film score.

Raphael, Zoffany or Dow?

Despite being referenced in one of my favourite G and S comic operas, I had never consciously heard of Zoffany until a recent Thames Path walk.

See if you can catch the reference...

We had started the sector at Richmond and walked downstream, ultimately ending at Barnes Bridge. This is a lovely section that follows the Thames past Kew Gardens. The need for food took us off piste around midday, and while making our way to the famous Maids of Honour tea rooms, we passed St Anne’s Church on Kew Green. Luckily for us there were a few people around after the Sunday morning service, the vicar had not yet gone home for lunch and the church was still open (the rant about locked churches will have to wait for another day) 

We got a brief peak inside and one of the parishioners explained that the church was sponsored by Queen Anne, so the church had diplomatically been dedicated to her name saint. (St Ann, apocryphal mother of the Virgin Mary) The other claim to fame he mentioned was the graveyard being the final resting place of the famous artist Zoffany. Zoffany who? More research was required.