The Gondoliers

Join The Savoy Company as we celebrate our 125th anniversary year with Gilbert & Sullivan’s sparkling operetta, The Gondoliers!

Set in Venice and the fictional kingdom of Barataria, the story blends romance, mistaken identity, and social satire.  Two gondoliers, Marco and Giuseppe, discover that one of them is the rightful king, though both were raised as commoners.  Since no one knows which brother truly holds the crown due to a mix-up in their youth, they agree to rule jointly, creating hilarious complications for their new brides, the royal court, and the daughter of the Duke of Plaza-Toro, who was married in infancy to the rightful king!

Through witty dialogue, lively ensemble numbers, and playful mockery of aristocracy and politics, the operetta celebrates equality while poking fun at rigid class distinctions.  Fully staged, the show will be presented at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (May 15th – 16th) and at the Longwood Gardens Open Air Theatre (May 29th – 30th) and features a professionally designed set, hand-sewn costumes, outstanding performers, and a professional orchestra, continuing Savoy’s tradition as the world’s oldest opera company devoted to the works of Gilbert & Sullivan.  A talkback with key members of Savoy’s direction team will be given at both venues; please see above for more information.

Historically, The Gondoliers came after a serious quarrel between Gilbert and Sullivan in 1890 (the so-called “carpet quarrel”) over production expenses, which temporarily ended their partnership. Although they later reunited for Utopia, Limited (1893), and The Grand Duke (1896), The Gondoliers is often regarded as their last undisputed masterpiece. Its score is admired for incorporating brighter, more Italianate musical color than many earlier Savoy operas, while maintaining the duo’s trademark wit and intricate ensemble writing. 

Production Team

Grant Mech
Artistic Director

Grant Mech holds degrees from Westminster Choir College in Music Education and Voice Performance and Pedagogy. He has appeared in numerous operatic productions, including Alcina (Melisso), La Clemenza di Tito (Publio), Le Nozze di Figaro (Bartolo), and the title roles in Don Giovanni and Gianni Schicchi. Concert and recital appearances have included works such as Brahms’ Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Schubert’s Schwanengesang. From 2010-2022, Grant was the director of music at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in New York. He is the choral director at Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly, NJ. He has also served on the staffs of the Sem Summer Music Festival in Kingston, PA, the Lawrenceville School, and Saint Peter’s University. Grant’s choirs have toured extensively in the U.S and abroad. He is a member of the Perspective Collective, a group that seeks to promote art song and opera in untraditional formats and venues. Grant is currently in the MFA program in theater at the University of Idaho.

Peter Hilliard
Music Director

Peter Hilliard is thrilled to return for his 14th year as Savoy’s Music Director!  Peter serves as Artistic Director of Villanova’s Theatre department, where he also acts as resident music director and Associate Professor. This season he holds composition residencies with Charlottesville Opera and the San Francisco Choral Artists. Peter holds a bachelor’s degree in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory, working with David Conte and Conrad Susa, and a masters degree at NYU in musical theatre writing, where he worked with Bill Finn and Michael John LaChiusa. With librettist Matt Boresi, he has written 10 operas, 4 musicals, and numerous other vocal compositions. His work has been featured all over the US, including performances by Karen Slack, Nathan Gunn, Luca Pisaroni, Caroline Worra, Elizabeth Futral, Jen Aylmer, Beth Morrison Projects, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Urban Arias, Opera Memphis, Charlottesville Opera, Carnegie Mellon University, Florida State University and The University of Illinois. His choral and orchestral music has been performed by The St. Olaf College Orchestra, The Philly Pops, The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, Vox Musica Sacramento, The San Francisco Girl’s Chorus, The Anna Crusis Women’s Chorale, VocalEssence, and The Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia among many others.

Rebecca Malcolm-Naib
Choreographer

Rebecca Malcolm-Naib danced professionally with ZeroMoving Dance Company, Karen Bamonte Dance Works, Chamber Dance Company, Freedman/Coleman Dance Company, Claudia Murphey Dance Company, Battery Dance Company, and with several independent choreographers in prestigious venues nationally and abroad.  She was Co-Founder and Co-Director of Travesty Dance Group from 1997-2010. Rebecca’s choreography has been performed in Cleveland, Seattle, Philadelphia, Maine, Toronto, Houston, and New York City.  She is the 2022 recipient of the Ellen Forman Memorial Dance Award for her choreography. Rebecca has taught full-time at the University of Washington and Kent State University, master classes at several U.S. colleges and universities, at Bates Dance Festival’s Young Dancers Workshop, and as adjunct faculty at Bryn Mawr College, Swarthmore College, and Drexel University.  She was the Director of the Drexel University Dance Ensemble and FreshDance Ensemble from 2023-2025. Her research has been published in Impulse: The International Journal of Dance and Science, Medicine, and Education.  Rebecca graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a BA from Mount Holyoke College and received her MFA from the University of Washington.  She was a member of the Board of Directors for BalletX for 11 years.

William M. Kader
Production Manager

Bill’s involvement in The Gondoliers marks his 31st consecutive year as an active member of The Savoy Company, where he has served as both lighting designer and production manager.  Bill is especially proud to have completed the Savoy canon of Gilbert & Sullivan production.

His professional career includes lighting design for artists such as Rod Stewart, Little Feat, and Jimmy Buffett, as well as numerous touring productions including Cats, Into the Woods, and Les Misérables.  In addition, Bill has designed lighting for many television productions on HBO, Showtime, and NBC.

Bill recently retired as an architectural lighting designer.  His work has earned numerous design awards for projects across the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Backstage Team (in alphabetical order)

Jill Appleman, David Bjordammen, Maureen Broadbent, Robert Broadbent, Matt Butt, Lilana Dohnert, John Hewins, Judith Jenkins, Simon Jenkins, Christopher Jones, Netchen Kaier, Cathy Lopdrup, Andrew Marshall, Lisa McCormick, Andrew Mikida, Elizabeth Miller, Jack Miller, Anne Mittnacht, Patricia Pezely, Claire Reynolds, Gwendolyn Schmidt, Richard Siller, Greg Spurgeon, Joe Trainor, Christopher Tyson, Taylor Wallace, Jean Wilmerding

Visiting Longwood Gardens

Our annual performances at Longwood Gardens will begin a full hour earlier this year!

Friday, May 29th & Saturday, May 30th at 7:30 PM

The Savoy Company is thrilled to make our annual return to the Longwood Gardens Open Air Theatre for our 2026 performances of The Gondoliers!  Returning patrons will note one big, exciting difference this year: Both shows will begin a full hour earlier than previously, at 7:30 PM.

This start time will allow audiences to bask in the beauty of golden hour in the Gardens and enjoy an earlier night out.

Each ticket includes all-day Gardens Admission, as well as parking.  Tickets are limited and likely to sell out, so be sure to purchase yours today!