There is a tradition among the online Gilbert & Sullivan community "Savoynet" of getting together when possible and singing through as many of the operettas of that wondrous duo as possible. For simplicity's sake, these gatherings are known as "QWERTYIOP"s. The first ever US West Coast QWERT took place yesterday, and I was fortunate to be close enough to attend. It was prompted by a visit from a pair of British Savoynetters, returning home after a cruise to Hawaii. People turned out in force to meet the delightful couple, and the group managed to get through four (count 'em, four!) of the operas: Patience, Iolanthe, Yeomen of the Guard and Pirates of Penzance. My wife and I managed to get there in time to participate in all but the first one, having had churchly duties in the morning. We even brought along a photo of D'Oyly Carte tenor Philip Potter (seen above as Nanki-Poo) for its place of honor on the piano - something that is de rigeur at a QWERT for the simple reason that there was one at the very first such gathering.
We enjoyed ourselves immensely, and some of the voices were truly outstanding. Whenever someone stumbled over a phrase, the 30 or so singing the chorus parts would chime right in and help put the soloist back on track. There is nothing quite like the G&S commuity!
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