Gone are the days of light-hearted curses that turned princes into toads or witches into black cats. When vengeful witches put a curse on the lords of Ruddygore in W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan’s comic opera Ruddygore, they condemn them to a much more malevolent fate.
For all of time, the Ruddygore lords must commit a crime a day or die a very painful death. One Ruddygore man, however, manages to escape the horrid curse by disguising himself as a peasant and fleeing to a remote village .Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd is soon found out, though, and forced to abide by the curse or suffer the consequences.
Surprisingly, humor arises from this dark plot in the Gilbert ‘ Sullivan Society of Houston’s production of the English opera.
Ruddygore opens Friday at the Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Ave. The opera runs Friday through Sunday and July 27 through 29. For more information, call (713) 627-3570 or visit www.gilberandsullivan.net.
