211075 Downing Record 07 - Downing College - University of ...

Prelude to Act 1The Opera opens to the music of Mendelssohn’s Overture:The Calm Sea and Prosperous VoyageScene:A meeting at a house set deeply in suburban ChorleyFour couples are eagerly discussing the possibility of celebrating in some appropriatefashion the fact that it will soon be forty years since the four men had graduatedfrom Downing College. In a moment of rashness, stimulated by the intake ofexcellent food and a modest amount of alcohol, a daring plan is hatched to launcha water-borne armada from March to Cambridge via Ely in May 2007. Ray Wilsonis immediately appointed Admiral to the strains of a wild chorus of acclamation.(Werealise later in the performance how daring this venture is, when it becomesincreasingly obvious that no-one has much of a clue about narrow-boats other thanRay Wilson).A motion is put and carried unanimously to recruit Alan and HelenBilling, resident in Toronto, to the crew. All exit singing what sounds suspiciouslylike the “Brindisi” from Verdi’s La Traviata.Act 1Scene 1: Fox’s Narrowboats and Marina, March (near Peterborough)Time and space have moved on, and we find ten souls joyfully meeting, and loadingsundry bags, boxes, and casks on to three narrowboats.An air of quiet expectation,bordering on trepidation, is conveyed by a chorus of gentle humming. Under thetutelage of Fox’s jolly tars the three boats edge their erratic way into open water andset a sort of course for Salter’s Lode.Scene 2:A (Fairly) Quiet WaterwayLater that same day, as evening falls, we find our brave ten sharing a meal – and, ithas to be said, a fair amount of grog – aboard the largest of the three boats.Amidstmuch hilarity, and the swapping of increasingly bawdy tales of deeds long ago, thesun sets and all fall into restless sleep. The dreaded crossing of the Great Ouse isscheduled for the following morning. The act closes with “The March to theScaffold” from Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique.Act 2Scene 1: Somewhere near LittleportThe tension from the previous night is immediately dissipated when we note thatthe armada has negotiated the Great Ouse without mishap. However, the tension isrelaxed only for a moment as a powerful wind rises and does horrid things to our37