The Geneva Amateur Operatic Society (GAOS, Geneva Musical Theatre)"Homepage of the Geneva Amateur Operatic Society"
/ref> is an English-speaking

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

and light opera group. Based in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, GAOS was founded in 1971 by a small group of theatre enthusiasts. They produce three productions per season, including their traditional English

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

in the winter. GAOS is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, its members receive no payment and the society makes a point of giving a substantial donations to various charities around Geneva.

Productions

* 1971

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significant ...

(concert version) * 1972

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

, The Beggar's Opera, Jack and the Beanstalk (panto) * 1973 The Pirates of Penzance, Puss in Boots (panto) * 1974

Ruddigore ''Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse'', originally called ''Ruddygore'', is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written tog ...

, Aladdin (panto), Babes in the Wood (panto) * 1975

Iolanthe ''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...

, Dick Whittington (panto) * 1976 The Gondoliers, A Soirée at the Salle, Cinderella (panto) * 1977 Bluebeard, Old Time Music Hall, Mother Goose (panto) * 1978 The Boy Friend, Old Time Music Hall, Ali Baba (panto) * 1979

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which ...

, Old Time Music Hall, Goldilocks and the Three Bears (panto) * 1980

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song " Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a ...

, Music Hall Revue, Sleeping Beauty (panto) * 1981 Princess Ida, Old Time Music Hall, Little Red Riding Hood (panto) * 1982

The Vagabond King ''The Vagabond King'' is a 1925 operetta by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic novel and play ''If I Were King''. The story is a fictionaliz ...

, Old Time Music Hall, The Frog Prince (panto) * 1983

The Yeomen of the Guard ''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...

, Old Time Music Hall, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (panto) * 1984 Orpheus in the Underworld, Old Time Music Hall, Sinbad the Sailor (panto) * 1985

The White Horse Inn ''The White Horse Inn'' (or ''White Horse Inn'') (German title: ''Im weißen Rößl'' ) is an operetta or musical comedy by Ralph Benatzky and Robert Stolz in collaboration with a number of other composers and writers, set in the picturesque Salzk ...

, 10th Old Time Music Hall, Pinocchio (panto) * 1986

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

, Music Hall, Little Miss Muffet (panto) * 1987 The Pirates of Penzance (excerpts), Oklahoma!, Old Time Music Hall, Aladdin (panto) * 1988 Die Fledermaus, Old Time Music Hall, Peter Pan (panto) * 1989

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and ...

, Old Time Music Hall, My Fair Lady (excerpts), King Arthur (panto) * 1990 My Fair Lady, Old Time Music Hall, Travelin', Humpty Dumpty (panto) * 1991

, Old Time Music Hall, The Andrew Lloyd Webber Story, The Ice Maiden (panto) * 1992 Salad Days, Old Time Music Hall, Jack and the Beanstalk (panto) * 1993

The Gypsy Baron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...

, Old Time Music Hall,

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

(excerpts), Puss-in-Boots (panto) * 1994

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

, Summer Follies, Robinson Crusoe (panto) * 1995

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

, Old Time Music Hall, Santa in Space (panto) * 1996

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French libretto based on the 1829 one act play '' Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement'' by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived on ...

, Another Summer Folly,

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Festival of Light Opera, Cinderella (panto) * 1997 Anything Goes, The Wind in the Willows * 1998 The Pirates of Penzance, Cruising, The Wizard of Oz * 1999

, Old Time Music Hall, Babes in the Wood (panto) * 2000

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

, Thank You for the Music, Beauty and the Beast (panto) * 2001 The Gondoliers,

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specifica ...

A Slice of Saturday Night ''A Slice of Saturday Night'' is a musical with book, lyrics and music by The Heather Brothers: Lea, Neil, Charles and John. The songs are a nostalgic pastiche of 1960s music, and the story tells a tale of teenage dreams and young love "set aro ...

, A Christmas Carol * 2002 Me and My Girl, Showtime, Dick Whittington (panto) * 2003 High Society,

, The Water Nymph (panto) * 2004

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...

, Sleeping Beauty (panto) * 2005

, Old Time Musical, Grease, Alice in Wonderland (panto) * 2006 Hello Dolly!, To Hell With Opera,

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

, Ali Baba (panto) * 2007 Follies, Up The Empire!,

, Snow White (panto) * 2008 Kiss Me, Kate,

, Aladdin (panto) * 2009

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

Thoroughly Modern Millie ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' is a 1967 American musical-romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay, by Richard Morris based on the 1956 British musical ''Chrysanthemum'', follows a naïve young ...

, Red Riding Hood (panto) * 2010

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

, Beauty and The Beast Jr., Cinderella (panto) * 2011 The Producers, Mulan Jr., Jack and The Beanstalk (panto) * 2012 HMS Pinafore, From Flappers To Rappers, Oklahoma!, Sinbad the Sailor (panto) * 2013

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Goldilocks and the Three Bears (panto) * 2014

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

, Once Upon a Time (panto) * 2015

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

, The Addams Family, Sinbad (panto), Rumpelstiltskin (panto) * 2016

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

, Puss in Boots (panto) * 2017 Lets Face the Music, Legally Blonde, The Wizard of Oz * 2018

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, The Best of Broadway, The Little Mermaid (panto) * 2019

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story ...

, Grease, The Wind in the Willows * 2020 Robin Hood (online panto) * 2021 Little Shop of Horrors, Cinderella (panto) * 2022 For the Boys, A Night at the Musicals, Sleeping Beauty (panto) * 2023 Sister Act,

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, th ...

* 2024 Pinocchio (panto),

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

References

{{authority control Arts organizations established in 1971 Organisations based in Geneva Culture in Geneva English-language mass media Swiss opera companies Musical groups established in 1971