Women don’t need men and if your wife is boring, divorce her.
Or at least, that seemed to be the theme of “Bridezillas” which debuted on Friday by the Sam Houston State University Opera.
“Bridezillas” was a comical opera featuring two stories, “The Beautiful Bridegroom” by Dan Shore, and “Trial by Jury” by renowned operetta team Gilbert and Sullivan. They told the story of two brides and the chaos that occurred in each of their lives. The show was a bit unconventional with the first opera being in the theater, and the second in the Criminal Justice building courtroom.
“The Beautiful Bridegroom” is set in 1810 Denmark in a small village outside of Copenhagen. Madame Terentia wishes to find a husband and her maid, Pernille, scolds her for putting herself before her two young daughters Laurentia and Leonora.
Terentia decides to see the local matchmaker and Pernille calls ahead to tell the matchmaker to help the family from humiliation. The matchmaker receives Pernille’s note and hatches a plan to trick Terentia using her niece, Fraunliebe who pretends to be a male captain and charms all the women in the household. Fraunliebe leaves to prepare to wed Terentia, only to return later saying he has been magically turned into a woman.
Coming to terms with what has happened, Terentia decides she should pursue men her age from now on, while her daughter Laurentia still finds Fraunliebe attractive. In the end, all the women agree that they don’t need men.
“Trial by Jury” was set in the courtroom of the Exchequer in 1985, where a jury and the public are assembled to hear a case of a broken marriage. The defendant tells the jury that he decided to divorce his wife because she had become boring to him and he fell in love with someone else. The judge decides to resolve the case by marrying the plaintiff himself, and everyone is content with the solution.
After the opera was over, the audience was invited to mingle with the cast and enjoy finger foods. “Bridezillas” was entertaining and different in a way, but overall everyone involved with creating the experience did a job well done.
