Name	Monty Python's Spamalot
Music	John Du Prez Eric Idle Neil Innes
Lyrics	Eric Idle
Book	Eric Idle
Basis	1975 Monty Python film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''
Productions	2004 Chicago (preview)2005 Broadway2006 West End2007 Australia2008 North American tour2008 Barcelona2009 Madrid2009 North American tour, 2010 UK Tour 2010 Poland2011 Mexico 2011 Ireland 2011 Netherlands
Awards	Tony Award for Best Musical Drama Desk Outstanding Musical Drama Desk for Outstanding Lyrics }}

''Monty Python's Spamalot'' is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre. Eric Idle, a member of the Monty Python team, wrote the musical's book and lyrics and collaborated with John Du Prez on most of the music.

Idle explained the title in a February 2004 press release:

The original 2005 Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, won three Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical of the 2004–2005 season and received 14 Tony Award nominations. During its initial run of over 1,500 performances it was seen by more than two million people and grossed over $175 million.

Synopsis

Before the play

A recording encourages members of the audience to "let your cellphones and pagers ring willy-nilly," and comments that they should "be aware there are heavily armed knights on stage that may drag you on stage and impale you." This was recorded by John Cleese.

Act I

A historian gives a brief overview of medieval England. In an apparent (and deliberate) miscommunication between the actors and the narrator, an idyllic Scandinavian village appears, with gaily dressed Finnish villagers singing and dancing to the "Fisch Schlapping Song." The Historian returns, irritated, and tells the frolicking Finns that he was talking about England, not Finland. The villagers disperse and the pastoral forest is immediately replaced by a dreary, dark village with penitent monks in hooded robes chanting Latin prayers and hitting themselves in the face with large Bibles. King Arthur travels the land with his servant Patsy, who follows him around banging two coconut shells together to make the sound of a horse's hooves as Arthur "rides" before him, trying to recruit Knights of the Round Table to join him in Camelot ("King Arthur's Song"). He encounters a pair of sentries who are more interested in debating whether two swallows could successfully carry a coconut than in listening to the king.

Sir Robin, a collector of plague victims, and Lance, a large, handsome and incredibly violent man, meet as Lance attempts to dispose of the sickly Not Dead Fred ("He Is Not Dead Yet"). They agree to become Knights of the Round Table together, Lance for the fighting, and Robin for the singing and the dancing.

Arthur attempts to convince a peasant named Dennis Galahad that he, Arthur, is king of England because the Lady of the Lake gave him Excalibur, the sword given only to the man fit to rule England. However, Dennis and his mother, Mrs Galahad, are political radicals and deny that any king who has not been elected by the people has any legitimate right to rule over them. To settle the issue, Arthur has the Lady of the Lake and her Laker Girls appear to turn Dennis into a knight ("Come With Me"). Cheered on by the girls ("Laker Girls Cheer"), the Lady of the Lake turns Dennis into Sir Galahad and together, they sing a generic Broadway love song ("The Song That Goes Like This"), complete with chandelier. They are joined by Sir Robin and Sir Lancelot, and together with Sir Bedevere and "the aptly named" Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Show (a knight resembling Don Quixote, who promptly apologizes and leaves), they make up the Knights of the Round Table ("All for One").

The five knights gather in Camelot, a deliberately anachronistic place resembling Las Vegas's Camelot-inspired Excalibur resort, complete with showgirls, oversized dice and the Lady of the Lake headlining the Castle in full Cher get-up ("Knights of the Round Table"/"The Song That Goes Like This (Reprise)"). In the midst of their revelry, they are contacted by God (a recording voiced by John Cleese of the original Monty Python troupe and Eric Idle in the version currently touring the UK) who tells them to locate the Holy Grail. Urged on by the Lady of the Lake ("Find Your Grail"), the Knights set off. They travel throughout the land until they reach a castle, only to be viciously taunted by lewd French soldiers. They attempt to retaliate by sending them a large wooden rabbit in the style of the Trojan Horse; however, they realize after the fact that it was not as simple as leaving the rabbit and walking away — they should have hidden inside it. Defeated, they leave in a hurry when the French begin taunting them again, sending cancan dancers after them and throwing barnyard animals including cows at them ("Run Away!").

Act II

Sir Robin and his minstrels follow King Arthur and Patsy into a "dark and very expensive forest", where they are separated. King Arthur meets the terrifying but silly Knights who say Ni, who demand a shrubbery. King Arthur despairs of finding one, but Patsy cheers him up ("Always Look on the Bright Side of Life") and they find a shrubbery shortly after.

Sir Robin, after wandering the forest for some time with his minstrels ("Brave Sir Robin"), encounters The Black Knight, who scares him off, but King Arthur, who happens on the scene, more or less defeats him by cutting off both his arms and legs, impaling his still-alive torso on a door, and leaving to give the Knights their shrubbery. The Knights accept it, but next demand that King Arthur put on a musical and bring it to Broadway (in the United Kingdom, this became a West End musical; on the tour, they must put on a "Broadway musical", implying that it need only be Broadway-style, "but not an Andrew Lloyd Webber". The mere mention of his name causes everyone to cover their ears and scream in pain.). Sir Robin, who has found Arthur by this point, insists that it would be impossible for them to accomplish this next task, since you need Jews for a successful Broadway (or West End) musical ("You Won't Succeed on Broadway"), and proves his point in a wild production number filled with ''Fiddler on the Roof'' parodies, including a bottle dance like the one in Fiddler on the Roof, with Grails instead of bottles. King Arthur and Patsy promptly set off in search of Jews.

While the Lady of the Lake laments her lack of stage time ("Diva's Lament - Whatever Happened to My Part?"), Sir Lancelot receives a letter from what he assumes is a young damsel in distress. He is very surprised to find that the "damsel" is actually an embarrassingly effeminate young man named Prince Herbert ("Where Are You?"/"Here Are You") whose overbearing, music-hating father, the King of Swamp Castle, is forcing him into an arranged marriage. As Herbert is asking Lancelot to help him escape, the King of Swamp Castle cuts the rope that he is using to climb out of the window, and Herbert falls to his death. Lancelot is a bit puzzled at the king's actions, but it is revealed that Herbert was saved at the last minute by Lancelot's sidekick, Concord. The King asks his son how he was saved, exactly, to which Herbert replies happily with a song. But the king charges at his son with a spear, preparing to kill him. Lancelot steps in to save him, then gives a tearful, heartfelt speech about sensitivity to the king on Herbert's behalf, and Lancelot is outed as a homosexual in the process, an announcement celebrated in a wild disco number ("His Name is Lancelot").

King Arthur begins to give up hope of ever putting on the Broadway musical and laments that he is alone, even though Patsy has been with him the entire time ("I'm All Alone"). The Lady of the Lake appears and tells Arthur that he and the Knights have been in a Broadway musical all along. Patsy also reveals he is half Jewish, but didn't want to say anything to Arthur because "that's not really the sort of thing you say to a heavily-armed Christian." All that's left is for King Arthur to find the Grail and marry someone. After picking up on some not-too-subtle hints, Arthur decides to marry the Lady of the Lake after he finds the Grail ("Twice In Every Show").

Reunited with his Knights, Arthur meets Tim the Enchanter who warns them of the danger of an evil rabbit. When the rabbit bites a knight's head off, Arthur uses the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch against it, knocking down a nearby hill and revealing that the "evil rabbit" was actually a puppet controlled by a surprised puppeteer. A large stone block showing a combination of letters and numbers is also revealed. (The letters vary from show to show, but in the Broadway production and on the tour it is either A101, B101, C101 or D101. In the West End Production a word is revealed - DONE, CONE or BONE, referring to D1, C1 and B1 respectively.) After pondering the final clue, Arthur admits that they're "a bit stumped with the clue thing" and asks God to "give them a hand". A large hand points to the audience and Arthur realizes that the letters and numbers refer to a seat number in the audience. The grail is "found" (with some sleight of hand) under the seat and the person sitting in the seat is rewarded with a small trophy and a polaroid photo. ("The Holy Grail"). Arthur marries the Lady of the Lake, who reveals that her name is Guinevere; Lancelot marries Herbert (who finally has a chance to sing); and Sir Robin decides to pursue a career in musical theatre ("Act 2 Finale/Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Company Bow)").

The duration of the show is about two hours plus interval time.

Musical numbers

Eric Idle wrote the musical's book and lyrics and collaborated with John Du Prez on the music, except for "Knights of the Round Table" and "Brave Sir Robin", which were composed by Neil Innes for ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. ("Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was originally written by Idle for the film ''Monty Python's Life of Brian''.) ;Act I

Tuning**

Overture

Historian’s Introduction to Act I- Historian

Finland/Fisch Schlapping Dance- Mayor and Company

Monk’s Chant- Company

King Arthur's Song- King Arthur, Patsy*

I am Not Dead Yet- Not Dead Fred, Lance, Robin, and Bodies

Come With Me- King Arthur, Lady of the Lake, and Laker girls

^Laker Girls Cheer^- Laker Girls

The Song That Goes Like This- Sir Galahad and Lady of the Lake

All For One- King Arthur, Patsy, Sir Robin, Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad and Sir Bedevere

Knights of the Round Table- Company

The Song That Goes Like This (Reprise)- Lady of the Lake

Find Your Grail- Lady of the Lake and Company

Run Away!- Company

The Intermission**

;Act II

Historian’s Introduction to Act II- Historian

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life- Patsy, King Arthur, Knights, and Knights of Ni

Brave Sir Robin - Sir Robin and Minstrels

You Won't Succeed On Broadway- Sir Robin and Ensemble

The Diva's Lament (Whatever Happened To My Part?)- Lady of the Lake

Where Are You?- Prince Herbert

Here Are You- Prince Herbert

His Name Is Lancelot- Sir Lancelot, Prince Herbert, and Ensemble

I'm All Alone- King Arthur, Patsy, and Knights

Twice In Every Show- Lady of the Lake and King Arthur

The Holy Grail- King Arthur, Patsy, Sir Robin, Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad, Sir Bedevere, and Knights*

Act II Finale- Company

Always Look On the Bright Side Of Life- Company and Audience

*Does not appear on the Original cast album.

**On the cast album but not in the show itself.

Characters

The Court of Camelot

King Arthur of Britain

Sir Lancelot the Homicidally Brave

Sir Robin, the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot

Sir Dennis Galahad, The Dashingly Handsome

Sir Bedevere, The Strangely Flatulent

Patsy: King Arthur's trusty servant/steed and constant companion.

Concorde: Lancelot's trusty servant/steed.

Brother Maynard: Camelot's clergyman.

Sir Bors

Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Show: Dressed as Don Quixote.

Other characters

The Lady of the Lake

Not Dead Fred

Robin's Lead Minstrel

The King of Swamp Castle (aka Herbert's Father)

Prince Herbert

French Taunter

The Black Knight: A psychotic, "invincible" knight who will insist on fighting even after all his limbs have been cut off.

The Head Knight who says "Ni!": The very tall leader of the most feared cult in the land: the dreaded Knights who say Ni.

Tim the Enchanter

Mrs. Galahad

The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog

Swamp Castle Guards

Two Sentries

Historian: the Narrator.

The Laker Girls: The Lady of the Lake's backup dancers/cheerleaders.

Knights of the Round Table

Robin’s Minstrels

God

Holder of the Holy Grail: Whoever happens to be sitting in a certain seat at that performance.

In tribute to the film, where six actors played the majority of the male parts (and a few female ones), several actors play multiple roles; the only major characters not doubling are Arthur and the Lady of the Lake. In the Broadway production, the following doubling is used:

Lancelot/2nd Sentry/The French Taunter/Knight of Ni/Tim the Enchanter

Robin/1st Sentry/Brother Maynard/2nd Guard

Galahad/King of Swamp Castle/Black Knight

Patsy/Mayor of Finland/1st Guard

Bedevere/Mrs. Galahad/Concorde

The Historian/Prince Herbert/Not Dead Fred/Lead Minstrel/The French Taunter's Best Friend

Sara Ramirez was intended to double as a witch but this part was cut from the final script. Several pairs of characters originally played by the same Monty Python member were reduced to one: the Dead Collector and Sir Robin (Idle), the Large Man with a Dead Body and Sir Lancelot (Cleese), and Dennis the Politically-Active Peasant and Sir Galahad (Michael Palin).

Production history

Chicago

Previews of the show began in Chicago's Shubert Theatre (now the Bank of America Theatre) on 21 December 2004; the show officially opened there on 9 January 2005.

Two musical numbers were dropped from Act One while the production was still in Chicago. During the scene set in the "Witch Village", the torch song "Burn Her!" was originally performed by Sir Bedevere, The Witch, Sir Robin, Lance and Villagers. At the French Castle, "The Cow Song", in a parody of a stereotypical film noir/cabaret style, was performed by The Cow and French Citizens. Before the two songs were cut in Chicago, the lead vocals in both songs were sung by Sara Ramirez. This gave her six songs in Act One, but no further appearances until scene five in Act Two, for "The Diva's Lament".

Broadway

The musical previewed on Broadway, at New York's Shubert Theatre, beginning 14 February 2005, and, after some changes, officially opened on 17 March 2005. Mike Nichols directed, and Casey Nicholaw choreographed. The Broadway previews were practically sold out, leaving only obstructed view tickets for sale. The production won the Tony Award for Best Musical and was nominated for 14 Tony Awards. The show played its final performance on 11 January 2009 after 35 previews and 1,574 performances; it was seen by more than two million people and grossed over $175 million, recouping its initial production costs in under six months.

The original Broadway cast included Tim Curry as King Arthur, Michael McGrath as Patsy, David Hyde Pierce as Sir Robin, Hank Azaria as Sir Lancelot and other roles (e.g., the French Taunter, Knight of Ni, and Tim the Enchanter), Christopher Sieber as Sir Galahad and other roles (e.g., the Black Knight and Prince Herbert's Father), and Sara Ramírez as the Lady of the Lake. It also included Christian Borle as Prince Herbert and other roles (e.g., the Historian and Not Dead Fred), Steve Rosen as Sir Bedevere and other roles (e.g., Concorde and Dennis's Mother) and John Cleese as the (recorded) Voice of God.

Notable cast replacements include:

Azaria was replaced by Alan Tudyk and later by Rick Holmes.

Ramírez was replaced by Lauren Kennedy, then by Marin Mazzie, Hannah Waddingham, and Merle Dandridge.

Curry was replaced by Simon Russell Beale, Harry Groener, Jonathan Hadary, Stephen Collins, Michael Siberry, and John O'Hurley.

Sieber was replaced by Lewis Cleale, then by Bradley Dean.

Borle was replaced by Tom Deckman.

Pierce was replaced by Martin Moran, Clay Aiken, and Robert Petkoff.

McGrath was replaced by David Hibbard, then by Drew Lachey.

Rosen was replaced by Jeffrey Kuhn, Brad Oscar, Steve Rosen and Wally Dunn.

US Tour

;First National tour (2006–2009) A North American tour commenced in spring 2006, and the cast included Michael Siberry as King Arthur, Jeff Dumas as Patsy/Mayor/Guard, David Turner as Robin/Guard/Brother Maynard, Rick Holmes as Lancelot/French Taunter/Knight of Ni/Tim The Enchanter, Bradley Dean as Galahad/Black Knight/Herbert's Father, Tom Deckman as The Historian/Not Dead Fred/French Guard/Minstrel/Prince Herbert, Christopher Gurr as Sir Bedevere/Dennis's Mother/Concorde, and Pia Glenn (who remains slated for productions as late as June 2008) as the Lady of the Lake. Deckman moved to the Broadway production in November 2006 and was replaced by Christopher Sutton.

The tour won three 2007 Touring Broadway Awards, including Best New Musical.

This same tour returned to Chicago on 20 January 2009 at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, this time with Richard Chamberlain as King Arthur. This production costs $419,099.53 in artist fees/royalties for 8 performances in a venue in Florida.

The Tour continued through the summer 2009, with dates at the Golden Gate Theatre San Francisco, the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, the Canon Theatre in Toronto, the San Diego Civic Theatre in San Diego, the Tucson Music Hall in Tucson, and played its final performances at the Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa where it closed on 18 October 2009.

;Second National tour (2010) A Second North American tour launched on 24 September 2010 from Waterbury, CT and ended 26 June 2011 in Dallas, TX. Leading the tour was a non-equity cast, however it used the same sets and costumes as the First National tour. The cast included Steve McCoy as King Arthur, Caroline Bowman as the Lady of the Lake, Adam Grabau as Lancelot, Jacob L. Smith as Galahad, Matt Ban as Sir Bedevere/Dennis's Mother, Glenn Giron as Patsy, Martin Glyer as Robin, Thomas DeMarcus as The Historian, and John Garry as Not Dead Fred/Prince Herbert. Other cast members include Stephen Cerf, Jennifer Cordiner, Carl Draper, William Harrell, Melissa Denise Lopez, Shaun Patrick Moe, Linda Neel, Jeffrey Shankle, Keleen Snowgren, Tara Sweeney, Michael Warrell, Jessica Wockenfuss, Matthew Alexander, and Jenny Holahan.

West End and UK tour

A London production opened at the Palace Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End, commencing 30 September 2006 (London première 17 October) with tickets on sale booking to November 2008. Curry reprised his Broadway role as King Arthur until December, with Beale taking over from January. Sieber also reprised his role as Sir Galahad before leaving in early 2007, replaced by Graham McDuff. Hannah Waddingham was cast as the Lady of the Lake, Tom Goodman-Hill as Sir Lancelot, Robert Hands as Sir Robin, David Birell as Patsy, Tony Timberlake as Sir Bedevere and Darren Southworth as Prince Herbert. Notable cast replacements have included Peter Davison and Bill Ward in 2007 and, briefly, Marin Mazzie, in early 2008. Sanjeev Bhaskar took over from Alan Dale as the last King Arthur (23 June 2008 onwards). The London production closed on 3 January 2009.

A UK tour scheduled for later in 2009 was initially postponed, the producers commenting "Due to unforeseen circumstances the UK Tour of Spamalot will not be taking place as scheduled in 2009", but eventually started at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 29 May - 5 June 2010 and Nottingham Theatre Royal on 7–12 June 2010. The tour is scheduled to run until June 2011 at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton. The production travelled to Trieste's Politeama Rossetti marking on May 24 2011 the official opening of the show in Italy.

Phill Jupitus plays King Arthur in the current UK tour. Todd Carty plays Patsy, assistant to King Arthur for the duration of the tour. He is due to finish the tour after performing at Wycombe Swan theatre. Marcus Brigstocke will be making his musical theatre debut as King Arthur for a limited engagement. Jodie Prenger, Hayley Tamaddon, and Amy Nuttall share the role of The Lady of the Lake. The tour also features Simon Lipkin as Sir Galahad, Graham McDuff as Sir Lancelot, David Lingham as Prince Herbert, Samuel Holmes as Sir Robin, and Robin Armstrong as Sir Bedevere.

The UK tour also features for the first time a re-working of the song "You won't succeed on Broadway" which has been re-named "You won't succeed in showbiz". The theme of the song has been changed from poking fun at the need for Jewish input into Broadway productions and instead mocks the cross over of celebrities in musicals and reality television competitions such as the X Factor. It notably pokes fun at reality TV celebrities including Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Susan Boyle (who is shot by Sir Robin when she begins to sing).

UK Casts:

Hannah Waddingham David Birrel Tom Goodman-HillChristopher Sieber Robert Hands Tony Timberlake Darren Southworth Ross Dawes Stuart Dawes Andrew Spillet Gavin Staplehurst Sebastian Sykes Nathan Taylor Krystal Archer Rachel Dempsey Emma Green Selina Hamilton Amber Neale Luzahnn Taylor Ben Clare Rebecca Giacopazzi Brendan Cull Mark Evans Amy Ellen Richardson Amy Field Craige Els

Role !! Original West End !! Final West End !! UK Tour
King Arthur	Tim Curry	Sanjeev Bhaskar
Lady Of The Lake	|	Nina Söderquist	Jodie Prenger
Patsy	|	Andrew Spillett	Todd Carty
Sir Lancelot	|	Jake Nightingale	Graham MacDuff
Sir Galahad	|	Michael Xavier	Simon Lipkin
Sir Robin	|	Ross Dawes	Samuel Holmes
Sir Bedevere	|	Adam Stafford	Robin Armstrong
Prince Herbert	|	Gerard Carey	David Langham
Ensemble	|	Oliver Tydman	Kit Orton
Ensemble	|	Seth Bailey	Philip Catchpole
Ensemble	|	Andy Rees	ROLE CUT
Ensemble	|	Gavin Staplehurst	ROLE CUT
Ensemble	|	Chris Coxon	ROLE CUT
Ensemble	|	Spencer Stafford	ROLE CUT
Ensemble	|	Jenny Gaynor	Amy Papa
Ensemble	|	Genevieve Nicole	Rachel Knowles
Ensemble	|	Laura Tyrer	ROLE CUT
Ensemble	|	Pippa Raine	ROLE CUT
Ensemble	|	Amber Neale	ROLE CUT
Ensemble	|	Stacey Hayden	ROLE CUT
Swing	|	Ben Clare	Tim Bonser
Swing	|	Rebecca Giacopazzi	ROLE CUT
Swing	|	Stuart Dawes	Paul Bullion
Swing	|	Ian Waller	ROLE CUT
Swing	|	Hayley Reed	ROLE CUT
Standby	|	Amy Field	ROLE CUT
Standby	|	Haydn Oakley	ROLE CUT
Standby	Simon Greiff

Las Vegas

A production of the musical began Las Vegas, Nevada previewed on 8 March 2007 and opened on 31 March 2007 at the Wynn Las Vegas in the newly renamed Grail Theater (formerly the Broadway Theater, which housed a production of ''Avenue Q''), with an extended balcony to allow for more seating, and a redesigned interior. As with other Las Vegas transfers of Broadway musicals, including ''The Phantom of the Opera'', ''Spamalot'' was condensed to run in ninety minutes without an intermission. Among the cuts were the song "All For One", most of the song "Run Away", the Knights of Ni receiving their shrubbery, and the "Make sure he doesn't leave" scene with Prince Herbert's guards.

Actor John O'Hurley starred as King Arthur. Due to the Las Vegas production, the North American touring company would not perform in California, Arizona, or Nevada. In addition to O'Hurley, the cast included Nikki Crawford as Lady of the Lake, Edward Staudenmayer as Galahad, J Anthony Crane as Lancelot, Justin Brill as Patsy, and Harry Bouvy as Robin, with Reva Rice as the standby Lady of the Lake.

Although initially contracted to run for up to ten years its final performance was on 18 July 2008. The Las Vegas production closed to make way for Danny Gans' move from The Mirage casino hotel; the theater was renamed the Encore Theater and integrated into the newer Encore Las Vegas resort. Danny Gans died unexpectedly on 1 May 2009.

Australia

A new Australian production started in Melbourne in November 2007 at Her Majesty's Theatre, with the official premiere on 1 December. The cast featured Bille Brown as King Arthur and Lucinda Shaw as the Lady of the Lake, Ben Lewis as Sir Galahad, Stephen Hall as Sir Lancelot, Derek Metzger as Patsy, Jason Langley as Sir Robin and Mark Conaghan as Prince Herbert, with Christina O'Neill as the standby Lady of the Lake.

The Australian production closed on 5 April 2008, due to lack of ticket sales and no tour followed.

The Australian Non-Professional Premiere season of ''Spamalot'' was presented by Phoenix Ensemble at the Pavilion Theatre in Beenleigh and the Logan Entertainment Centre from 20 March to 25 April 2009 for 16 performances. This production won several awards at the Gold Coast Theatre Awards including Best Musical Direction (Casey Chadwick and Ben Murray), Best Set Design (Tracey and Luke Hutley, Doug McClean) and Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical (Tash McKoy). It was also nominated for Best Costumes (Glynis Aubrey) and Best Choreography (Scott Hollingsworth).

The Gold Coast Premiere season of ''Spamalot'' opened at the Spotlight Theatre, Benowa on 24 July 2009 for a four week run. The Sydney Premiere of ''Spamalot'' was held on 9 October 2009 by The Regals Musical Society.

In Adelaide, a new production of ''Spamalot'' opened on 12 March 2010 at the Shedley Theatre.

The Brisbane City Premiere of ''Spamalot'' opened 23 April 2010 at the Schonell Theatre. It was also the inaugural production of Queensland's latest exciting new theatre company 'Blue Fish Theatrical Productions.' ''Spamalot'' featured an all-star cast of well known Brisbane performers. Gary Rose as King Arthur, Bradley McCaw as Patsy, Tony Campbell as Sir Robin, Chris Kellett as Sir Lancelot, Lionel Theunissen as Sir Galahad, Steve Norris as Sir Bedevere (also played by Jason Lawson in a special guest appearance), Tye Shepherd as Finland Mayor/Not Dead Fred/Prince Herbet/Robin's Minstrel and Brother Maynard and Ruth Bridgstock as the Lady of the Lake.

The Canberra premier will be in May 2010 at the ANU Arts Centre by SUPA Productions. Max Gambale as King Arthur, Louisa Bloomfield and the Lady of the Lake, Will Huang as Patsy, Joseph McGrail-Bateup as Sir Robin, Patrick J Gallagher as Mrs Galahad, Dave Smith as Galahad and Michael Jordan as Lancelot. Director - Ron Dowd

The Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Australia's largest regional theatre, will present Spamalot in October 2010.

Perth will finally see Spamalot in November 2010, presented by Playlovers in Hackett Hall, Floreat.

New Zealand

The New Zealand premiere was staged at the Globe Theatre Palmerston North for a four week season in November/December 2009. Hillcrest High School in Hamilton, did the second performance of Spamalot in March 2010 whilst the South Island premiere was performed by Bayfield High School at The Mayfair Theatre, Dunedin on the 19–22 May 2010.

Spain

The first translated production, in Spanish, opened at Teatre Victoria, Barcelona on 9 September 2008 and closed on 10 May 2009. Directed by Catalan Comedy Group Tricicle and choreographed by Francesc Abós, the cast included Jordi Bosch as King Arthur, Marta Ribera as the Lady of the Lake, Sergi Albert as Sir Galahad (later replaced by Edu Soto), Fernando Gil as Sir Lancelot, Julián Fontalvo as Patsy, Xavi Duch as Sir Robin, Josep M. Gimeno as Sir Bedevere and Jesús García as Prince Herbert, with Sara Pérez as the standby Lady of the Lake. The Original Barcelona Cast Recording was released on December 2008.

On 10 September 2009 the production was transferred to Teatro Lope de Vega, Madrid with some changes in the cast: Dulcinea Juárez as the Lady of the Lake, Ignasi Vidal as Sir Galahad, Víctor Ullate Roche as Sir Robin and Lorena Calero as the standby Lady of the Lake. The show finally closed on 28 February 2010, after more than 450 performances.

Germany

A German production premiered in January 2009 at the Musical Dome in Cologne. The last performance was held on 13 September 2009 at the venue.

Hungary

The Hungarian production has started on September 2009 at the Madách Theatre in Budapest. Further information

Sweden

The Swedish production premiered in Malmö on 24 September 2010.

In London the Swedish Nina Söderquist won, 2008, the role as Lady of the Lake after winning competitions soap West End star in Swedish TV3. It was thought that she would play the role in Sweden, but when she became pregnant, she left the show and was replaced by Anki Albertsson.

The Swedish cast included Johan Wester as King Arthur, Kim Sulocki as Patsy and other roles (e.g., Guard, and The Mayor), Robert Rydberg as Sir Galahad and other roles (e.g., the Black Knight, and Concorde), Anders Jansson as Sir Bedevere and other roles (e.g., Prince Herbert's Father, Sir Galahad's Mother, and the Historian), Adde Malmberg as Sir Lancelot and other roles (e.g., the French Taunter, Knight of Ni, and Tim the Enchanter), Johan Glans as Sir Robin and other roles (e.g., Guard, and Brother Maynard), Anki Albertsson as Lady of the Lake, Mattias Linderoth as Prince Herbret and other roles (e.g., French Guard, Not Dead Yet Ben, and Musican) and John Cleese as the (recorded) Voice of God.

Belgium

The Belgian production will be directed by Belgian actor and director Stany Crets.

Czech Republic

The premiere of Czech production took place 6 March 2010 in the J. K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen. The play achieved a great success. It is a completely translated version directed by Roman Meluzín.

France

The French production has started on 5 February 2010 at the Comedia Theatre in Paris and is directed by French actor Pierre-François Martin-Laval.

Poland

Since 25 September 2010 "Spamalot" is played at the music theatre in Gdynia, Poland, directed by Maciej Korwin. The première took place on 2 October 2010.

Canada

18–21 November 2010, Mecca Productions of Brandon, Manitoba staged their production of Spamalot. This marks the first time a non-professional company has performed the show in Canada. The production stars James Comrie as King Arthur, Lisa Vasconcelos as The Lady of the Lake, Chris Isaak as Sir Dennis Galahad, Bob Brereton as Patsy, Dylan Woodcock as Sir Robin, Brody Harms as Sir Lancelot, and John Szabo as Sir Bedevere.

Ireland

In May 2011, the show played at the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin.

Italy

In May 2011, the original UK touring production played at Politeama Rossetti in Trieste. Eric Idle attended the opening night on May 24th.

Netherlands

In April 2011 a Dutch touring version opened, starring comedians Paul Groot and Owen Schumacher. The entire cast also appeared in character on Dutch TV in a Python/Spamalot tribute: "Help, mijn man is ridder!" (Help! My husband is a knight!).

Reactions by Monty Python members

}} The show has had mixed reactions from Idle's former colleagues in Monty Python.

Terry Gilliam, in an audio interview, describes it as "Python-lite". He later told the BBC News, "It helps with the pension fund, and it helps keep Python alive. As much as we'd like to pull the plug on the whole thing it carries on - it's got a life of its own."

Terry Jones - who co-directed the original film with Gilliam - expressed his opinions forthrightly in May 2005: "''Spamalot'' is utterly pointless. It's full of air…Regurgitating Python is not high on my list of priorities." However, when asked whether he liked ''Spamalot'' during an interview with Dennis Daniel on 98.5 WBON-FM "The BONE" on Long Island shortly after the musical's opening on Broadway, Jones said, "Well, I thought it was terrific good fun. It’s great to see the audience loving it. I suppose I had reservations as far as…well…the idea of doing scenes from a film on stage. I just don’t get the point of it. They do them terribly well…I mean, they really are good…but I just quite don’t understand what that’s about. It isn’t really 'Python.' It is very much Eric." Jones went on to say, "...I think the best parts of the musical are the new things. For instance, when they do the Andrew Lloyd Webber take-off and this girl comes in and sings 'Whatever Happened To My Part' since she hasn’t appeared since the opening number and she’s really furious! That is one of the great moments where the show really comes alive for me."

In an Oct. 2006 interview, Michael Palin said, "We’re all hugely delighted that ''Spamalot'' is doing so well. Because we’re all beneficiaries! It’s a great show. It’s not ‘Python’ as we would have written it. But then, none of us would get together and write a ‘Python’ stage show. Eric eventually ran out of patience and said, ‘Well, I’ll do it myself then.’ He sent us bits and songs and all that and we said, ‘Yeah, that’s all right, have a go.’ But its success is so enormous that it took us all by surprise, including Eric, and now we’re just proud to be associated with it, rather pathetically."

When asked by a ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' reporter in 2008 if he had to be persuaded to provide the recorded voice of God in the musical, John Cleese said, "Yeah, that’s right. And in the end I think ''Spamalot'' turned out splendidly. It’s had a tremendous run. I defy anyone to go and not have a really fun evening. It’s the silliest thing I’ve ever seen and I think Eric did a great job."

Critical reception and box-office

The original production has been both a financial and critical success. ''Variety'' reported advance ticket sales of $18 million, with ticket prices ranging from $36 to $179. The advance made Broadway box office history.

The show proved to be an early success when moving to London's West End. After high advance ticket sales the show's run was extended by four weeks, four months before the run commenced. The play makes many references to the film and other material in the Python canon, including a line from "The Lumberjack Song", nods to "Ministry of Silly Walks," the "Election Night Special" and "Dead Parrot Sketch" routines, a bar from "Spam" worked into "Knights of the Round Table", a rendition of the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from the film ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979), and the "Fisch Schlapping Song" which is a reference to both "The Fish-Slapping Dance" and the song "Finland". Another reference is actually part of the ''Playbill'' of the show; there are several gag pages about a musical entitled "Dik Od Triaanenen Fol (Finns Ain't What They Used To Be)". This gag programme was written by Palin, and echoes the ''faux''-Swedish subtitles in the credits of the original ''Grail'' Python film.

Broadway musical fans appreciate its references to other musicals and musical theatre in general, such as: "The Song That Goes Like This" (a spoof of Andrew Lloyd Webber productions and many other Broadway power ballads); the knights doing a dance reminiscent of ''Fiddler on the Roof'', and another reminiscent of ''West Side Story'' (including the music); Sir Lancelot's mimicking of Peter Allen in "His Name Is Lancelot"; the character of Sir Not Appearing in This Show being ''Man of La Mancha'''s Don Quixote; a member of the French "army" dressed as Eponine from ''Les Misérables''; and a line pulled from "Another Hundred People" from Stephen Sondheim's ''Company'' by the "damsel" Herbert. The song "You Won't Succeed (On Broadway)" also parodies ''The Producers'' and ''Yentl''.

The show has not escaped criticism. In ''Slate'', Sam Anderson wrote, "Python was formed in reaction to exactly the kind of lazy comedy represented by ''Spamalot'' — what Michael Palin once described as the 'easy, catch-phrase reaction' the members had all been forced to pander in their previous writing jobs... ''Spamalot'' is the gaudy climax of a long, unfunny tradition of post-Python exploitation — books, actions figures, video games — that treats the old material as a series of slogans to be referenced without doing any of the work that made the lines so original in the first place."

The West End version opened to two rave reviews. "It’s a wonderful night, and I fart in the general direction of anyone who says otherwise", wrote Charles Spencer in the ''Daily Telegraph'' (echoing a joke from the show). According to Paul Taylor in the ''Independent'', "it leaves you that high and weak with laughter, thanks not just to the Python provenance of the basic material but to the phenomenal speed, wit, cheek and showbiz knowingness of the direction, which is by the great veteran, Mike Nichols". Michael Billington in the ''Guardian'' was less enthusiastic, though, stating "while I'm happy to see musicals spoofed, the show's New York origins are clearly exposed in a would-be outre number which announces "we won't succeed in show business if we don't have any Jews": a Broadway in-joke that has little purchase this side of the Atlantic." Billington adds, "With hand on heart, I'd much rather watch Lerner and Loewe's ''Camelot'' than Eric Idle's smart-arsed ''Spamalot''."

The Las Vegas production was awarded the Number 1 show of 2007 by the ''Las Vegas Review-Journal''.

Coconut orchestra world record

On 22 March 2006, to mark the first anniversary of the official Broadway opening, the "World's Largest Coconut Orchestra", 1,789 people clapping together half coconut shells, performed in Shubert Alley, outside the theatre. The claim was officially recognized by the ''Guinness Book of World Records''. This record was broken by 5,567 people in Trafalgar Square at 7pm on 23 April 2007, led by the cast from the London production, along with Jones and Gilliam, with the coconuts used in place of the whistles in "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". This formed part of London's St George's Day celebrations that year and was followed by a screening of ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''.

Other

In 2006, the London cast of ''Spamalot'' performed excerpts at the Royal Variety Performance.

On 10 March 2007, ''Spamalot'' partnered with HP Sauce (the classic British brown sauce, now made in Holland due to a contentious decision to close its factory in Britain) to produce 1,075 limited edition bottles featuring a unique ''Spamalot'' take on the classic HP design. The bottles were available exclusively via Selfridges, London and came in a presentation box with a numbered certificate. 1,075 was chosen to celebrate, absurdly, "1,075 years of the show running in London".

In July 2007 it was announced that the London production would solve the problem of replacing Hannah Waddingham as the Lady of the Lake through a TV talent show in Sweden. The programme, called West End Star, which began airing on TV3 on 8 December 2007, announced Nina Söderquist as the winner on 2 February 2008.

On 15 December 2007, the 10 finalists were announced. These were:

Sandra Caménisch - 35-year-old full-time mother of three from Stockholm with an eight-week-old son

Karin Funk - 25-year-old checkout girl at Seven Eleven from Gothenburg

Jenny Holmgren - 25-year-old student from Stockholm

Linda Holmgren - 27-year-old cruise ship entertainer from Stockholm, sister of Jenny

Petra Jablonski - 38-year-old opera singer from Västerås married to renowned concert pianist Patrick Jablonski

Viktoria Krantz - 31-year-old show jumper from Stockholm

Divina Sarkany - 34-year-old actress from Gothenburg

Nina Söderquist - 35-year-old singing waitress from Stockholm (the eventual winner)

Susanne Petersson - 28-year-old cabaret artist from Malmo

Josefine Wassler - 19-year-old student at Rock School from Stockholm

Nina took up the role of The Lady of the Lake, with a standing ovation, on Monday 11 February 2008.

DVD

Portions of the ''Spamalot'' original cast recording were featured (with accompanying Flash animation) as a special feature in the 2006 "Extraordinarily Deluxe Two-Disc Edition" DVD re-release of ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''.

Awards and honors

The original Broadway production received 14 Tony Award nominations, more than any other show in the 2004–2005 season. It won three of them:

Best Musical

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Sara Ramirez)

Best Direction of a Musical (Mike Nichols)

The 11 other nominations were:

Best Book of a Musical (Eric Idle)

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre (John Du Prez and Eric Idle (Music); Eric Idle (Lyrics))

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Hank Azaria)

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Tim Curry)

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Michael McGrath)

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Christopher Sieber)

Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Tim Hatley)

Best Costume Design of a Musical (Tim Hatley)

Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Hugh Vanstone)

Best Choreography (Casey Nicholaw)

Best Orchestrations (Larry Hochman)

The Awards led to a minor change to the song "The Diva's Lament." Initially, the line "I've no Grammy, no reward/I've no Tony Award" became "My Tony Award/won't keep me out of Betty Ford's." When Kennedy took over for Ramirez, it became "My predecessor won awards/and now she’s in Betty Ford’s" but was later changed to, "All our Tony Awards/won't keep me out of Betty Ford's." In the touring production, Glenn sings "All our ''goddamn'' awards/won't keep me out of Betty Ford's." For a change, Hannah Waddingham in the London production sings "I'm as depressed as I can be/ I've got constant PMT".

The touring production has garnered Boston's Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Visiting Production.

Television

A special edition of ''The South Bank Show'' was a television documentary on the history of ''Spamalot''. It features numerous segments with Eric Idle and John Du Prez explaining the process of writing the songs, plus interviews with US and UK cast members. It included scenes from the rehearsal of the West End show, and first aired on 15 October 2006.

References

Notes

Bibliography

A Quest Beyond The Grail, a review of ''Spamalot'' from the ''New York Times'' (registration required)

Photos, Videos, Cast Interviews and Information on the West End Production on ''Theatre.com''

MSNBC/Newsweek interview with Idle and Nichols explaining elimination of some pre-Broadway scenes

Tim Curry interview from May 2005 from American Theatre Wing Downstage Center, recorded in MP3 format

Daily Telegraph review of West End version

Tribute to Richard Chamberlain website Spamalot

Spot Light Theatre Australia - Spamalot starting 24 July 2009

External links

Official site

Spanish production Official Site

German production Official Site

Polish production Official Site

Dutch production official site

Category:2005 musicals Category:Arthurian musical theatre Category:Broadway musicals Category:West End musicals Category:Monty Python and the Holy Grail Category:Musicals based on films Category:Tony Award winning musicals

de:Monty Python’s Spamalot es:Spamalot fr:Spamalot it:Spamalot he:ספאמלוט hu:Spamalot nl:Spamalot ja:スパマロット pl:Spamalot ru:Спамалот sv:Spamalot

Name	Round Table
Source	Arthurian legend
First	Roman de Brut
Creator	Wace
Type	Fictional table
Genre	Fantasy
Owner	King Arthur

The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of Arthur's fabulous retinue. The symbolism of the Round Table developed over time; by the close of the 12th century it had come to represent the chivalric order associated with Arthur's court, the Knights of the Round Table.

History

The Round Table first appears in Wace's ''Roman de Brut'', a Norman language adaptation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' finished in 1155. Wace says Arthur created the Round Table to prevent quarrels among his barons, none of whom would accept a lower place than the others. Layamon added to the story when he adapted Wace's work into the Middle English ''Brut'' in the early 13th century, saying that the quarrel between Arthur's vassals led to violence at a Yuletide feast. In response a Cornish carpenter built an enormous but easily transportable Round Table to prevent further dispute. Wace claims he was not the source of the Round Table; both he and Layamon credit it instead to the Bretons. Some scholars have doubted this claim, while others believe it may be true. There is some similarity between the chroniclers' description of the Round Table and a custom recorded in Celtic stories, in which warriors sit in a circle around the king or lead warrior, in some cases feuding over the order of precedence as in Layamon. There is a possibility that Wace, contrary to his own claims, derived Arthur's round table not from any Breton source, but rather from medieval biographies of Charlemagne - notably Einhard's ''Vita Caroli'' and Notker the Stammerer's ''De Carolo Magno'' - in which the king is said to have possessed a round table decorated with a map of Rome.

Though the Round Table itself is not mentioned until Wace the concept of Arthur having a marvelous court made up of many prominent warriors is much older. Geoffrey of Monmouth says that after establishing peace throughout Britain Arthur "increased his personal entourage by inviting very distinguished men from far-distant kingdoms to join it." The code of chivalry so important in later romance figures in as well, as Geoffrey says Arthur established "such a code of courtliness in his household that he inspired peoples living far away to imitate him." Long before Geoffrey, Arthur's court was well known to Welsh storytellers; in the romance ''Culhwch and Olwen'', written around 1100, the protagonist Culhwch invokes the names of 225 individuals affiliated with Arthur. In fact, the fame of Arthur's entourage became so prominent in Welsh tradition that in the later additions to the Welsh Triads, the formula "Arthur's Court" in the titles of the triads began to supersede the older "Island of Britain" formula. Though the code of chivalry crucial to later continental romances dealing with the Round Table is mostly absent from the earlier Welsh material, some passages of ''Culhwch and Olwen'' seem to prefigure it, for instance when Arthur explains the ethos of his court, saying "[w]e are nobles as long as we are sought out: the greater the bounty we may give, the greater our nobility, fame and honour."

Though no Round Table appears in the early Welsh texts, Arthur is associated with various items of household furniture. The earliest of these is Saint Carannog's mystical floating altar in that saint's 12th century ''Vita''; in the story Arthur has found the altar and attempts unsuccessfully to use it for a table, and returns it to Carannog in exchange for the saint ridding the land of a meddlesome dragon. Arthur's household furniture figures into local topographical folklore throughout Britain as early as the early 12th century, with various landmarks being named "Arthur's Seat", "Arthur's Oven," and "Arthur's Bed-chamber." A henge at Eamont Bridge near Penrith, Cumbria is known as "King Arthur's Round Table". The still-visible Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon has been associated with the Round Table and has been suggested as a possible source for the legend.

In 2010, following archaeological discoveries at the Roman ruins in Chester, some writers suggested that the Chester Roman Amphitheatre was the true prototype of the Round Table but English Heritage, acting as consultants to a History Channel documentary in which the claim was made, declared that there was no archaeological basis to the story.

Later development

The Round Table takes on new dimensions in the romances of the late 12th and early 13th century, where it becomes a symbol of the famed order of chivalry which flourishes under Arthur. In Robert de Boron's ''Merlin'', written around the 1190s, the wizard Merlin creates the Round Table in imitation of the table of the Last Supper and of Joseph of Arimathea's Holy Grail table. This table, here made for Arthur's father Uther Pendragon rather than Arthur himself, has twelve seats and one empty place to mark the betrayal of Judas. This seat must remain empty until the coming of the knight who will achieve the Grail. The Didot ''Perceval'', a prose continuation of Robert's work, takes up the story, and the knight Percival sits in the seat and initiates the Grail quest.

The prose cycles of the 13th century, the Lancelot-Grail cycle and the Post-Vulgate Cycle, further adapt the chivalric attributes of the Round Table. Here it is the perfect knight Galahad, rather than Percival, who assumes the empty seat, now called the Siege Perilous. Galahad's arrival marks the start of the Grail quest as well as the end of the Arthurian era. In these works the Round Table is kept by King Leodegrance of Cameliard after Uther's death; Arthur inherits it when he marries Leodegrance's daughter Guinevere. Other versions treat the Round Table differently, for instance Italian Arthurian works often distinguish between the "Old Table" of Uther's time and Arthur's "New Table."

Round Table tournaments

During the Middle Ages festivals called Round Tables were celebrated throughout Europe in imitation of Arthur's court. These events featured jousting, dancing, and feasting, and in some cases attending knights assumed the identities of Arthur's knights. The earliest of these was held in Cyprus in 1223 to celebrate a knighting. Round Tables were popular in various European countries through the rest of the Middle Ages and were at times very elaborate; René of Anjou even erected an Arthurian castle for his 1446 Round Table.

The artifact known as the "Winchester Round Table," a large tabletop hanging in Winchester Castle bearing the names of various knights of Arthur's court, was probably created for a Round Table tournament. The current paintwork is late; it was done by order of Henry VIII of England for Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's 1522 state visit, and depicts Henry himself sitting in Arthur's seat above a Tudor rose. The table itself is considerably older; dendrochronology calculates the date of construction to 1250–1280—during the reign of Edward I—using timber from store felled over a period of years. Edward was an Arthurian enthusiast who attended at least five Round Tables and hosted one himself in 1299, which may have been the occasion for the creation of the Winchester Round Table. Martin Biddle, from an examination of Edward's financial accounts, links it instead with a tournament Edward held near Winchester on April 20, 1290, to mark the betrothal of one of his daughters.

Notes

References

Bromwich, Rachel (2006). ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain''. University Of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-1386-8.

Geoffrey of Monmouth; Thorpe, Lewis (1988). ''The History of the Kings of Britain''. New York: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044170-0.

Lacy, Norris J. (Ed.) (1991). ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia''. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8240-4377-4.

Loomis, Roger S. (1959). "Arthurian Influence on Sport and Spectacle."

''Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages''. Oxford.

Padel, O. J. (2000). ''Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature''. University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-7689-1.

Rouse, Robert; and Cory Rushton (2005). ''The Medieval Quest for Arthur''. Tempus, Stroud. ISBN 0-7524-3343-1.

External links

Timeless Myths - Knights of the Round Table

The 14th Century Round Table in Winchester, Hampshire. UK

Category:Arthurian legend Category:Tables (furniture)

ar:طاولة مستديرة br:An Daol Grenn bg:Кръгла маса ca:Taula Rodona cs:Kulatý stůl cy:Y Ford Gron da:Runde bord de:Runder Tisch el:Στρογγυλή Τράπεζα es:Mesa Redonda eo:Ronda Tablo eu:Mahai Borobila fr:Table ronde ko:원탁 io:Ronda tablo it:Tavola Rotonda hu:Kerekasztal nl:Ronde Tafel ja:円卓 no:Det runde bord pl:Rycerze Okrągłego Stołu ru:Круглый стол simple:Round Table sv:Runda bordet uk:Круглий стіл zh:圆桌骑士

name	Monty Python
medium	Television, film, theatre, audio recordings, books
nationality	British
active	1969–1983
genre	Satire, surreal humour, dark comedy
influences	The Goons, Spike Milligan, Peter Cook
influenced	Douglas Adams, Eddie Izzard, George Carlin, Vic and Bob, Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Matt Groening
notable work	''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (1969–1974)''And Now for Something Completely Different'' (1971)''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1974)''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979)''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' (1982)''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1983)
current members	Graham Chapman John Cleese Terry Gilliam Eric Idle Terry Jones Michael Palin
website	PythOnline
footnotes	}}

Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) was a British surreal comedy group who created ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books and a stage musical as well as launching the members to individual stardom. The group's influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles's influence on music.

The television series, broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974, was conceived, written and performed by members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach (aided by Gilliam's animation), it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content. A self-contained comedy team responsible for both writing and performing their work, the Pythons' creative control allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy. Their influence on British comedy has been apparent for years, while in North America it has coloured the work of cult performers from the early editions of ''Saturday Night Live'' through to more recent absurdist trends in television comedy. "Pythonesque" has entered the English lexicon as a result.

In a 2005 UK poll to find ''The Comedian's Comedian'', three of the six Pythons members were voted by fellow comedians and comedy insiders to be among the top 50 greatest comedians ever: Cleese at #2, Idle at #21, and Palin at #30.

Before ''Flying Circus''

Palin and Jones met at Oxford University, where they performed together with the Oxford Revue. Cleese and Chapman met at Cambridge. Idle was also at Cambridge, but started a year after Cleese and Chapman. Cleese met Gilliam in New York while on tour with the Cambridge University Footlights revue ''Cambridge Circus'' (originally entitled ''A Clump of Plinths''). Chapman, Cleese and Idle were members of the Footlights, which at that time also included the future ''Goodies'' (Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden), and Jonathan Lynn (co-writer of ''Yes Minister'' and ''Yes, Prime Minister''). During Idle's presidency of the Club, feminist writer Germaine Greer and broadcaster Clive James were members. Recordings of Footlights revues (called "Smokers") at Pembroke College include sketches and performances by Idle and Cleese. They are kept in the archives of the Pembroke Players, along with tapes of Idle's performances in some of the college drama society's theatrical productions.

Python members appeared in and/or wrote the following shows before ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''. ''The Frost Report'' is credited as first uniting the British Pythons and providing an environment in which they could develop their particular styles:

''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' (radio) (1964–1973) [Cleese: cast member & writer] – [Idle and Chapman: writers]

''The Frost Report'' (1966–1967) [Cleese: cast member and writer] – [Idle: writer of Frost's monologues] – [Chapman, Palin and Jones: writers]

''At Last the 1948 Show'' (1967) [Chapman and Cleese: writers and cast members] – [Idle: writer]

''Twice a Fortnight'' (1967) [Palin and Jones: cast members and writers]

''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' (1967–1969) [Idle, Jones, and Palin: cast members & writers] – [Gilliam: animation] — Bonzo Dog Band: musical interludes]

''We Have Ways of Making You Laugh'' (1968) [Idle: cast member & writer] – [Gilliam: animation]

''How to Irritate People'' (1968) [Cleese and Chapman: cast members & writers] – [Palin: cast member]

''The Complete and Utter History of Britain'' (1969) [Palin and Jones: cast members & writers]

''Doctor in the House'' (1969) [Cleese & Chapman: writers]

Several featured other important British comedy writers or performers of the future, including Marty Feldman, Jonathan Lynn, David Jason and David Frost, as well as members of other future comedy teams, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker (the Two Ronnies), and Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie (the Goodies).

Following the success of ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'', originally intended to be a children's programme, with adults, ITV offered Palin, Jones, Idle and Gilliam their own series together. At the same time Cleese and Chapman were offered a show by the BBC, which had been impressed by their work on ''The Frost Report'' and ''At Last The 1948 Show''. Cleese was reluctant to do a two-man show for various reasons, including Chapman's supposedly difficult personality. Cleese had fond memories of working with Palin and invited him to join the team. With the ITV series still in pre-production, Palin agreed and suggested the involvement of his writing partner Jones and colleague Idle—who in turn suggested that Gilliam could provide animations for the projected series. Much has been made of the fact that the Monty Python troupe is the result of Cleese's desire to work with Palin and the chance circumstances that brought the other four members into the fold.

''Monty Python's Flying Circus''

Development of the series

The Pythons had a definite idea about what they wanted to do with the series. They were admirers of the work of Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore on ''Beyond the Fringe'', and had worked on ''Frost'', which was similar in style. They enjoyed Cook and Moore's sketch show ''Not Only... But Also''. One problem the Pythons perceived with these programmes was that though the body of the sketch would be strong, the writers would often struggle to then find a punchline funny enough to end on, and this would detract from the overall sketch quality. They decided that they would simply not bother to "cap" their sketches in the traditional manner, and early episodes of the Flying Circus series make great play of this abandonment of the punchline (one scene has Cleese turn to Idle, as the sketch descends into chaos, and remark that "This is the silliest sketch I've ever been in"—they all resolve not to carry on and simply walk off the set). However, as they began assembling material for the show, the Pythons watched one of their collective heroes, Spike Milligan, recording his groundbreaking series ''Q5'' (1969). Not only was the programme more irreverent and anarchic than any previous television comedy, Milligan would often "give up" on sketches halfway through and wander off set (often muttering "Did I write this?"). It was clear that their new series would now seem less original, and Jones in particular became determined the Pythons should innovate.

After much debate, Jones remembered an animation Gilliam had created for ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' called ''Beware of the Elephants'', which had intrigued him with its stream-of-consciousness style. Jones felt it would be a good concept to apply to the series: allowing sketches to blend into one another. Palin had been equally fascinated by another of Gilliam's efforts, entitled ''Christmas Cards'', and agreed that it represented "a way of doing things differently". Since Cleese, Chapman and Idle were less concerned with the overall flow of the programme, it was Jones, Palin and Gilliam who became largely responsible for the presentation style of the ''Flying Circus'' series, in which disparate sketches are linked to give each episode the appearance of a single stream-of-consciousness (often using a Gilliam animation to move from the closing image of one sketch to the opening scene of another).

Writing started at 9 am and finished at 5 pm. Typically, Cleese and Chapman worked as one pair isolated from the others, as did Jones and Palin, while Idle wrote alone. After a few days, they would join together with Gilliam, critique their scripts, and exchange ideas. Their approach to writing was democratic. If the majority found an idea humorous, it was included in the show. The casting of roles for the sketches was a similarly unselfish process, since each member viewed himself primarily as a 'writer', rather than an actor desperate for screen time. When the themes for sketches were chosen, Gilliam had carte blanche to decide how to bridge them with animations, using a camera, scissors, and airbrush.

While the show was a collaborative process, different factions within Python were responsible for elements of the team's humour. In general, the work of the Oxford-educated members was more visual, and more fanciful conceptually (e.g., the arrival of the Spanish Inquisition in a suburban front room), while the Cambridge graduates' sketches tended to be more verbal and more aggressive (for example, Cleese and Chapman's many "confrontation" sketches, where one character intimidates or hurls abuse, or Idle's characters with bizarre verbal quirks, such as The Man Who Speaks In Anagrams). Cleese confirmed that "most of the sketches with heavy abuse were Graham's and mine, anything that started with a slow pan across countryside and impressive music was Mike and Terry's, and anything that got utterly involved with words and disappeared up any personal orifice was Eric's". Gilliam's animations, meanwhile, ranged from the whimsical to the savage (the cartoon format allowing him to create some astonishingly violent scenes without fear of censorship).

Several names for the show were considered before ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was settled upon. Some were ''Owl Stretching Time'', ''Toad Elevating Moment'', ''A Bucket, a Horse and a Spoon'', ''Vaseline Review'' and ''Bun, Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot''. ''Flying Circus'' stuck when the BBC explained it had printed that name in its schedules and was not prepared to amend it. Many variations on the name in front of this title then came and went (popular legend holds that the BBC considered ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' to be a ridiculous name, at which point the group threatened to change their name every week until the BBC relented). "Gwen Dibley's Flying Circus" was named after a woman Palin had read about in the newspaper, thinking it would be amusing if she were to discover she had her own TV show. "Baron Von Took's Flying Circus" was considered as an affectionate tribute to Barry Took, the man who had brought them together. ''Arthur Megapode's Flying Circus'' was suggested, then discarded.

There are differing, somewhat confusing accounts of the origins of the Python name although the members agree that its only "significance" was that they thought it sounded funny. In the 1998 documentary ''Live At Aspen'' during the US Comedy Arts Festival, where the troupe was awarded the AFI Star Award by the American Film Institute, the group implied that "Monty" was selected (Eric Idle's idea) as a gently-mocking tribute to Field Marshal Lord Montgomery, a legendary British general of World War II; requiring a "slippery-sounding" surname, they settled on "Python". On other occasions Idle has claimed that the name "Monty" was that of a popular and rotund fellow who drank in his local pub; people would often walk in and ask the barman, "Has Monty been in yet?", forcing the name to become stuck in his mind. The name Monty Python was later described by the BBC as being "envisaged by the team as the perfect name for a sleazy entertainment agent".

Style of the show

''Flying Circus'' popularised innovative formal techniques, such as the cold open, in which an episode began without the traditional opening titles or announcements. An example of this is the "It's" man: Palin, outfitted in Robinson Crusoe garb, making a tortuous journey across various terrains, before finally approaching the camera to state, "It's...", only to be then cut off by the title sequence and theme music. On several occasions the cold open lasted until mid show, after which the regular opening titles ran. Occasionally the Pythons tricked viewers by rolling the closing credits halfway through the show, usually continuing the joke by fading to the familiar globe logo used for BBC continuity, over which Cleese would parody the clipped tones of a BBC announcer. On one occasion the credits ran directly after the opening titles. They also experimented with ending segments by cutting abruptly to another scene or animation, walking offstage, addressing the camera (breaking the fourth wall), or introducing a totally unrelated event or character. A classic example of this approach was the use of Chapman's "Colonel" character, who walked into several sketches and ordered them to be stopped because things were becoming "far too silly." Another favourite way of ending sketches was to drop a cartoonish "16-ton weight" prop on one of the characters when the sketch seemed to be losing momentum, or a knight in full armour (played by Terry Gilliam) would wander on-set and hit characters over the head with a rubber chicken, before cutting to the next scene. Yet another way of changing scenes was when John Cleese, usually outfitted in a dinner suit, would come in as a radio commentator and make the formal and determined announcement, "And now for something completely different."

The Python theme music is ''The Liberty Bell'', a march by John Philip Sousa, which was chosen, among other reasons, because the recording was in the public domain.

The use of Gilliam's surreal, collage stop motion animations was another innovative intertextual element of the Python style. Many of the images Gilliam used were lifted from famous works of art, and from Victorian illustrations and engravings. The giant foot which crushes the show's title at the end of the opening credits is in fact the foot of Cupid, cut from a reproduction of the Renaissance masterpiece ''Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time'' by Bronzino. This foot, and Gilliam's style in general, are visual trademarks of the series.

The Pythons used the British tradition of cross-dressing comedy by donning frocks and makeup and playing female roles themselves while speaking in falsetto. Generally speaking, female roles were played by a woman (usually Carol Cleveland) when the scene specifically required that the character be sexually attractive (although sometimes they used Idle for this). In some episodes and later in ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' they took the idea one step further by playing women who impersonated men (in the stoning scene).

Many sketches are well-known and widely quoted. "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "Spam", "Nudge Nudge", "The Spanish Inquisition", "Upper Class Twit of the Year", "Cheese Shop" and "The Ministry of Silly Walks" are just a few examples.

End of ''Flying Circus''

Having considered the possibility at the end of the second series, Cleese left the ''Flying Circus'' at the end of the third. He later explained that he felt he no longer had anything fresh to offer the show, and claimed that only two Cleese-and-Chapman-penned sketches in the third series ("Dennis Moore" and the "Cheese Shop") were truly original, and that the others were bits and pieces from previous work cobbled together in slightly different contexts. He was also finding Chapman, who was at that point in the full throes of alcoholism, difficult to work with. According to an interview with Idle, "It was on an Air Canada flight on the way to Toronto, when John (Cleese) turned to all of us and said 'I want out.' Why? I don't know. He gets bored more easily than the rest of us. He's a difficult man, not easy to be friendly with. He's so funny because he never wanted to be liked. That gives him a certain fascinating, arrogant freedom."

The rest of the group carried on for one more "half" series before calling a halt to the programme in 1974. The name ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' appears in the opening animation for series four, but in the end credits the show is listed as simply "Monty Python". Despite his official departure from the group, Cleese supposedly made a (non-speaking) cameo appearance in the fourth series, but never appeared in the credits as a performer. Several episodes credit him as a co-writer since some sketches were recycled from scenes cut from the ''Holy Grail'' script. While the first three series contained 13 episodes each, the fourth ended after six.

Time-Life Films had the right to distribute all BBC-TV programs in America, however they had decided that British comedy simply would not work in the U.S.A. Therefore, it was not worth the investment to convert the Python shows from the European PAL standard to the American NTSC standard, which meant PBS stations could not afford the programmes. Finally, in 1974, Greg Garrison, TV producer for Dean Martin, used a couple of Python sketches ("Bicycle Repairman" and "The Dull Life of a Stockbroker") on the NBC series ''ComedyWorld'', a summer replacement series for ''The Dean Martin Show''. Payment for use of these segments was enough to pay for the conversion of the entire Python library to NTSC standard. At last, they could be sold to non-commercial TV stations, where officially they began airing in October 1974—exactly 5 years after their BBC debut. One PBS station had a program director (Ron Devillier) so eager that he 'jumped the gun' and started broadcasting the 'Flying Circus' episodes in that summer on the unlikely KERA in Dallas. The ratings shot through the roof—and was an encouraging sign to the other 100 stations that had signed up to air the shows. There was also cross-promotion from FM radio stations across the country, whose airing of tracks from the Python LPs had already introduced American audiences to this bizarre brand of comedy.

With the popularity of Python throughout the rest of the 1970s and through most of the 1980s, PBS stations looked at other British comedies, leading to UK shows such as ''Are You Being Served?'' gaining a US audience, and leading, over time, to many PBS stations having a "British Comedy Night" which airs many popular UK comedies.

Life after the ''Flying Circus''

Filmography

''And Now for Something Completely Different'' (1971)

The Pythons' first feature film (directed by Ian MacNaughton, reprising his role from the television series). It was composed of sketches from the first two seasons of the ''Flying Circus'', reshot on a low budget (and often slightly edited) for cinema release. Material selected for the film includes: "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "Upper Class Twit of the Year", "Hell's Grannies", "Self-Defence Class", "How Not To Be Seen" and "Nudge Nudge". Financed by Playboy's UK executive Victor Lownes, it was intended as a way of breaking Monty Python into America, and although it was ultimately unsuccessful in this, the film did good business in the UK (this still being in the era before home video would make it much more accessible to view the material again). The group did not consider the film a success.

''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1974)

In 1974, between production on the third and fourth seasons, the group decided to embark on their first "proper" feature film, containing entirely new material. ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' was based on Arthurian Legend and was directed by Jones and Gilliam. Again, the latter also contributed linking animations (and put together the opening credits). Along with the rest of the Pythons, Jones and Gilliam performed several roles in the film, but it was Chapman who took the lead as King Arthur. Cleese returned to the group for the film, feeling that the group were once again breaking new ground. ''Holy Grail'' was filmed on location, in picturesque rural areas of Scotland, with a budget of only £229,000; the money was raised in part with investments from rock groups such as Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin—and UK music industry entrepreneur Tony Stratton-Smith (founder and owner of the Charisma Records label, for which the Pythons recorded their comedy albums).

The backers of the film wanted to cut the famous Black Knight scene (in which the Black Knight loses his limbs in a duel) but it was eventually kept in the movie.

''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979)

Following the success of ''Holy Grail'', reporters asked for the title of the next Python film, despite the fact that the team had not even begun to consider a third one. Eventually, Idle flippantly replied "Jesus Christ – Lust for Glory", which became the group's stock answer once they realised that it shut reporters up. However, they soon began to seriously consider a film lampooning the New Testament era in the same way ''Holy Grail'' had lampooned Arthurian legend. Despite them all sharing a distrust of organised religion, they agreed not to mock Jesus nor his teachings directly. Instead, they decided to write a satire on credulity and hypocrisy among the followers of someone who had been mistaken for the "Messiah," but who had no desire to be followed as such. Chapman was cast in the lead role of Brian.

The focus therefore shifted to a separate individual born at the same time, in a neighbouring stable. When Jesus appears in the film (first, as a baby in the stable, and then later on the Mount, speaking the Beatitudes), he is played straight (by actor Kenneth Colley) and portrayed with respect. The comedy begins when members of the crowd mishear his statements of peace, love and tolerance. ("I think he said, 'Blessed are the cheesemakers.'")

Directing duties were handled solely by Jones, having amicably agreed with Gilliam that Jones' approach to film-making was better suited for Python's general performing style. ''Holy Grail's'' production had often been stilted by their differences behind the camera. Gilliam again contributed two animated sequences (one being the opening credits) and took charge of set design. The film was shot on location in Tunisia, the finances being provided this time by former Beatle George Harrison, who together with Denis O'Brien formed the production company Hand-Made Films for the movie. He had a cameo role as the 'owner of the Mount.'

Despite its subject matter attracting controversy, particularly upon its initial release, it has (together with its predecessor) been ranked among the greatest comedy films. A Channel 4 poll in 2005 ranked ''Holy Grail'' in sixth place, with ''Life of Brian'' at the top.

''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' (1982)

Filmed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles during preparations for ''The Meaning of Life'', this was a concert film (directed by Terry Hughes) in which the Pythons performed sketches from the television series in front of an audience. The released film also incorporated footage from the German television specials (the inclusion of which gives Ian MacNaughton his first on-screen credit for Python since the end of ''Flying Circus'') and live performances of several songs from the troupe's then-current ''Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album''.

''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1983)

Python's final film returned to something structurally closer to the style of ''Flying Circus''. A series of sketches loosely follows the ages of man from birth to death. Directed again by Jones solo, ''The Meaning of Life'' is embellished with some of Python's most bizarre and disturbing moments, as well as various elaborate musical numbers. The film is by far their darkest work, containing a great deal of black humour, garnished by some spectacular violence (including an operation to remove a liver from a living patient without anaesthetic and the morbidly obese Mr. Creosote exploding over several restaurant patrons). At the time of its release, the Pythons confessed their aim was to offend "absolutely everyone."

Besides the opening credits and the fish sequence, Gilliam, by now an established live action director, no longer wanted to produce any linking cartoons, offering instead to direct one sketch—''The Crimson Permanent Assurance''. Under his helm, though, the segment grew so ambitious and tangential that it was cut from the movie and used as a supporting feature in its own right. (Television screenings also use it as a prologue.) Crucially, this was the last project that all six Pythons would collaborate on, except for the 1989 compilation ''Parrot Sketch Not Included,'' where they are all seen sitting in a closet for four seconds. This would be the last time Chapman appeared on-screen with the Pythons.

''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit shows

Members of Python contributed their services to charitable endeavours and causes—sometimes as an ensemble, at other times as individuals. The cause that has been the most frequent and consistent beneficiary has been the human rights work of Amnesty International. Between 1976 and 1981, the troupe or its members appeared in four major fund-raisers for Amnesty—known collectively as the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' shows—which were turned into multiple films, TV shows, videos, record albums and books. These benefit shows and their many spin-offs raised considerable sums of money for Amnesty, raised public and media awareness of the human rights cause and influenced many other members of the entertainment community (especially rock musicians) to become involved in political and social issues. Among the many musicians who have publicly attributed their activism—and the organisation of their own benefit events—to the inspiration of the work in this field of Monty Python are U2, Bob Geldof, Pete Townshend and Sting. The shows are credited by Amnesty with helping the organisation develop public awareness in the USA where one of the spin-off films was a major success.

Cleese and Jones had an involvement (as performer, writer or director) in all four Amnesty benefit shows, Palin in three, Chapman in two and Gilliam in one. Idle did not participate in the Amnesty shows. Notwithstanding Idle's lack of participation, the other five members (together with "Associate Pythons" Carol Cleveland and Neil Innes) all appeared together in the first ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit—the 1976 ''A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick)''—where they performed several Python sketches. In this first show they were collectively billed as ''Monty Python''. (Peter Cook deputised for the errant Idle in one major sketch ''The Courtroom''.) In the next three shows, the participating Python members performed many Python sketches, but were billed under their individual names rather than under the collective Python banner. After a six-year break, Amnesty resumed producing ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit shows in 1987 (sometimes with, and sometimes without variants of the iconic title) and by 2006 had presented a total of twelve such shows. The shows since 1987 have featured newer generations of British comedic performers, including many who have attributed their participation in the show to their desire to emulate the Python's pioneering work for Amnesty. (Cleese and Palin made a brief cameo appearance in the 1989 Amnesty show; apart from that the Pythons have not appeared in shows after the first four.)

Going solo

Each member has pursued various film, television and stage projects since the break-up of the group, but often continued to work with one another. Many of these collaborations were very successful, most notably ''A Fish Called Wanda'' (1988), written by Cleese, in which he starred along with Palin. The pair also appeared in ''Time Bandits'' (1981), a film directed by Gilliam, who wrote it together with Palin. Gilliam directed ''Jabberwocky'' (1977), and also directed and co-wrote ''Brazil'' (1985) and ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' (1988), which featured Palin and Idle respectively. ''Yellowbeard'' (1983) was co-written by Chapman and featured Chapman, Cleese and Palin alongside many of their English contemporaries, including Peter Cook, Spike Milligan and Marty Feldman.

Palin and Jones wrote the comedic TV series ''Ripping Yarns'' (1976–79), starring Palin. Jones also appeared in the pilot episode and Cleese appeared in a non-speaking part in the episode "Golden Gordon". Jones' film ''Erik the Viking'', also has Cleese playing a small part.

In 1996, Terry Jones wrote and directed an adaption of Kenneth Grahame's novel ''The Wind in the Willows''. It featured four members of Monty Python: Jones as Mr. Toad, Idle as Ratty, Cleese as Mr. Toad's lawyer, and Palin as the Sun. Gilliam was considered for the voice of the river.

In terms of numbers of productions, Cleese has the most prolific solo career, having appeared in 59 theatrical films, 22 TV shows or series (including ''Cheers'', ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', Q's assistant in the James Bond movies, and ''Will & Grace''), 23 direct-to-video productions, six video games, and a number of commercials. His BBC sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' (written by and starring Cleese together with his then-wife Connie Booth), is considered the greatest solo work by a Python since the sketch show finished. It is the only comedy series to rank higher than the ''Flying Circus'' on the BFI TV 100's list, topping the whole poll.

Idle enjoyed critical success with ''Rutland Weekend Television'' in the mid-1970s, out of which came the Beatles parody The Rutles (responsible for the cult mockumentary ''All You Need Is Cash''), and as an actor in ''Nuns on the Run'' (1990) with Robbie Coltrane. Idle has had success with Python songs: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" went to no. 3 in the UK singles chart in 1991. The song had been revived by Simon Mayo on BBC Radio 1, and was consequently released as a single that year. The theatrical phenomenon of the Python musical ''Spamalot'' has made Idle the most financially successful of the troupe post-Python. Written by Idle, it has proved an enormous hit on Broadway, London's West End and also Las Vegas. This was followed by ''Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)'', which repurposes ''The Life of Brian'' as an oratorio. For the work's 2007 premiere at the Luminato festival in Toronto (which commissioned the work), Idle himself sang the "baritone-ish" part.

Post-Python reunions

Since ''The Meaning of Life'', their last project as a team, the Pythons have often been the subject of reunion rumours. The final reunion of all six members occurred during the ''Parrot Sketch Not Included – 20 Years of Monty Python'' special. The death of Chapman in 1989 (on the eve of their 20th anniversary) put an end to the speculation of any further reunions. There have been several occasions since 1989 when the surviving five members have gathered together for appearances—albeit not formal reunions.

In 1996, Jones, Idle, Cleese and Palin were featured in a film adaptation of ''The Wind in the Willows'', which was later renamed ''Mr. Toad's Wild Ride''.

In 1998 during the US Comedy Arts Festival, where the troupe was awarded the AFI Star Award by the American Film Institute, the five remaining members along with what was purported to be Chapman's ashes, were reunited on stage for the first time in 18 years. The occasion was in the form of an interview called Monty Python Live At Aspen, (hosted by Robert Klein, with an appearance by Eddie Izzard) in which the team looked back at some of their work and performed a few new sketches.

On 9 October 1999, to commemorate 30 years since the first ''Flying Circus'' television broadcast, BBC2 devoted an evening to Python programmes, including a documentary charting the history of the team, interspersed with new sketches by the Monty Python team filmed especially for the event. The program appears, though omitting a few things, on the DVD ''The Life of Python''. Though Idle's involvement in the special is limited, the final sketch marks the only time since 1989 that all surviving members of the troupe appear in one sketch, albeit not in the same room.

In 2002, four of the surviving members, bar Cleese, performed "The Lumberjack Song" and "Sit on My Face" for George Harrison's memorial concert. The reunion also included regular supporting contributors Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland, with a special appearance from Tom Hanks.

In an interview to publicise the DVD release of ''The Meaning of Life,'' Cleese said a further reunion was unlikely. "It is absolutely impossible to get even a majority of us together in a room, and I'm not joking," Cleese said. He said that the problem was one of business rather than one of bad feelings. A sketch appears on the same DVD spoofing the impossibility of a full reunion, bringing the members “together” in a deliberately unconvincing fashion with modern bluescreen/greenscreen techniques.

Idle has responded to queries about a Python reunion by adapting a line used by George Harrison in response to queries about a possible Beatles reunion. When asked in November 1989 about such a possibility, Harrison responded: "As far as I'm concerned, there won't be a Beatles reunion as long as John Lennon remains dead." Idle's version of this was that he expected to see a proper Python reunion, "just as soon as Graham Chapman comes back from the dead", but added, "we're talking to his agent about terms."

2003's ''The Pythons Autobiography By The Pythons'', compiled from interviews with the surviving members, reveals that a series of disputes in 1998, over a possible sequel to ''Holy Grail'' that had been conceived by Idle, may have resulted in the group's permanent fission. Cleese's feeling was that ''The Meaning of Life'' had been personally difficult and ultimately mediocre, and did not wish to be involved in another Python project for a variety of reasons (not least amongst them was the absence of Chapman, whose straight man-like central roles in the original ''Grail'' and ''Brian'' films had been considered to be essential performance anchorage). Apparently Idle was angry with Cleese for refusing to do the film, which most of the remaining Pythons thought reasonably promising (the basic plot would have taken on a self-referential tone, featuring them in their main 'knight' guises from ''Holy Grail'', mulling over the possibilities of reforming their posse). The book also reveals that a secondary option around this point was the possibility of revitalising the Python brand with a new stage tour, perhaps with the promise of new material. This idea had also hit the buffers at Cleese's refusal, this time with the backing of other members.

March 2005 saw a full, if non-performing, reunion of the surviving cast members at the premiere of Idle's musical ''Spamalot'', based on ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. It opened in Chicago and has since played in New York on Broadway, London and numerous other major cities across the world. In 2004, it was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won three: Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for Mike Nichols and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Sara Ramirez, who played the Lady of the Lake, a character specially added for the musical. Cleese played the voice of God, played in the film by Chapman.

Owing in part to the success of ''Spamalot'', PBS announced on 13 July 2005, that it would begin to re-air the entire run of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' and new one-hour specials focusing on each member of the group, called ''Monty Python's Personal Best.'' Each episode was written and produced by the individual being honoured, with the five remaining Pythons collaborating on Chapman's programme, the only one of the editions to take on a serious tone with its new material.

Eric Idle and John Cleese appeared on stage together singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" with the rest of the performers for the climax of Prince Charles 60th Birthday Show.

In 2009, to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the first episode of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', a six part documentary entitled ''Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)'' was released, featuring interviews with the surviving members of the team as well as archive interviews with Graham Chapman and numerous excerpts from the television series and films.

Also in commemoration of the 40th anniversary Idle, Palin, Jones and Gilliam appeared in a production of ''Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)'' at the Royal Albert Hall. The European premiere was held on 23 October 2009. An official 40th anniversary Monty Python reunion event took place in New York City on 15 October 2009 where the Team received a Special Award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

In June 2011, it was announced that Monty Python have begun production on their first film project since ''the Meaning of Life'' in 1983. Their next film, ''A Liar's Autobiography'', is an animated 3D movie based on the memoir of the late Python member, Graham Chapman, who died in 1989 at the age of 48. ''A Liar’s Autobiography'' was published in 1980 and details Chapman's journey through medical school, alcoholism, acknowledgement of his gay identity and the toils of surreal comedy.

Asked what was true in a deliberately fanciful account by Chapman of his life, Terry Jones joked: "Nothing . . . it’s all a downright, absolute, blackguardly lie."

The film will use Chapman's own voice - from a reading of his autobiography shortly before he died of cancer - and entertainment channel EPIX announced that the film will be released in early 2012 in both 2D and 3D formats. Produced and directed by London-based Bill Jones, Ben Timlett and Jeff Simpson, the new film has 15 animation companies working on chapters that will range from three to 12 minutes in length, each in a different style.

John Cleese has recorded new dialogue which will be matched with Chapman’s voice and Michael Palin will voice Chapman’s mother and father. Terry Gilliam plays various roles. Among the original Python group, only Eric Idle has not become involved, though Timlett said the filmmakers are “working on” him.

Python members

Graham Chapman was originally a medical student, joining the Footlights at Cambridge. He completed his medical training and was legally entitled to practice as a doctor. Chapman is best remembered for the lead roles in ''Holy Grail'', as King Arthur, and ''Life of Brian'', as Brian Cohen. He died of spinal and throat cancer on 4 October 1989. At Chapman's memorial service, Cleese delivered an irreverent eulogy that included all the euphemisms for being dead from the Dead Parrot sketch, which they had written.

John Cleese is the oldest Python. He met his future Python writing partner, Graham Chapman in Cambridge.

Terry Gilliam, an American, was the only member of the troupe of non-British origin. He started off as an animator and strip cartoonist for Harvey Kurtzman's ''Help!'' magazine, one issue of which featured Cleese. Moving from the USA to England, he animated features for ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' and was then asked by its makers to join them on their next project: ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''. He co-directed ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' and directed short segments of other Python films (for instance "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", the short film that appears before ''The Meaning of Life'').

When Monty Python was first formed, two writing partnerships were already in place: Cleese and Chapman, Jones and Palin. That left two in their own corners: Gilliam, operating solo due to the nature of his work, and Eric Idle. Regular themes in his contributions were elaborate wordplay and musical numbers. After ''Flying Circus'', he hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' four times in the first five seasons. Idle's initially successful solo career faltered in the 1990s with the failures of his 1993 film ''Splitting Heirs'' (written, produced by and starring him) and 1998's ''An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn'' (in which he starred), which was awarded five Razzies, including 'Worst Picture of the Year'. He revived his career by returning to the source of his worldwide fame, adapting Monty Python material for other media. He also wrote the Broadway musical ''Spamalot'', based on the ''Holy Grail'' movie. He also wrote ''Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)'', an oratorio derived from the ''Life of Brian''.

Terry Jones has been described by other members of the team as the “heart” of the operation. Jones had a lead role in maintaining the group's unity and creative independence. Python biographer George Perry has commented that should you "speak to him on subjects as diverse as fossil fuels, or Rupert Bear, or mercenaries in the Middle Ages or Modern China... in a moment you will find yourself hopelessly out of your depth, floored by his knowledge." Many others agree that Jones is characterised by his irrepressible, good-natured enthusiasm. However, Jones' passion often led to prolonged arguments with other group members—in particular Cleese—with Jones often unwilling to back down. Since his major contributions were largely behind the scenes (direction, writing), and he often deferred to the other members of the group as an actor, Jones' importance to Python was often underrated. However, he does have the legacy of delivering possibly the most famous line in all of Python, as Brian's mother Mandy in ''Life of Brian'', "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!", a line voted the funniest in film history on two occasions.

Michael Palin attended Oxford, where he met his Python writing partner Jones. The two also wrote the series ''Ripping Yarns'' together. Palin and Jones originally wrote face-to-face, but soon found it was more productive to write apart and then come together to review what the other had written. Therefore, Jones and Palin's sketches tended to be more focused than that of the others, taking one bizarre situation, sticking to it, and building on it. After ''Flying Circus'', he hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' four times in the first ten seasons. His comedy output began to decrease in amount following the increasing success of his travel documentaries for the BBC. Palin released a book of diaries from the Python years entitled ''Michael Palin Diaries 1969–1979'', published in 2007.

Associate Pythons

Several people have been accorded unofficial "Associate Python" status over the years. Occasionally such people have been referred to as the ''7th Python'', in a style reminiscent of George Martin (or other associates of The Beatles) being dubbed "the Fifth Beatle." The two collaborators with the most meaningful and plentiful contributions have been Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland. Both were present and presented as ''Associate Pythons'' at the official Monty Python 25th anniversary celebrations held in Los Angeles in July 1994. Neil Innes is the only non-Python besides Douglas Adams to be credited with writing material for the ''Flying Circus''. He appeared in sketches and the Python films, as well as performing some of his songs in ''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl''. He was also a regular stand-in for absent team members on the rare occasions when they re-created sketches. For example, he took the place of Cleese at the Concert for George. Gilliam once noted that if anyone qualified for the title of the "Seventh Python," it would certainly be Innes. He was one of the creative talents in the off-beat Bonzo Dog Band. He would later portray Ron Nasty of the Rutles and write all of the Rutles' compositions for ''All You Need is Cash'' (1978). By 2005, a falling out had occurred between Idle and Innes over additional Rutles projects, the results being Innes' critically acclaimed Rutles "reunion" album ''The Rutles: Archaeology'' and Idle's straight-to-DVD ''The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch'', each undertaken without the other's participation. According to an interview with Idle in the ''Chicago Tribune'' in May 2005, his attitude is that he and Innes go back "too far. And no further." Innes has remained silent on the dispute.

Carol Cleveland was the most important female performer in the Monty Python ensemble, commonly referred to as the "Python Girl." Originally hired by producer/director John Howard Davies for just the first five episodes of the ''Flying Circus'', she went on to appear in approximately two-thirds of the episodes as well as in all of the Python films, and in most of their stage shows as well. Her common portrayal as the stereotypical "blonde bimbo" eventually earned her the sobriquet "Carol Cleavage" from the other Pythons, but she felt that the variety of her roles should not be described in such a pejorative way.

Other contributors

Cleese's first wife Connie Booth appeared in, amongst others "The Lumberjack Song" and as the "witch" in ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Cleese and Booth later co-wrote and co-starred in ''Fawlty Towers''.

Douglas Adams was "discovered" by Chapman when a version of the ''Footlights Revue'' (a 1974 BBC2 television show featuring some of Adams' early work) was performed live in London's West End. In Cleese's absence from the final TV series, the two formed a brief writing partnership, with Adams earning a writing credit in one episode for a sketch called "Patient Abuse". In the sketch, a man who had been stabbed by a nurse arrives at his doctor's office bleeding profusely from the stomach, when the doctor makes him fill out numerous senseless forms before he can administer treatment. He also had two cameo appearances in this season. Firstly, in the episode ''The Light Entertainment War'', Adams shows up in a surgeon's mask (as Dr. Emile Koning, according to the on-screen captions), pulling on gloves, while Palin narrates a sketch that introduces one person after another, and never actually gets started. Secondly, at the beginning of ''Mr. Neutron'', Adams is dressed in a "pepperpot" outfit and loads a missile onto a cart being driven by Terry Jones, who is calling out for scrap metal ("Any old iron..."). Adams and Chapman also subsequently attempted a few non-Python projects, including ''Out of the Trees.'' He also contributed to a sketch on the soundtrack album for ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''.

Stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard, a devoted fan of the group, has occasionally stood in for absent members. When the BBC held a "Python Night" in 1999 to celebrate 30 years of the first broadcast of ''Flying Circus'', the Pythons recorded some new material with Izzard standing in for Idle, who had declined to partake in person (he taped a solo contribution from the US). Izzard hosted a history of the group entitled ''The Life of Python'' (1999) that was part of the ''Python Night'' and appeared with them at a festival/tribute in Aspen, Colorado, in 1998 (released on DVD as ''Live at Aspen'').

Cultural influence

By the time of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Monty Python in 1994, the point was already being made that "the five surviving members had with the passing years begun to occupy an institutional position in the edifice of British social culture that they had once had so much fun trying to demolish". A similar point is made in a 2006 book on the relationship between Monty and philosophy: "It is remarkable, after all, not only that the utterly bizarre ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was sponsored by the BBC in the first place, but that Monty Python itself grew into an institution of enormous cultural influence" Matt Groening, creator and co-developer of animated series the Simpsons, names Monty Python as an influence and pays tribute through a couch gag used in seasons five and six.

Space

In 2010 the commercial space company SpaceX, launched a wheel of cheese into low earth orbit and returned it safely to the earth. Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, claimed this was done as a tribute to Monty Python.

World records

On St George's Day, 23 April 2007, the cast and creators of Spamalot gathered in Trafalgar Square under the tutelage of the two Terrys (Jones and Gilliam) to set a new record for the world's largest coconut orchestra. They led 5,567 people "clip-clopping" in time to the Python classic "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" for the Guinness World Records attempt.

'Pythonesque'

Amongst the more visible cultural influences of Monty Python is the inclusion of terms either directly from, or derived from, Monty Python, into the lexicon of the English language. The most obvious of these is the term 'pythonesque', which has become a byword in surreal humour, and is included in standard dictionaries. Terry Jones commented on his disappointment at the existence of such a term, claiming the initial aim of Monty Python was to create something new and impossible to categorize and that "the fact that Pythonesque is now a word in the Oxford English Dictionary shows the extent to which we failed".

The term has been applied to animations similar to those constructed by Gilliam (e.g. the cut-out style of ''South Park'', whose creators have often acknowledged a debt to Python, including contributing material to the aforementioned 30th anniversary theme night).

''Good Eats'' creator Alton Brown cited Python as one of the influences that shaped how he created the series, as well as how he authors the script for each episode. Recent episodes even include Gilliam-style animations to illustrate key points.

Things named after Monty Python

Beyond a dictionary definition, Python terms have entered the lexicon in other ways.

The Python programming language by Guido van Rossum is named after the troupe, and Monty Python references are often found in sample code created for that language. Additionally, a 2001 April Fool's Day joke by van Rossum and Larry Wall involving the merger of Python with Perl was dubbed "Parrot" after the Dead Parrot Sketch. The name "Parrot" was later used for a project to develop a virtual machine for running bytecode for interpreted languages such as Perl and Python. Also, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory wrote some spacecraft navigation software in Python, which they dubbed "Monty". There is also a python refactoring tool called bicyclerepair ( ), named after Bicycle Repair Man sketch.

In 1985, a fossil of a previously unknown species of gigantic prehistoric snake from the Miocene was discovered in Riversleigh, Queensland, Australia. The Australian palaeontologist who discovered the fossil snake was a Monty Python fan, and he gave the snake the taxonomic name of ''Montypythonoides riversleighensis'' in honour of the Monty Python team. (Transliterated from Greek Μοντυπυθωνοειδής back to English, Montypythonoides means "like Monty Python".) In 2006, Ben & Jerry's, known for their "celebrity flavours", introduced to the lineup "Vermonty Python", a coffee liqueur ice cream with a chocolate cookie crumb swirl and fudge cows. The name "Minty Python" had been suggested before in 1996 in a contest to select the quintessential British ice cream flavor. In 1999, Black Sheep Brewery released an ale named "Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale."

The band Toad the Wet Sprocket drew its name from the Eric Idle monologue "Rock Notes" on Monty Python's ''Contractual Obligation Album'' from 1980.

The band Boxhamsters, which is the German translation of Brook-Hamster, the winner of the Upper Class Twit of the Year. A philosophy lecture series entitled ''Themes in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy as Reflected in the Work of Monty Python''. The term "spam" in reference to bulk, unsolicited email is derived from the programme's 1970 "Spam" sketch.

In the book ''The Reptile Room'' by "Lemony Snicket", the character Uncle Monty was named after Monty Python, in a joke referring to his obsession with snakes.

Seven asteroids are named after Monty Python: 9617 Grahamchapman, 9618 Johncleese, 9619 Terrygilliam, 9620 Ericidle, 9621 Michaelpalin, 9622 Terryjones, and 13681 Monty Python .

The endangered Bemaraha woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei) is named after John Cleese.

''Dead Parrot Society'' is the title of a comedy CD released in 1993 featuring sketches from ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' as well as Graham Chapman, Peter Cook, John Cleese, Dudley Moore, and The Portsmouth Sinfonia The title is also a play on the 1989 film ''Dead Poets Society''.

Media

Television

''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (1969–74)

:The show that started the Python phenomenon. See also List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes

''Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus'' (1972)

: Two 45-minute specials made by WDR for West German television. The first was recorded in German, while the second was in English with German dubbing.

''Monty Python's Personal Best'' (2006)

:Six one-hour specials, each episode presenting the best of one member's work.

''Monty Python: Almost the truth''(2012)

:Six 1 hour shows about the monty python team and their unwanted celebrity status

Films

There were five Monty Python productions released as theatrical films:

''And Now for Something Completely Different'' (1971)

:A collection of sketches from the first and second TV series of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' purposely re-enacted and shot for film.

''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1974)

:King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering humorous obstacles along the way. Some of these turned into standalone sketches.

''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979)

:Brian is born on the first Christmas, in the stable next to Jesus'. He spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.

''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' (1982)

:A videotape recording directed by Ian MacNaughton of a live performance of sketches. Originally intended for a TV/video special. Transferred to 35mm and given a limited theatrical release in the US.

''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1983)

:An examination of the meaning of life in a series of sketches from conception to death and beyond.

''Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)'' (2009)

:This film features interviews with all the surviving Python members, along with archive representation for the late Graham Chapman.

''A Liar's Autobiography: Volume IV'' (2012)

:This is an animated film which is based on the memoir of the late Monty Python member, Graham Chapman.

Albums

''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (1970)

''Another Monty Python Record'' (1971)

''Monty Python's Previous Record'' (1972)

''The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief'' (1973)

''Monty Python Live at Drury Lane'' (1974)

''The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1975)

''Monty Python Live at City Center'' (1976)

''The Monty Python Instant Record Collection'' (1977)

''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979)

''Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album'' (1980)

''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1983)

''The Final Rip Off'' (1988)

''Monty Python Sings'' (1989)

''The Monty Python Instant Record Collection, Volume 2'' (1991)

''The Ultimate Monty Python Rip Off'' (1994)

''The Instant Monty Python CD Collection'' (1994)

''Spamalot'' (Broadway version of ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' with Tim Curry as King Arthur) (2005)

''The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album'' (unreleased)

Theatre

''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' – Between 1974 and 1980 (Live at the Hollywood Bowl was released in 1982, but was performed in 1980) the Pythons made three sketch-based stage shows, comprising mainly material from the original television series.

''Monty Python's Spamalot'' – Written by Idle directed by Mike Nichols, with music and lyrics by John Du Prez and Idle, and starring Hank Azaria, Tim Curry, and David Hyde Pierce, ''Spamalot'' is a musical adaptation of the film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. It ran in Chicago from 21 December 2004 to 23 January 2005, and began performances on Broadway on 17 March 2005. It won three Tonys.

''Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)'' – The Toronto Symphony Orchestra commissioned Idle and John Du Prez to write the music and lyrics of an oratorio based on ''Monty Python's Life of Brian''. Entitled ''Not the Messiah'', it had its world premiere as part of Luminato, a "festival of arts and creativity" taking place 1–10 June 2007 in Toronto. ''Not the Messiah'' was conducted by Peter Oundjian, Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, who is Idle’s cousin. It was performed by a narrator, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with guest soloists and choir. According to Idle, "It will be funnier than Handel, though not as good".

Books

''Monty Python's Big Red Book'' (1971) ISBN 0-413-29520-6.

''The Brand New Monty Python Bok'' (1973) ISBN 0-7493-1170-3.

''Monty Python and The Holy Grail (book) – Mønti Pythøn ik den Hølie Gräilen (Bøk)'' (1977) ISBN 0-413-38520-5.

''MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK/ The Life of Brian'' (1979) ISBN 0-413-46550-0.

''Monty Python's Flying Circus – Just The Words'' Volume 1 (1989) ISBN 0-413-62540-0.

''Monty Python's Flying Circus – Just The Words'' Volume 2 (1989) ISBN 0-413-62550-8.

''The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus'' Volumes 1 & 2

''The Fairly Incomplete & Rather Badly Illustrated Monty Python Song Book'' (1994) ISBN 0-413-69000-8

''Michael Palin Diaries 1969–1979''

''The Pythons: Autobiography by the Pythons''

''The Life of Brian/Jesus'' (2011) ISBN 978-184876-628-0.

Games

''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (1990) a computer game released by Virgin Games for 8-bit systems such as the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum

''Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time'' (1994) released by 7th Level for PC / DOS

''Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail'' (1996), official game released by 7th Level. It used footage and imagery from the film, as well as audio clips (some new) and featured an animated version of a scene never filmed entitled "King Brian The Wild".

''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1997), also released by 7th Level. According to the jewel case description, it's based on the film by the same name, but it's really something completely similar yet entirely different.

''Python-opoly'' (2007), a Monty Python-themed property game released by Toy Vault Inc. ''Monty Python Fluxx'' (2008), a card game released by Looney Labs

''Blazing Dragons''

See also

Beyond the Fringe

List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes

List of recurring characters in Monty Python's Flying Circus

Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time

Python (Monty) Pictures

Spamalot

The Goodies

The Goon Show

References

Further reading

The Secret Policeman's Balls, 3-DVD set (2009)

Monty Python: 40 Years of Insanity

The Life of Python – 20 Greatest Monty Python Sketches (40th Anniversary)

External links

Pythonline.com – Monty Python's sort-of official site, actively maintained by Eric Idle

Monty Python – Official YouTube page

Monty Python Videos – Monty Python's best videos and movies

Python at ifilm.com

Pythonisms: Python quotes as figures of speech

The SOTCAA Monty Python Pages

Release of the 3-DVD Secret Policeman's Balls

40 Years of Monty Python – photo essay by ''TIME'' magazine

Monty Python Reunion event, New York, 15 October 2009

Category:British comedy troupes Category:British television comedy Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Arista Records artists Category:European Film Awards winners (people) Category:Charisma Records artists

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name	Tim Curry
birth name	Timothy James Curry
birth date	April 19, 1946
birth place	Grappenhall, Warrington, England, UK
occupation	Actor, singer, composer
years active	1968–present }}

Timothy James "Tim" Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Curry first became known to film audiences with his breakthrough role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 1975 cult movie ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', reprising the role he played in the 1973 London and 1974 Los Angeles stage productions of ''The Rocky Horror Show'', then later for his supporting roles as Rooster in the film adaption of ''Annie'' (1982), Lord of Darkness in the film ''Legend'' (1985), Wadsworth in the movie ''Clue'' (1985), as well as a starring role portraying Pennywise the Clown in the horror film ''It'' (1990).

He played Nigel, the father in the Nickelodeon children's TV show ''The Wild Thornberrys''. He originated the role of King Arthur in the Broadway hit ''Monty Python's Spamalot''. He is notable for often playing or voicing villainous characters in film.

Early life

Curry's father, James, was a Methodist chaplain in the Royal Navy, and his mother, Patricia, was a school secretary. Curry was born and raised in Cheshire and attended Lymm High School until his father's death in 1958. Curry's family then moved to South London, but Curry himself went to boarding school and attended Kingswood School in Bath. As a child, he developed into a talented boy soprano (treble). Deciding to concentrate on acting, Curry graduated from Birmingham University with a combined degree in English and drama.

Acting career

''Rocky Horror''

Curry's first full-time role was as part of the original London cast of the musical ''Hair'' in 1968, where he first met Richard O'Brien who went on to write Curry's next full-time role, that of Dr. Frank N. Furter in ''The Rocky Horror Show''. Originally, Curry rehearsed the character with a German accent and peroxide blond hair, but the character evolved into the sly, very upper-class English mad scientist and transvestite that carried over to the movie version of ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' and made Curry both a star and a cult figure. He continued to play the character in London, Los Angeles and New York until 1975.

For many years, Curry was reluctant to talk about ''Rocky Horror'', feeling that it was a trend that had gone too far and had distracted attention away from his later roles. A VH1 Pop-Up Video Halloween special even quoted Curry as saying he grew so unnerved by the fan attention from this role he became "chubby and plain" in order to escape it. However, he has become much more open about discussing the show and now recognizes it as a "rite of passage" for many young people.

Theatre

Shortly after the end of ''Rocky Horror Show'' on Broadway, Curry was back on Broadway with Tom Stoppard's ''Travesties'', which ran in London and New York from 1975 to 1976. ''Travesties'' was a Broadway hit which won two Tony Awards (Best Performance by an Actor for John Wood and Best Comedy), as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle Award (Best Play), and Curry's performance as the famous dadaist Tristan Tzara received good reviews.

In 1981, Curry formed part of the original cast in the Broadway show ''Amadeus'', playing the title character, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was nominated for his first Tony Award (Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play) for this role, but lost out to his co-star Ian McKellen, who played Antonio Salieri. In 1982, Curry took the part of the Pirate King in the Drury Lane production of Joe Papp's version of ''The Pirates of Penzance'' opposite George Cole, earning enthusiastic reviews.

In the mid 1980s, Curry performed in ''The Rivals'' (Bob Acres 1983) and in several plays with the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, including ''The Threepenny Opera'' (MacHeath 1986), ''Dalliance'' (Theodore 1986), and ''Love For Love'' (Tattle 1985). In 1987/1988, Curry did the national tour of ''Me and My Girl'' as the lead role of 'Bill Snibson', a role originated on Broadway by Robert Lindsay and followed by Jim Dale. In 1989/90, Tim Curry returned once again to the New York stage in ''The Art of Success''. In 1993, Curry played Alan Swann in the Broadway musical version of ''My Favorite Year'', earning him his second Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.

In 2001, Curry starred as Scrooge in the musical version of ''A Christmas Carol'' that played at Madison Square Garden. In 2004, Curry began his role of King Arthur in ''Spamalot'' in Chicago. The show successfully moved to Broadway in February 2005. The show sold more than $1 million worth of tickets in its first 24 hours. It brought him a third Tony nomination, again for Best Actor in a Musical. Curry reprised this role in London's West End at the Palace Theatre, where ''Spamalot'' opened on 16 October 2006. His final performance came on 6 January 2007. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award as the Best Actor in a Musical for the role and also won the Theatregoers' Choice Award (getting 39% of the votes cast by over 12,000 theatregoers) as Best Actor in a Musical.

From May to August 2011, Curry was scheduled to portray The Player in a Trevor Nunn stage production of Tom Stoppard's ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead'' at the Chichester Festival Theatre and then in London. He withdrew from the production on 27 May, citing ill health.

Musical career

Aside from his performances on various soundtrack records, Curry has had some success as a solo musical artist. In 1976, he recorded a 9-song album for Lou Adler's Ode Records which was unreleased in its entirety until February 2010, when it was made available as a legal download (4 tracks from these sessions had been released on a 1990 ''Rocky Horror'' box set). In 1978, A&M; Records released Curry's debut solo album, ''Read My Lips''. The album featured an eclectic range of songs (mostly covers) performed in diverse genres. Highlights of the album are a reggae version of the Beatles song "I Will", a rendition of "Wake Nicodemus" featuring the Pipes and Drums of the 48th Highlanders of Canada, and a bar-room ballad, "Alan", composed by Canadian singer/songwriter Tony Kosinec.

The following year, Curry released his second and most successful album, ''Fearless''. The LP was more rock-oriented than ''Read My Lips'' and mostly featured original songs rather than cover versions. The record included Curry's only US charting songs: "I Do the Rock" and "Paradise Garage".

Curry's third and final album, ''Simplicity'', was released in 1981, again by A&M; Records. This record, which did not sell as well as the previous offerings, combined both original songs and cover versions.

In 1989, A&M; released ''The Best of Tim Curry'' on CD and cassette, featuring songs from his albums (including a live version of "Alan") and a previously unreleased song, a live cover version of Bob Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate".

Curry toured America with his band through the late 1970s and the first half of the 1980s. He also performed in Roger Waters' (of Pink Floyd fame) 1990 production of The Wall in Berlin, as the prosecutor. Curry's voice also appeared on The Clash's ''Sandinista!'', on the track "Sound of Sinners".

The writing, production and musician roster for Curry's solo albums included an impressive list of collaborators, including Bob Ezrin and David Sanborn.

Real estate career

Apart from his activities as an actor, Curry has also developed several properties in the city of Los Angeles. Among these is a 1926 Mediterranean Italianate Revival estate located on Nottingham Avenue just below Griffith Park Observatory in the neighborhood of Los Feliz.

Filmography

Films and television

Curry's television and film credits are long and varied. A partial list of roles:

"Madman" in a telefilm of John Webster's ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (1972)

Glen in ''Schmoedipus'', a BBC ''Play for Today'' TV episode written by Dennis Potter and directed by Barry Davis (1974)

Dr. Frank N. Furter ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975)

Jerome K. Jerome in the BBC's TV movie ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1975)

Has-been rock star Stevie Streeter in ''Rock Follies of '77'' (1977)

William Shakespeare in a 6-hour British TV series ''Will Shakespeare'' directed by Mark Cullingham, Robert Knights, Peter Wood (1977)

Robert Graves in "The Shout" (1978)

Disc jockey Johnny LaGuardia in ''Times Square'' (1980)

Host of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1981); in one sketch, Curry and Meat Loaf ran a "Rocky Horror" memorabilia store.

Larry Gormley in LWT's TV comedy ''Blue Money'' (1982)

Rooster Hannigan in the musical ''Annie'' (1982)

Lord of Darkness in the film ''Legend'' (1985)

Wadsworth in the film ''Clue'' (1985)

The Grand Wizard in ''The Worst Witch'' (1986)

Pentecostal televangelist in ''Pass the Ammo'' (1988)

Rapacious record producer Winston Newquay in ''Wiseguy'' (1989)

Prince Charles (voice) in episode 27 – "Europe in 30 Minutes" of ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' (1990)

The Prosecutor in Roger Waters' 1990 Performance of ''The Wall – Live in Berlin'' (1990)

Pennywise in Stephen King's ''It'' (1990)

Dr. Petrov in ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1990)

Dr. Thornton Poole the elocutionist in the film ''Oscar'' (1991)

The Plaza Hotel concierge, Mr. Hector, in ''Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992)

Mr. Jigsaw in the film ''Loaded Weapon 1'' (1993)

Roger in 2 episodes of ''Roseanne'' (1993)

Cardinal Richelieu in Disney's ''The Three Musketeers'' (1993)

Pa, Ma, and Winoma Brackett in ''Death of Some Salesman'' from ''Tales from the Crypt'' (1993)

Corrupt scientist Farley Claymore in ''The Shadow'' (1994)

Gaal in ''Earth 2'' (1994)

Kilokahn in ''Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad'' (1994)

Herkermer Homolka, Romanian philanthropist in ''Congo'' (1995) – Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor

Long John Silver in ''Muppet Treasure Island'' (1996)

Simon Doonan in the ''Titanic'' miniseries (1996)

Major Vladikov in ''McHale's Navy'' (1997)

Dr. Kao in ''Doom Runners'' (1997)

"Poet Man" in ''Lexx'' (1997) in the episode "Supernova"

''Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas'' (voice of Forte) (1997)

Simon Ferguson in Over the Top (1997)

Gomez Addams in ''Addams Family Reunion'' (1998)

"The Sorcerer" (voice only) in ''The Net'' (1998–1999)

"Jezebel Jack" in ''Pirates of the Plain'' (1999) from the creators of Ernest.

"Edward Whatsett St. John" in ''Jackie's Back!'' (1999)

"Officer Lightoller" in ''The Titanic Chronicles'' (1999)

Roger Corwin in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2000)

Felix in ''Four Dogs Playing Poker'' (2000)

Captain Fitzgerald in ''Lion of Oz'' (2000)

Damien Kemp in ''Sorted'' (2000)

The Mouse King in Barbie in the Nutcracker (2001)

Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II in ''Attila'' (2001)

Professor Oldman in ''Scary Movie 2'' (2001)

Harley Dune in ''Wolf Girl'' (sometimes listed as ''Blood Moon'' (2001)

Vet Matthew Hope in ''Ritual'' from the Tales from the Crypt (2001)

Priest in ''The Scoundrel's Wife aka Home Front'' (2002)

Butler Mr. Giles French in the remake of ''Family Affair'' (2002)

Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck in the ''Mr. Monk Goes to Jail'' episode of the ''Monk (TV series)'' (2004)

Thurman Rice in ''Kinsey'' (2004)

Marion Finster in ''Will & Grace'' (2004)

Caspar Pennington in ''Bailey's Billion$'' (2005)

Nigel St. Nigel in ''Psych'' second season episode "American Duos" (2007)

Gordon McLoosh in ''Christmas in Wonderland'' (2007)

Coeur De Noir in ''The Secret of Moonacre'' (2008)

Trymon in ''Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic'' (2008)

Lord Greville Boynton in ''Agatha Christie's Poirot: Appointment with Death'' (2008)

Dodo in ''Alice'' (2009)

Signor Brunoni in ''Return to Cranford'' (2010)

Dr. Monroe in ''Burke and Hare'' (2010)

Billy Flynn in ''Criminal Minds'' fifth season episode "Our Darkest Hour" and sixth season episode "The Longest Night"(2010)

Voice acting

From the early 1990s onward, Curry has also become known as a highly acclaimed voice artist. Notable roles include:

Voice of priest on ''The Clash'' "Sound Of The Sinners" song from album ''Sandinista!'' (1981)

The Serpent in "The Creation", an episode of ''The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible''

Judas Iscariot in "The Easter Story", episode of ''The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible''

Captain James S. Hook in Fox's ''Peter Pan and the Pirates'' TV series (1990)

Konk in Hanna–Barbera's TV series ''The Pirates of Dark Water'' (1990)

M.A.L., evil sentient computer programme and assistant to Doctor Blight in ''Captain Planet and the Planeteers'' (1990–1993)

Sir Gawain in ''The Legend of Prince Valiant'' (1991–1994)

Taurus Bulba in ''Darkwing Duck'' (1991)

Chief Elder in ''Dinosaurs'' TV series (1992–94)

Hexxus in ''FernGully: The Last Rainforest'' (1992)

Sharkster in ''Fish Police'' (1992)

S.I.R. – Alien Encounter (Magic Kingdom Attraction) (1995)

King Maximillian Acorn on three episodes of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (1993)

Skullmaster in ''Mighty Max'' (1993)

Dr. Maelstrom in ''Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?'' (1994)

Kilokahn in ''Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad'' (1994)

George Herbert Walker "King" Chicken on ''Duckman'' (1994–1997)

Dr. Anton Sevarius in ''Gargoyles'' (1994)

Pretorius in the cartoon series ''The Mask: The Animated Series'' (1995)

Drake in ''The Pebble and the Penguin'' (1995)

Dr. Mystico in ''Freakazoid!'' (1995)

Zimbo in ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' (1996)

Lazlo Gigahurtz in ''Bruno the Kid'' (1996)

Lord Dragaunus in Disney's ''The Mighty Ducks'' TV Series (1996)

Trader Slick in the ''Jumanji'' animated TV series (1996)

Voice of Dr. Anton Sevarius in Gargoyles (TV series) (1996)

Prince Lotor and King Alfor in ''Voltron: The Third Dimension'' (1996)

Nostro the head elf in ''The Story of Santa Claus'' (1996)

Forté in Disney's ''Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas''

The frog in the ''Teen Angel'' episode, "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog" (1997)

Emperor Nero in the ''Easter Storykeepers'' (1997)

Ben Ravencroft in ''Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost'' (1999)

Rex Pester in ''The Rugrats Movie'' (1998)

The Skull in ''Bartok the Magnificent'' (1999)

King Renard in ''Xyber 9: New Dawn'' (1999)

Leichliter in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1999-2004)

Dr. Neugog in ''The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot''

Mutro Botho in ''Batman Beyond''

Slagar the Cruel in the TV series ''Redwall'' based on the books by Brian Jacques

The Goose God in ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'' (2001)

Spooky the cat in ''Teacher's Pet'' (2001)

The Mouse King in ''Barbie in the Nutcracker'' (2001)

The three musketiers ''Kardinaal Richelieu'' (2002)

Nigel Thornberry in ''The Wild Thornberrys'' (1998–2004), ''The Wild Thornberrys Movie'' (2002) and ''Rugrats Go Wild'' (2003)

Professor Finbarr Calamitous in several episodes of ''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' (2002, 2004–2006)

Hazzaka in the first episode of ''K10C: Kids' Ten Commandments''

The Cat King in The Cat Returns (English dub) (2005)

General Von Talon in ''Valiant'' (2005)

The Magnificent Rogue on ''Duck Dodgers''

El Malefico in ''¡Mucha Lucha!: The Return of El Malefico''.

Narrator of the ''Lemony Snicket'' audio books

Narrator of the ''Abhorsen Trilogy'' audio books

Ringmaster in ''Loonatics Unleashed'' (2005)

Mr. Salamone in ''Eloise: The Animated Series (2006)

Prince in ''Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties'' (2006)

King Evilo in ''Nick's Evil Ways'' (2006)

Yegor in ''Fly Me to the Moon'' (2007)

Dr. Joseph Chadwick in ''Ben 10: Alien Force'' (2008)

Philippe in ''Barbie and the Three Musketeers'' (2009)

Stubbings and Dr. Lloyd Wexler in ''Phineas and Ferb''

Henchman and Robot Clown in ''Batman: The Animated Series''

The librarian in ''Higglytown Heroes''

The Goblin King in ''Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King''

The Cat King in the English release of ''The Cat Returns'' by Hiroyuki Morita

The ring master Piccadilly in Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! (2010)

The Hot Dog Leader in Regular Show

The "Master" Prank Caller in Regular Show

Sonnicula in Bunnicula (2011)

Narrator of ''A Journey to the Center of the Earth'' audio book by Jules Verne

Lord Poltergeist in SpongeBob SquarePants

Curry was cast as the Joker in Warner Brothers' ''Batman: The Animated Series'', and even recorded several episodes worth of dialogue. At the 1993 San Diego Comic-Con, Bruce Timm told a panel audience that Curry could not maintain the Joker voice for long, and would violently cough between takes, so he was replaced by Mark Hamill.

At the end of 2002, Curry served as the narrator in a parody of ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' called "How the You-Know-Who Stole You-Know-What" for Nickelodeon as part of their "Merry Nickmas" promotion.

Curry was also cast as the voice of SIR (Simulated Intelligence Robotics) at Walt Disney World's ''Alien Encounter'', which ran from 1995 to 2003.

Games

Melek in ''Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger'' (1994)

Gabriel Knight in ''Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers'' (1993) and ''Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned'' (1999)

Doctor Victor Frankenstein in ''Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster'' (1995)

Count Nefarious in ''Toonstruck'' (1996)

Decanter in ''The Day the World Broke'' (1997)

Stratos, the God of Air in the video game ''Sacrifice'' (2000)

Mastermind in ''Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights'' (2002)

Lemony Snicket in ''Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events'' (2004)

Professor Finbarr Calamitous in ''Nicktoons Unite!'' (2005) and ''Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots'' (2007)

The sailor in ''Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey''

Premier Anatoly Cherdenko in ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3'' (2008)

Emperor Doviculus in ''Brütal Legend'' (2009) Arl Rendon Howe in ''Dragon Age: Origins'' (2009)

Awards and nominations

1975 Drama Desk Award nomination, Best Actor in a Musical (for playing Dr. Frank N Furter in ''The Rocky Horror Show'')

1981 Tony Award nomination, Best Actor in a Play (for playing the title role in ''Amadeus'')

1981 Drama Desk Award nomination, Best Actor in a Play (for playing the title role in ''Amadeus'')

1991 Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series (for playing Captain James S. Hook in ''Peter Pan and the Pirates'')

1993 Tony Award nomination, Best Actor in a Musical (for playing Alan Swann in ''My Favorite Year'')

1994 Emmy Award nomination, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (for a trio of roles in ''Tales from the Crypt'', in an episode entitled ''Death of Some Salesmen'')

1996 Razzie Award nomination, Worst Supporting Actor (for playing Herkermer Homolka in ''Congo'')

1998 Annie Award nomination, Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production (for playing Forté in ''Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas'')

2005 Tony Award nomination, Best Actor in a Musical (for playing King Arthur in ''Monty Python's Spamalot'')

2007 Laurence Olivier Award nomination, Best Actor in a Musical (King Arthur in ''Monty Python's Spamalot'')

2007 Whatsonstage Theatregoers' Choice Award as Best Actor in a Musical (King Arthur in ''Monty Python's Spamalot'')

References

External links

Ultimate Video Tribute to Tim Curry Pictorial Tribute

Tim Curry at RockyMusic.org

''Fresh Air'' interview with Tim Curry

Tim Curry ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:English film actors Category:English male singers Category:English musical theatre actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Old Kingswoodians (Bath) Category:People from Grappenhall and Thelwall Category:People from Warrington Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Audio book narrators Category:English expatriates in the United States

cs:Tim Curry da:Tim Curry de:Tim Curry es:Tim Curry fr:Tim Curry hr:Tim Curry id:Tim Curry it:Tim Curry he:טים קארי hu:Tim Curry nl:Tim Curry ja:ティム・カリー no:Tim Curry pl:Tim Curry pt:Tim Curry ru:Карри, Тимоти simple:Tim Curry fi:Tim Curry sv:Tim Curry zh:蒂姆·克里

Emilio Rolando Villazón Mauleón (born February 22, 1972) is a Mexican tenor. He settled in France and in 2007 became a French citizen.

Early life and education

He was raised in Fuentes de Satélite, a suburban area of Greater Mexico City, Mexico. In an interview for Mexican television, Villazón told the story of how he was discovered as a tenor. He said that one day, as he was getting out of the shower in his apartment in Mexico City, somebody came knocking on his door; it was baritone Arturo Nieto, a friend of his neighbour, who had heard him singing while in the shower. He told Rolando he had an amazing voice and invited him to his music academy to develop his voice, there Rolando fell in love with opera.

Career

Late 1990s and early 2000s

He came to international attention in 1999 when he won both first prizes awarded in the Operalia international competition - both for opera and zarzuela. The same year he sang for the first time in Italy as des Grieux in ''Manon'' at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. In 2000 he appeared for the first time at the Berlin State Opera - as Macduff in ''Macbeth''. Over the years he has presented many of his best roles there, among them José in ''Carmen'' and des Grieux in ''Manon''.

In Munich in 2000 he sang Rodolfo in ''La bohème'' and in 2002 in Los Angeles, Rinuccio in ''Gianni Schicchi''. In 2003 he sang Rodolfo at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in England. He also enjoyed a huge success in the title role of ''Les Contes d'Hoffmann'' at Covent Garden, London. The following year he appeared, again singing the role of Alfredo in ''La traviata'' at the Metropolitan Opera, New York and in 2005, both at St. Petersburg and the Salzburg Festival.

In addition to his appearances on the opera stage, he has an active recording career. He has recorded four solo CDs with Virgin Classics and is additionally featured, along with Patrizia Ciofi and Topi Lehtipuu, on the recording of ''Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda'' by Claudio Monteverdi, conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm.

2005-2010

In August 2005, he sang a highly regarded Alfredo in Verdi's ''La traviata'' at the Salzburg Festival, conducted by Carlo Rizzi, directed by Willy Decker. Co-starring was Anna Netrebko as Violetta. They have also appeared together in a video version of Donizetti's ''L'elisir d'amore''.

In 2007, Villazón switched his recording company and signed an exclusive long-term contract with Deutsche Grammophon. An album of zarzuelas (Gitano, Virgin Classics) conducted by Plácido Domingo, was released in Spring 2007. The U.S. version of his album ''Viva Villazón'' (Virgin Classics) was released in September 2007. In early 2010 he was a mentor and judge in the ITV show Popstar to Operastar.

Vocal surgery and the return to the stage

In 2007, Villazón cancelled many of his scheduled engagements in order to diagnose and remedy a persistent vocal issue. In May 2009, Rolando Villazón announced that he had to undergo surgery in order to remove a congenital cyst in one of his vocal cords. After completing his rehabilitation, he returned to the stage in March 2010 singing Nemorino in ''L'elisir d'amore'' at the Vienna State Opera in March 2010, and then embarked on a series of recitals. He made his debut as a stage director with a new production of ''Werther'' at the Opéra de Lyon in January 2011.

Discography

''Romeo y Julieta'' CD (2002), Radio Televisión Española

''Der Fliegende Holländer'' CD (2002), Teldec Classics

''Berlioz: La Révolution Grecque'' CD (2004), EMI Classics

''Italian Opera Arias'' CD (2004), Virgin Classics

''Gounod & Massenet Arias'' CD (2005), Virgin Classics

''Tristan und Isolde'' CDs and DVD (2005), EMI Classics

''Don Carlo'' 2 DVDs (2005), Opus Arte

''La Traviata'' CD (2005), Deutsche Grammophon

''Merry Christmas'' (Soundtrack) CD (2005), Virgin Classics

''Opera Recital'' CD; bonus edition with DVD (2006), Virgin Classics

''La Traviata'' DVD; premium 2-DVD edition (behind the scenes, rehearsals, introduction to the opera etc.) (2006), Salzburger Festspiele 2005, Deutsche Grammophon

''La Bohème'' DVD (2006), Bregenzer Festspiele 2002, ORF + Capriccio

''Monteverdi: Il Combattimento'' CD; bonus edition with DVD (2006), Virgin Classics

''Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore'' DVD (2006), Virgin Classics

''The Berlin Concert: Live from the Waldbühne'' DVD (2006), Deutsche Grammophon

''Gitano'' CD; bonus edition with DVD (February 2007), Virgin Classics

''Duets'' featuring Rolando Villazón and Anna Netrebko CD; bonus edition with DVD (March 2007), Deutsche Grammophon

''Viva Villazón'' - Rolando Villazón - Best Of CD (2007), Virgin Classics

''La Bohème'' Live recording CD (two disk set) (2008), Deutsche Grammophon

''Romeo et Juliette" 2 DVDs (Salzburger Festspiele 2008) (2009), Deutsche Grammophon

''Georg Friedrich Händel" CD/CD+DVD,(2009) Deutsche Grammophon

''La Bohème'' DVD (2009)

References

External links

Rolando Villazón's official website

Official page on Deutsche Grammophon

Blog Villazonista, Unofficial fan site

Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Mexican male singers Category:Mexican opera singers Category:Operalia prize-winners Category:Operatic tenors Category:People from Mexico City

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