- published: 08 Dec 2015
- views: 18038411
The Zoo is a one-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on 5 June 1875 at the St. James's Theatre in London (as an afterpiece to W. S. Gilbert's Tom Cobb), concluding its run five weeks later, on 9 July 1875, at the Haymarket Theatre. There were brief revivals in late 1875, and again in 1879, before the opera was shelved.
The farcical story concerns two pairs of lovers. First, a nobleman, who goes to the zoo to woo the girl who sells snacks there. He tries to impress her by buying and eating all of the food. The other couple is a young chemist who believes that he has poisoned his beloved by mixing up her father's prescription with peppermint that he had meant for her.
The score was not published in Sullivan's lifetime, and it lay dormant until Terence Rees purchased the composer's autograph at auction in 1966 and arranged for publication. The opera is in one act without spoken dialogue, running about 40 minutes. Like Trial by Jury and Cox and Box, it has been staged as a curtain-raiser to the shorter Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Triple-bills of Sullivan's three one-act operas have also proved successful.
Tiwatope Savage-Balogun (born 5 February 1980), better known by her stage name Tiwa Savage, is a Nigerian singer-songwriter, recording artist, performer and actress. She is currently signed to Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Mavin Records. She co-wrote the track "Collard Greens & Cornbread" off Fantasia Barrino's Grammy-nominated album Back to Me. Savage was featured on Solar Plexus, a compilation album that was released a day after the establishment of Mavin Records. On 3 July 2013, she released her debut studio album Once Upon a Time. Savage sings in English and Yoruba. As a singer, her achievements include one MTV Africa Music Award, two The Headies Awards, one Channel O Music Video Award, one Nigeria Music Video Award, and two City People Entertainment Awards, among others.
Tiwa Savage was born in Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State. Her family relocated to London when she was 11 years old. While attending high school, she was a trombone player for her school's orchestra band. Savage had a healthy upbringing; she grew up in a multicultural setting due to her migration from Nigeria to the United Kingdom, and from the United Kingdom to the United States. After graduating with a degree in Business administration from the University of Kent, Savage started working at The Royal Bank of Scotland. She did backup vocals for George Michael at the age of 16, and lent vocals to other musicians such as Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Blu Cantrell, Emma Bunton, Kelly Clarkson, Andrea Bocelli, and Ms. Dynamite, amongst others. Furthermore, she has performed on stage with Sting, 50 Cent, The Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Robbie Williams and Destiny's Child, to name a few.
I am going to the Zoo
To see the monkey,
I just wonder if he's really
Singing funky.
I am going to the Zoo
To see the elephant,
I just wanna listen to him
Playing through his trunk.
All my friends are at the Zoo,
There's a giraffe, lion, monkey too,
Rhino and hippo are looking for you,
They are all waiting at the Zoo.
Let's go, let's go to the Zoo.
Let's go, let's go to the Zoo.
I am going to the Zoo
To give giraffe her lunch,
I just want to watch her do the
Munch, munch, munch...
I am going to the Zoo
To see the lioness,
I just want to roar with her
Yes, yes, yes - yes, yes, yes.
All my friends are at the Zoo,
There's a giraffe, lion, monkey too,
Rhino and hippo are looking for you,
They are all waiting at the Zoo.
Let's go, let's go to the Zoo.
Let's go, let's go to the Zoo.
I am going to the Zoo
To see the hyena,
I just want to laugh with her
Ha, ha, ha - ha, ha, ha.
I am going to the Zoo
I'll see the wolf soon,
I just want to sit together,
Howling to the moon.
All my friends are at the Zoo,
There's a giraffe, lion, monkey too,
Rhino and hippo are looking for you,
They are all waiting at the Zoo.
Let's go, let's go to the Zoo.
Let's go, let's go to the Zoo.