English National Opera has a long and proud tradition of performing works by Gilbert and Sullivan, although the productions they have presented have differed markedly in style. Jonathan Miller’s 1986 staging of The Mikado, which is still going strong having last been revived in 2019, placed the action in a 1920s hotel and revealed the highest levels of exuberance and professionalism. On the other hand, Mike Leigh’s 2015 version of The Pirates of Penzance, most recently seen...

Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri of 1882 is the seventh of Gilbert and Sullivan’s fourteen collaborations. It was their first work to premiere at the Savoy Theatre (although Patience had transferred there in 1881) and ran for 398 performances, while also appearing extensively across the United Kingdom and America. It concerns a Fairy named Iolanthe who marries a mortal man. Although this is a capital offence under Fairy law, the Queen of the Fairies curtails her punishment to...

Although this is English National Opera’s first production of HMS Pinafore, it has a long and proud tradition of performing works by Gilbert and Sullivan. It is, however, a deceptively difficult task for a major opera house to pull off their creations because it is so easy for any production to fall either side of the tightrope it inevitably walks. On the one hand, these operettas require energy and so it is always a risk that top professionals in their pursuit of excellence will...