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This performance captured the frivolity of Gilbert and Sullivan and the subtlety of the production allowed the company to have fun

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I am very lucky to have seen not one but two previous Gilbert and Sullivan performances at the London Coliseum. Both of these previous performances laid on complex design themes with a number of props and distracting scenery. The delight in this recent performance of The Pirates of Penzance was that it stripped back all of the distractions and relied heavily on the music and scripting, executed by a fantastic company.

Gilbert and Sullivan operettas are a wonderful gateway into the world of opera. Poking fun at the traditional form of opera whilst using a number of the techniques to brilliant effect, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas done well are a joy to watch. The Pirates of Penzance is well known for its hilarious hi-jinks and memorable melodies, so it was wonderful to see the ENO make the most of this with Mike Leigh’s production putting the music front and centre for this fantastic performance. 

The scenery revolved around a partition down the middle of the stage with a large circle cut out of it. This would open and close with a few other simple additions such as stairways or various blocks to change the levels. All of these were brightly coloured in the first half, moving to darker colours in the second half to represent day to night. The best use of the scenery came when the chorus of policemen surrounded the circular cut out, popping in and out as they sang. This created an amusing motif, without being overly cheesy and added to the frivolous hilarity this chorus brings. 

The performance included current and former artists from the Harewood Artist scheme run by the ENO. The clarity with which Isabelle Peters sung the difficult runs as Mabel was a testament to her role in this scheme, interweaving beautifully with her fantastic counterpart William Morgan as Frederic, formerly of the Harewood scheme. It was clear that the whole company was having fun with the performance, whilst not being over the top. In particular Richard Stuart, reprising his role as Major-General Stanley having previously performed in 2004, managed the complexity of the lyrics that come with the part. The element that really shone through to create this effortless performance was with the clear connection with the amazing conductor Natalie Murray Beale. 

Again, having kept the props and movements subtle, it meant there was more focus on the music and thus room for Murray Beale to make the orchestra shine. The precision that the orchestra was able to achieve was impressive even though there were some complicated melodies and pacy rhythms, and the chorus had a huge amount of lyrics to keep pace with. 

This performance captured the frivolity of Gilbert and Sullivan and the subtlety of the production allowed the company to have fun and let the joyful harmonies and clever lyrics shine.