THE BEST OF BRITISH (Musical Comedy) COMES TO ADELAIDE

G&S Fest is a celebration of the founding fathers of British comedy opera, Gilbert & Sullivan. Presented by State Opera South Australia, G&S Fest is the only event of its kind in the southern hemisphere and brings together some of the best bits of very British humour and song over two action-packed weekends in May 2023.

While all performances of the quirky Trial By Jury are already sold out, tickets are still available for crowd favourites Pirates of Penzance and H.M.S. Pinafore, and a ‘Big Sing’ community version of The Sorcerer which will bring together dozens of G&S and choral enthusiasts for one massive performance.

In the lead up to G&S Fest we spoke to State Opera Artistic Director and the mastermind behind the festival,

Stuart Maunder AM. Stuart has been directing musical theatre for the past 35 years. His work has taken him all over from Australia and New Zealand, to the UK and France and to the USA. He has been with State Opera South Australia since 2018.

WHAT DO GILBERT AND SULLIVAN AND THEIR COMIC OPERAS MEAN TO YOU PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY?

At 16, when performing my first G&S role at school, I discovered a book called Martyn Green's Treasury of Gilbert & Sullivan, which annotated all of the librettos. I read it from cover to cover and fell in love with the language; words that you'd never meet in your ordinary life, words that had seemed to be coined for simply the thrill of it.

My adoration of Sullivan came a little later. Through recordings of the Savoy Operas I revelled in the composer’s sprightly, gleeful invention, as well as getting my first taste of classical music.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE OF THEIR COMIC OPERAS?

Contrary to popular belief the operas are all very different, yielding many and varied delights! What other body of work, what other collection of 14 operas reveals such riches, all of a type, a family, yet all different, witty, satiric, gossamer thin and with real heart?

“Satire and silliness are two of mankind’s greatest pleasures, and the music of Sullivan – that unquenchable melody - is a thing of its own. Try it! I dare you not to love it”

STUART MAUNDER AM, STATE OPERA ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

But Ruddigore will always hold a special place, as it was my first! Next festival!

HOW DIFFERENT OR SIMILAR WILL THE STATE OPERA PRODUCTIONS OF G&S’S OPERAS BE?

One of the joys of working on these pieces is that most of the text works beautifully just as they are. Their particular genius is that the then-topical references in Gilbert’s original text still sound so relevant.

HOW HAS THE STATE OPERA MADE THE SATIRE RELEVANT TO 2023 AUDIENCES?

The Savoy Operas lampoon Victorian Society in all its moralising glory; the class system, the military, the law, doing one’s duty above all else… all those great Victorian sacred Cows. And wherever the Victorians had their sacred cows, there was WS Gilbert ready to milk them for all the laughs he could get. The operas are of course still relevant today because those sacred cows are still with us; they are just fatter!

G&S Fest runs from 11-21 May 2023. Book your tickets online at gandsfest.com stateopera.com.au

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