Buxton Opera House

Gilbert and Sullivan are the most successful and widely performed theatrical partnership in history.

Every minute of every day Gilbert and Sullivan is being sung, performed or rehearsed somewhere around the world – despite the fact that the G & S repertoire is now well over 100 years old.

Here in the UK there are many as 750 performing socialists regularly presenting G & S shows. This suggests 60,000 performers presenting G & S to millions of British theater goers every single year.

And thousands of visitors from all around the world head for Buxton every summer for the annual G & S Festival which features a different performing group and show each of the 19 days. And the Festival offers much more. The all professional Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company will present lolanthe, Patience and Yeomen of the Guard in 1999. The company features a combination of stars such as Gillian Knight, Garesh Jones and Michael Rayner from the original D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with many of the new stars of British musical theater. There are workshops; masterclasses, “scratch performances” with full audience participation Orchestral Concerts and a symposium examining the educational opportunities for G & S – not only in Britain, but around the world.

The G & S operas endure and their creators are revered because they provide an oasis and style in the modern world. It is all good clean family fun – with no offensive elements. The fact speak for themselves – G & S is exceedingly popular across gender, creed and social mix around the world.