The Gondoliers

The Gondoliers is one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s most successful and popular comic operas, full of witty satire of class distinctions and playful paradox. Well-known songs include: ‘Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes’; ‘When a Merry Maiden Marries’; ‘Dance a Cachucha’; ‘I Stole the Prince’ and ‘Then one of us will be a Queen’. The story concerns the search for the rightful heir to the throne of the distant kingdom of Barataria by the young queen who was married to him when they were both babies. But the heir was swapped by his nurse, and he could be one of two Venetian gondoliers – both of whom have just married local girls. The plot is further complicated by the fact the young queen loves another man. But in true G&S style the story does have a happy ending. Non-professional production by Southgate Opera.