PIRATES SET SAIL FOR NEWCASTLE!

D’Oyly Carte Opera Company will make a triumphant return to the stage after a 10 year absence with a historic collaboration with Scottish Opera on Gilbert and Sullivan’s best loved operetta The Pirates of Penzance, which will visit Newcastle Theatre Royal, 25 – 29 June. The production combines Scottish Opera’s world class reputation for high quality, touring opera with D’Oyly Carte’s century-long association with Gilbert and Sullivan. Featuring the Orchestra of Scottish Opera and a 39 strong cast and chorus, this is a vibrant, stylish and hilarious romp through one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s finest scores. Having turned 21, Frederic should be contractually released from his apprenticeship to a band of pirates, but discovers his birthday is the 29th of February, a leap year. Taking his duty a little too literally, he decides it will be another 63 years before he’s really 21 and only Mabel’s promise to wait sustains him… A cleverly observed satire of Victorian morals and the ruling classes, this production brings the humour bang up to date with Python-esque twinkle. “This slick, gorgeous-looking new co-production between Scottish Opera and D’Oyly Carte is in a different league” Daily Telegraph The Pirates of Penzance features some of Gilbert’s wittiest lyrics, not least the famous patter song ‘I am the very model of a Modern Major-General’ while Sullivan brilliantly mixes his signature catchy melodies with fine parodies of other opera composers, notably Verdi’s Il Trovotore in ‘Come, friends, who plough the sea’ and ‘You triumph now’. D’Oyly Carte Opera Company was founded by Gilbert and Sullivan’s producer Richard D’Oyly Carte in 1878 and has been performing their operas for 130 years. Ian Martin, General Manager of D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to be working with Scottish Opera and very excited to be starting a new chapter in our lengthy history.’ Alex Reedijk, General Director of Scottish Opera said: ‘D’Oyly Carte is synonymous with Gilbert and Sullivan so when we decided to re-introduce G&S to our audiences it was both an obvious partnership and a timely opportunity to bring together our respective areas of expertise. This fun, family production is also a great way to see Scottish Opera’s highly successful 50th anniversary season out on a high.’ Martin Lloyd-Evans - a regular with Opera Holland Park and Classical Opera Company - directs while D’Oyly Carte Music Director and G&S aficionado, John Owen Edwards, and Scottish Opera Head of Music, Derek Clark, share conducting duties. The ensemble cast includes Richard Suar - principal comic baritone - as Major-General Stanley, described by the Daily Mail as:  “… the perfect purveyor of patter as the Major-General himself.”  Richard has been the principal comic baritone with D’Oyly Carte since 1988 and has performed all the major G&S ‘patter roles,’ for over a quarter of a century. Another G&S stalwart, Steven Page (Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress) will take on the role of the Pirate King. Sharing the role of Frederic are rising stars Samuel Furness and Nicholas Sharratt (Orpheus in Orpheus in the Underworld). Rebecca Bottone, will perform the role of Frederic’s lover, Mabel. For further information, please visit http://piratestheshow.com/ . The Pirates of Penzance appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from 25 - 29 June 2013 (Evenings: 7.30pm, Matinees: Wednesday and Thursday at 2pm and Saturday 2.30pm). Tickets are from £17.00 and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk