WHEN Opera della Luna stages one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas, you know you are in for a great evening. So welcome back to Jeff Clarke’s company at Bath Theatre Royal, from Tuesday 13th to Saturday 17th May, with The Mikado, probably the best loved of all the Savoy Operas.

This hilarious tale of love, corruption in local government, marriage and heroics has been translated to the zany world of modern fashion houses – with vividly colourful costumes inspired by Versace and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

It’s a riot of gorgeous and bizarre creations with stunning gowns, glorious singing and the company’s inimitable brand of mad-cap humour, bringing to life some of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular characters including Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, Katisha, the Mikado’s daughter and KoKo’s formidable would-be wife, and the sparky Three Little Maids.

Opera della Luna’s multi-talented cast of seven singers and actors includes Steve Watts as The Mikado of Japan and Pish-Tush, Matthew Scott-Clark as Ko-Ko, Robert Forrest as Nanki-Poo, Carl Sanderson as Pooh-Bah, Kelli-Ann Masterson as Yum-Yum, Lynsey Docherty as Pitti-Sing and Louise Crane as Peep-Bo and Katisha. Performed without a chorus, the production is accompanied by the company’s own chamber instrumental ensemble.

The Mikado is directed by Jeff Clarke, a popular director at Iford Opera before its move from the Harold Peto cloister, with musical direction by Michael Waldron, choreography by Jenny Arnold, design by Gabriella Csanyi-Wills and lighting by Matthew Cater. First performed by Opera della Luna in 1998, The Mikado has remained in the company’s repertoire ever since.

Founded in 1994, Opera della Luna takes its name from Haydn’s operatic setting of Goldoni’s farce Il mondo della luna. The company has achieved nationwide recognition for its innovative and energetic shows but as last year’s production of HMS Pinafore at Bath showed, it always remains faithful to the spirit of Gilbert and Sullivan.

The Mikado was the ninth of the 14 G&S operatic collaborations. It opened in London in 1885 and ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances, the second-longest run for any work of musical theatre and one of the longest runs of any theatre piece up to that time. By the end of 1885, it was estimated that, in Europe and America at least 150 companies were producing the opera. The Mikado remains the most frequently performed Savoy Opera to this day, and one of the most frequently played musical theatre pieces in history. A hit around the globe, it has been translated into numerous languages.

The photograph by Mike Kwasniak are of a previous tour of this production.  Rehearsal picture of Louise Crane, Kelli-Ann Masterson and Lynsey Doherty in rehearsal for the new tour of The Mikado by Eamonn B Shanahan.