With the aid of an eclectic array of travelling players and aristocrats, four weddings and enough sausage rolls to last several lifetimes, Gilbert and Sullivan’s final ‘Savoy Opera’ is full of Topsy Turvy paradoxes, legal conundrums and absurdities of etiquette. Far more than just a historical curiosity, The Grand Duke displays a much sharper satirical edge than any of Gilbert and Sullivan’s other works.

In the Grand Duchy of Pfennig Halbpfennig, the theatrical troupe of Ernest Dummkopf is plotting a conspiracy to overthrow the tyrannical Grand Duke Rudolph. Ludwig, the troupe’s leading comedian, fights a number of “statutory duels” and finds himself taking the place and the title of the Grand Duke…but when legions of women arrive to claim Ludwig in marriage to become his Grand Duchess, including an indignant leading lady, an enormously wealthy old battleaxe, and even the Princess of Monte Carlo, how will matters resolve themselves?

Apart from a concert version produced by D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in the mid-seventies and a handful of amateur productions, Gilbert and Sullivan’s final operetta, The Grand Duke, has not been seen in a fully staged professional production in the UK since the original production in 1896.

Learn more about London operas within the West End.