Derbyshire hosts the 15th Gilbert and Sullivan international festival next month

Published Friday 18 July 2008 at 17:30 by Lalayn Baluch

The 15th annual international festival celebrating the work of Gilbert and Sullivan is to be held in Derbyshire from August 2-23.

The three-week event, which will feature 27 full-scale operettas by Opera Della Luna, Charles Court Opera and the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, will be hosted by Buxton Opera House.

The companies are scheduled to perform The Parson’s Pirates, HMA Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, The Gondoliers and Iolanthe.

Amateur performing groups from around the country, as well as Ireland, the USA and Japan, will also deliver a series of shows on weeknights.

Meanwhile, the 200-seat Paxton Theatre will run a programme of fringe events for “serious enthusiasts”, including vocal recitals, staged performances, and rare Sullivan operas - Contrabandista, The Rose of Persia and The Foresters.