Patience

English Touring Opera’s first foray into the world of Gilbert and Sullivan proves emphatically that it shouldn’t be its last.

The main satirical target of Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1881 opera, Patience – the aesthetic movement, personified by Oscar Wilde – may have dated, but there are plenty of modern equivalents. This tale of rival pseudo-poets worshipped by rapturous maidens while themselves fighting over the plain-speaking titular milkmaid, remains as sharp and funny as ever.

Director Liam Steel unapologetically retains the piece’s late Victorian setting, his production ensconced in William Morris-like patterns realised by Florence de Mare, whose flamboyant outfits for preening poets Bunthorne and Grosvenor are magnificent works of art.

Bradley Travis is a delightfully hyperactive Bunthorne, a torrent of nimble, louche gestures. Resplendent in an Albertian mane, Ross Ramgobin’s strutting Grosvenor is an ideal foil. Valerie Reid brings humour and dignity to the old maid part of Lady Jane.

As Colonel Calverley, head of the hapless dragoon guards to whom the maidens were engaged before Bunthorne’s arrival, Andrew Slater gives a terrific rendition of his fiendish patter song. Soprano Lauren Zolezzi’s Patience is beautifully sung, but sometimes strays incongruously into serious drama.

Laden with smart visual gags and lively choreography, the production well serves one of Gilbert’s funniest works. Sullivan’s score doesn’t consistently match the glories of The Pirates of Penzance and others, but there are plenty of musical gems – notably heart-stopping sextet I Hear the Soft Note and effervescent earworm, If Saphir I Choose to Marry. Conductor Timothy Burke ensures a generally spritely pace, and the ETO chorus and orchestra are superb.