The Aberdeen Gilbert and Sullivan Society is bringing The Grand Duke to the local stage in its first ever production in Aberdeen.
The opera has been rarely performed in Scotland, and has been largely unseen north of Edinburgh since its original premiere in 1896.
Building on the success of Yeomen of the Guard in 2024 and The Pirates of Penzance in 2023, the society will be treading the boards of the Aberdeen Arts Centre stage from the 2nd to 5th of April 2025.
The show is the 14th and final operatic collaboration between Gilbert & Sullivan. Set in the fictional Grand Duchy of Pfennig-Halbpfennig, it follows a theatrical troupe planning to overthrow the miserly Grand Duke of a Bavarian town. Hilarity ensues when they find their plot complicated by petty in-fighting, love triangles and an overconsumption of sausage rolls. Will the actors prevail?
Brian Gunnee, the Musical Director of the society commented: “Next year will be the company’s 50th anniversary and this is the first time we have staged The Grand Duke. We’re excited to be the first people to bring it to Aberdeen and ours is one of a handful of productions in Scotland since 1896.
The cast is made up of 30 extremely talented performers and the operetta is truly an underrated gem in the G&S cannon!”
The Aberdeen Gilbert & Sullivan Society is an independent performing arts group that have been performing since 1976, and has a reputation as one of the finest amateur operatic groups in the North East of Scotland.
The group is unique in Aberdeen, as the only company currently performing full-scale Gilbert and Sullivan operettas on the local stage, with the current cast ranging in age from 18 to 82.
Aberdeen Arts Centre is an independent arts venue and registered charity in the heart of Aberdeen. The venue encompasses a 350-seater auditorium; café bar; flexible spaces for performances, events, exhibitions and meetings; and the Children’s Theatre, opened in the 1950s as a pioneering youth theatre and now used as a vital resource for professional artist development.
Aberdeen’s creative community has come together to provide access to the arts on Random Acts of Kindness Day (February 17).
Aberdeen Gilbert & Sullivan Society recently joined forces with the venue to provide tickets for families in need on ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ Day in February.
Tickets for The Grand Duke can be purchased here: https://www.aberdeenartscentre.com/whats-on/the-grand-duke. For more information, go to www.gilbertandsullivansociety.co.uk
