Tag Archives: Pirates of Penzance

The Pirates of Penzance, English National Opera, Dec 2024

This was a very welcome revival of Mike Leigh’s colourful production, which appeals, as Gilbert always intended, to both the eye and the ear. The singing was not on the same level as when the production was new, but everything otherwise worked very well – see my review in The Article.

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Pirates of Penzance, English National Opera, ENO, London Coliseum, February 2017

What a pleasure to welcome back Mike Leigh’s Pirates, which played to packed houses on its first run two years ago. Leigh, the director of that 1999 film Topsy-Turvy about Gilbert and Sullivan’s collaboration, retains the hard edge of Gilbert’s genius while not stinting on the colour. Indeed the bold colours and central circle of …

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Pirates of Penzance, English National Opera, ENO, London Coliseum, May 2015

On opening night the Coliseum was packed to the rafters for this new production, with the ENO already having scheduled two extra performances. The pre-performance enthusiasm was well judged because director Mike Leigh, who made that wonderful film Topsy-Turvy about Gilbert and Sullivan, has given us a production that is fun without sentimentality or camp …

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