Opera Scotland

H M S Pinafore 1987New Sadler's Wells Opera

Read more about the opera H M S Pinafore

The second visit to Aberdeen by New Sadler's Wells brought another excellent staging by Christopher Renshaw and Tim Goodchild. It was essentially traditional in style, but came over with great freshness.

Nickolas Grace, the original interpreter when the production was new, was a classic Sir Joseph, small and dapper. Primarily known as an actor, his clipped diction and precise timing were highly effective. An expert at musical theatre, he had played the multiple roles of Pangloss and others in Bernstein's Candide at an Edinburgh Festival a few years before, and would repeat those parts just as successfully in Jonathan Miller's version for Scottish Opera the following year.

Julian Moyle was, by contrast, a seasoned operatic performer of thirty years experience, especially in comic roles. He was just as effective, and his height made for an unusual sense of presence in a 'Grossmith' role. Thomas Lawlor, with extensive Glyndebourne and Covent Garden credits to his name, was a veteran of G & S performances going back to the original D'Oyly Carte company twenty years before.