The Grand Duke

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
700 Howard St. San Francisco

The Grand Duke is a grand finale on the grandest of scales. For their final comic opera, composing duo Gilbert & Sullivan ended their collaboration with a display of wit, charm and melody so spectacular it dazzles to this day. In his ultimate topsy-turvy farce, librettist Gilbert has a theatrical troupe depose the ruler of a tiny European duchy, only to squabble over which "role" in the government each leading actor should "play" with uproarious consequences. Fueling and embellishing the merriment on stage, Sullivan's varied score includes an audacious variety of musical styles, from Viennese waltz to uproarious Parisian can-can dance numbers. Rarely performed, The Grand Duke storms the stage once more, thanks to a sparkling new production from Lamplighters Music Theatre.