St. Anne’s Music and Drama Society
St. Anne’s Music and Drama Society (MADS as they call themselves) is the only organization in Toronto that has been performing Gilbert & Sullivan operettas exclusively and yearly since 1964. MADS has staged all 13 of the surviving G&S operas. For the company’s 62nd production this year, they will be staging a double bill of Trial by Jury and H.M.S. Pinafore for an impressive seven performances.
LV spoke to MADS Artistic Director & Producer Laura Schatz about this upcoming production.
Trial by Jury and H.M.S. Pinafore
Trial by Jury was Gilbert & Sullivan’s first collaboration that still survives, written in 1875 as an after piece for Jacques Offenbach’s comic opera, La Périchole. The short work is under 40 minutes and is the only G&S opera that contains no spoken dialogue. In fact, Trial was the first production that MADS did in its inaugural season.
Laura says, “Trial is considered by many to be the most perfectly constructed of all the G&S operas. It is a little gem of wit, sentiment and charm. It contains some of Sullivan’s most sparkling music, and the absurdities of a legal breach of promise of marriage case are a perfect subject for Gilbert’s charming wit.”
H.M.S. Pinafore was the fourth collaboration between Gilbert & Sullivan and their first major success. It is full or recognizable tunes, which even appeared in The Simpsons and Star Trek. The humour is timeless, poking fun at authority and social class.
Laura explains, “Pinafore became so popular that it was extensively ‘pirated’ by American companies, who paid no royalties to G&S. This is the reason that their next opera The Pirates of Penzance was premiered simultaneously in England and the USA to establish copyright.”
This is MAD’s fifth production of Trial and sixth mounting of Pinafore, but the first time both operas are performed together as a double bill. Laura explained that one of the reasons she chose to stage these two operas together. “We had an influx of fantastic young singers auditioning this year and I didn’t have enough roles, especially female ones, for the amount of talent that we have available to us.”
“We had a number of amazing sopranos and mezzos audition this year who are new to the show, and even though I could not cast them in leads, a number of them have decided to stay and sing chorus. So, our ensemble this year is incredible.”
The Cast
This year, the cast is a wonderful combination of over 40 singers who have been performing with MADS for years and those who are brand new to G&S. Some of the Pinafore leads will be in Trial’s ensemble, and all of the Trial leads are in Pinafore’s chorus. They will be accompanied by an 18-piece orchestra.
MADS veterans Marc Potvin and Beth Armstrong-Chauvin, who have been in over 10 productions, are cast in the lead roles of Pinafore’s Sir Joseph Porter and Josephine respectively. U of T voice performance students Emma Lavigne and Josh Gibson, who made their G&S and MADS debut in last year’s The Yeomen of the Guard, are returning as Angelina — the lead in Trial — and Dick Deadeye in Pinafore.
Three newcomers have sizeable roles. Luca McCauley is singing the lead role of Ralph in Pinafore, whereas Lindsay Faulkner and Shriyans Dash are in Trial as the First Bridesmaid and Usher. An additional 10 or so newcomers are in the ensemble. For the young singers, MADS is a great place to get stage experience and have a fun time. “What I have the time to do is teach them some basic stagecraft, which they take away with them to any future operatic productions that they do,” according to Laura.
Always a family affair, MADS productions tend to have multi-generational families involved together. “We have the two teenagers performing with their dad in Trial together. My daughter is in the production too,” says Laura.
Final Thoughts
G&S may be a dying art of sorts, but MADS is keeping its legacy alive. Laura offers, “What G&S needs to survive is to have people come out and have so much fun doing it that they invite their friends, and then more young people come out to see and enjoy it, and want to be involved.”
St. Anne’s Music and Drama Society presents Trial by Jury & H.M.S. Pinafore January 30 to February 8, 2026 at St. Anne’s Parish Hall, 651 Dufferin St., Toronto.
- Find details and tickets [HERE].
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