Alison Grant

This 1984 production from the Stratford Festival breathes new life into Gilbert and Sullivan's fanciful 1882 operetta that, in its day, was regarded as a scorching satire of England's pre-eminent politicos. The performance features illustrious contralto Maureen Forrester as the Queen of the Fairies, who tangle with the House of Lords to unite the title character's half-fairy, half-mortal son and his true love.

Brent Carver stars as the swashbuckling Pirate King in the famous Stratford Festival's rollicking production of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic that pits British bobbles against unlikely pirates on the Cornish coast. Sullivan regarded this operetta - a hit ever since its first production in New York in 1879 - as the best comedy he composed. He even said of his collaborator, "The libretto is ingenious, clever, wonderfully fun in parts and sometimes brilliant in dialogue - beautifully written for music, as is all Gilbert does." Indeed, audiences will find the music every bit a match for the lyrics, with the genius of the score lying in its parody of grand opera. Filmed in 1985 at the world-famous Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario.