ANOTHER topsy turvy, tuneful treasure from the rousing repertoire of Gilbert and Sullivan Society is bound for Kendal Town Hall.

Running from Wednesday-Saturday, April 9-12, members of Kendal and District Gilbert and Sullivan Society take to the stage in all their finery to regale all with the melodious tale of Princess Ida, a work unique to the G&S canon - it has three acts and dialogue written in a mixture of blank and rhyming verse.

Sullivan excelled with Princess Ida writing music blessed with sublime harmonies, rich choruses, passionate solos and a brief but stirring overture.

As for the Gilbertian plot - KADGASS director Vanessa Andrew says she has condensed the three acts into two and rewritten most of the dialogue so that all have a better understanding of what is happening.

The result aims to be a lighter, brighter show while delivering all one would expect from a G and S operetta.

Enter stage left - new leading lady Emily Robinson, a familiar face among festival choruses and choirs in the South Lakeland, and in demand as a soprano soloist.

Emily has performed in oratorios, cantatas, and recitals throughout the area.

She has sung solo pieces in churches and cathedrals far and wide, including Lichfield Cathedral, Sherborne Abbey and many local churches such as Cartmel Priory and Lancaster Cathedral. With a repertoire spanning the musical spectrum from Baroque to Britten, Monteverdi to Modern, she sings Bernstein and Gilbert and Sullivan or Mozart and Handel with equal gusto. Recent performances have included Vivaldi's Gloria, Orff's famous cantata Carmina Burana, and excerpts from Handel's Messiah and Verdi's Requiem.

Emily also sings with Levens Choir and Encore Opera Group.

As well as valiant KADGASS players such as Richard Sutton (King Hildebrand), Stella Coxon (Sacharissa), Jim Thompson (King Gama), Catherine Perrin (Ada), Ian Loi (Florian) Neil Lawson (Hilarion) and Matthew Armstrong (Cyril), KADGASS welcomes two performing arts' students to this year’s illustrious ranks, Ryan Butterworth and David Lowe (who play Arac and Scynthius) plus local head teacher Juliette Beston, who makes her stage debut as Lady Psyche.

Musical director is John Perrin, choreography by Susan Scott Stephenson.

Princess Ida was Gilbert and Sulllivan’s eighth operatic collaboration, opening at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, and running for 246 performances.

Based on Tennyson’s poem The Princess, Gilbert’s libretto satirises feminism, women's education, and Darwinian evolution, which were controversial topics in Victorian England.

For tickets and further information telephone 01539-722109.