.:index:.   biographies   .:stage plans:.  .:past productions:.   .:t-shirt:.

Diana Burleigh, Director
Melbourne, Australia

Diana was born in India of an Irish mother and Scottish father (which some people say explains a lot!). However the family relocated to England when she was a baby and Diana grew up on the South Coast. From the earliest she had a love of theatre and a desire to be part of it. On leaving school Diana was awarded a scholarship to study drama and trained at in London at the New College of Speech and Drama and London University. She then went on to work in the British repertory system before deciding for family reasons to go to Australia.

Along with the love and study of theatre, Diana became infatuated with Gilbert and Sullivan in her teens. But she thought of G&S as something to see, read and talk about. Not being a singer it never occured to her to think about being involved in productions. It was only when she joined the G&S Society in Melbourne, a producing group, that she became interested in working backstage and eventually directing.

In the meantime Diana's career stayed with the performing arts. She worked as a drama teacher, drama consultant, arts administrator and drifted into arts journalism, on radio as an interviewer and critic and in print where most of her work was writing about opera. In 2001, Diana wrote a one-woman play, Helene Only To Her Friends, which she performed at a major "off-Broadway" venue in Melbourne.

Pressure of work left little time for G&S and Diana dropped out of the scene for about 10 years, coming back in the mid 1990s and concentrated her engergies on improving her collection, getting involved in Savoynet and directing more productions, all of which generate much pleasure.

Richard Stockton, Music Director
UK

Dick was born in the West Midlands and moved to London to study Physics at Imperial College, later going on to study Singing, Conducting and Composition at The Royal College of Music and The Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

He has sung with several professional chamber choirs such as the BBC Singers and the Monteverdi Choir, participating in broadcasts and recordings and performing in many of the great Cathedrals and Concert Halls.

Dick's first involvement with Gilbert and Sullivan was taking the part of Col. Calverley at the age of 15, having turned down a chance to be in Iolanthe two years earlier; in the years since he has performed and conducted all of the available works.

After moving to Camberley, where he now lives, he maintained his connections in London and continued to conduct several choirs and operatic societies both in London and locally. His wide interest in music stretches from conducting choral music such as Brahms' Requiem, Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius and Bach's Passions via the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan and Offenbach to popular musicals such as Anything Goes, Half a Sixpence, Gershwin's Strike Up The Band, Kiss Me Kate and Chess. Dick has been resident Musical Director of The Savoy Singers in Camberley since 1990, and has conducted them in three appearances at the Buxton G&S festival. Dick was MD for the successful SavoyNet production of Sorcerer and was Associate Festival MD in 2002 conducting the "International" Festival Production of Iolanthe.

In the last year Dick has MD'd The Rose Of Persia, The Pirates Of Penzance, 42nd Street, Guys And Dolls, Orpheus In The Underworld and is currently rehearsing Utopia Ltd and preparing Anything Goes and, of course, Iolanthe.

Dick teaches Singing and is widely sought after as a Choral, Musical and Opera conductor. The remainder of his time is taken up working as an Independent Systems Consultant and Project Manager.

Peter Crichton, Producer
Saddleworth, England

Peter runs his own computer business with his wife Carol (who is also a SavoyNetter), specialising in software for the passenger transport industry mainly in the UK, but also with users in Hong Kong and New Zealand. His interests include G&S, singing, computers, electronic gadgets, transport history and more recently model railways. To keep the G&S connection, he has a model steam locomotive called a Mikado.

His interest in G&S started at school after seeing a school production of H.M.S. Pinafore, and then the year after, The Mikado. The following year, he was able to be in the production of The Gondoliers, and two years later got his first part in Trial By Jury as the Counsel for the Plantiff.

After leaving school, Peter had a short twenty year break from performing G&S returning in 1999. Since then Peter has appeared in all the operas excluding Utopia and The Grand Duke, and in these has sung all the major tenor roles except The Duke of Dunstable and Lord Tolloller. (He transgressed and sang the baritone roles Grosvenor and Strephon, instead.) Peter played Colonel Fairfax in the SavoyNet production of The Yeomen of the Guard in 2000.

Recent roles include Ralph Rackstraw with The West Yorkshire Savoyard; Fairfax with Greenacres OS, Oldham; and Nanki-Poo with Sale G&S, which he will be playing again at Buxton at this year's festival. Later this year he will be playing Strephon with The West Yorkshire Savoyards and his fourth Ralph Rackstraw with Greenacres OS. He says he does try and fit some work in between his G&S activities!!!

Keith Drage, Stage Manager
Swindon, UK

I have been active in technical activities backstage since school, ranging from stage manager to lighting designer to master carpenter to sound engineer, down to lowly scene shifter. My first Gilbert and Sullivan show was as lighting designer at Hull University. My first show at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival was in 1996.

I have worked with many companies in Nottingham and Derby, and frequently support 6 or 7 different shows a year in Buxton Opera House. Companies include Savoynet (since 2000), Derby Gilbert and Sullivan Company, Trent Opera, Nottingham Festival Opera, Present Company and Present Opera, Derby Opera Company, Rolls-Royce Operatic Society. I admit my first preference is to work on Grand Opera and shows by Sondheim.

I have worked the whole G&S canon, and done the book for the entire canon except Patience. At previous festivals, I have been DSM for the following winning shows: Princess Ida (Derby G&S Company, 1997), The Yeomen of the Guard (Derby G&S Company, 2000), and Ruddigore (Derby G&S Company, 2003). I have also participated in the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera an number of times, and been DSM for the following winning shows: Pacific Overtures (Nottingham Festival Opera, 2001) and A Little Night Music (Trent Opera, 2004). As well as the Princess Ida listed above which took place on the Philadelphia, USA leg of the festival, I have also been DSM for the Derby G&S Company visit with Iolanthe to Seattle in 2003, and will shortly be doing the same job for their visit to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, Canada with H.M.S. Pinafore, making my third overseas country.

When not working on shows, my real job is for Lucent Technologies (Bell Labs) specifying standards defining network protocols for mobile phone operation, primarily working on Voice over IP in both the 3rd Generation Partnership project and the Internet Engineering Task Force.

Kathryn Barton, Wardrobe Mistress
Little Sandhurst, Berkshire, UK

Originally from Yorkshire, Kathryn now lives in Little Sandhurst, Berkshire. After performing in a production of Trial By Jury when at school in Lincolnshire, Kathryn realized that (1) she loved G&S, but (2) hated being on stage. Kathryn has been front-of-house manager for the Savoy Singers (Camberley, Surrey) and has assisted with SavoyNet costumes and props since our production of Yeomen in 2000. Last year, Kathryn took over responsibility as SayoyNet wardrobe mistress and custodian of the cast's confidential personal statistics. In real life, Kathryn is an assistant manger of a day centre for adults with learning difficulties in Wokingham, Berkshire, and enjoys crosswords, knitting, gardening and flower arranging.

David Cookson, Musical Adviser
UK

David started his musical career in 1974, joining the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company as repetiteur in time for the 1975 Centenary Season. Following a three-year stint as repetiteur at the Opernhaus Zurich (Switzerland), he returned to the UK, where he has specialised in coaching singers. David's interests are many and varied - he speaks several languages, wins pens with alarming frequency as an entrant in the Sunday Telegraph "Enigmatic Variations" crossword, and enjoys travelling. He currently teaches Music at Bispham High School (a Performing Arts College) in Blackpool, England.

Rachel Keegan, Rehearsal Accompanist
Ashford, Middlesex, England

Rachel was educated at grammar schools in Bristol and Twickenham and at Oxford University where she read Chemistry. For a number of years she was an Examiner at the UK Patent Office and since 1988 she has been working for BP as a Patent Information Analyst.

Rachel's earliest experiences as an accompanist were with her school choir. She was talked into becoming rehearsal pianist for Hatton Operatic Society (based near London's Heathrow Airport) two days after leaving Oxford. Little did she know that she would still be there thirty-four years later! In recent years she has also made a few appearances as Musical Director; she particularly enjoys working with small ensembles which she can direct from the keyboard. For The Pirates of Penzance in 2002 she produced her own reduced orchestration which has since been used by groups in the USA and Canada. Other shows as MD include Salad Days, Oklahoma!, Mack and Mabel, Anything Goes and The Boy Friend. She has also arranged and directed the music for concerts, music halls and pantomimes. This year she has been working on The Merry Widow (with fellow Savoynetter Ian Henderson as Danilo) and she is currently Assistant Musical Director for a production of The Pajama Game to be staged in November.

Rachel first became involved in SavoyNet when she answered an appeal for a pianist for an informal weekend gathering in 2002. Since then she has played for several other such SavoyNet events (known in the UK as QWERTs) and was a member of the production team for the 2003 and 2004 Savoynet productions at Buxton.

In her spare time Rachel runs the Hatton Operatic Society web site and is a keen digital photographer.

Elizabeth Lee Pugh, Costume Committee
Yukon Territory, Canada

Elizabeth Pugh (known as Lee to most people in Canada) was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and in 1966 went to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, Canada for a year, where she ended up getting married and raising a family of three daughters and still lives there. Her love of G&S began when she was about 14 years old and was taken to see the old D'Oyly Carte during one of their seasons at the Golders Green Hippodrome in the 1950s.

While her daughters were growing up, she began sewing for her family and became involved with the costumes for various school productions, figure skating "carnivals" and other community productions, and is now able to use her sewing skills helping with the Savoynet productions. She originally thought her first year with Savoynet at Buxton would be her only, but she enjoyed it so much she is now back for the third time. Her mother and two brothers still live in Wisbech so she is able to combine a visit "home" with the Buxton Festival; especially as two of her daughters are now back in Whitehorse and she can leave her house and the dogs and cat in their care for a few weeks.

Elizabeth still sews quite a lot, having taken up quilting in the past couple of years, and she always has some knitting on the go, too. She is also a very keen genealogist and has managed to trace most of her great great great grandparents, with some of the families going back quite a bit further. She also enjoys hiking and walking her dogs, camping, hunting and fishing in the beautiful country she now calls home.

J. Donald Smith, Rehearsal Manager
East Taunton, Massachusetts, USA

I have been involved with G&S for more years than it is usually politic to admit - as a fan and audience member, as a collector of memorabilia, in the pit for several productions and more recently both on stage and back stage. With Savoynet I have been associated with every production, from backstage for Cox and Box, as the Associate in Trial (my only solo role, so far), in the chorus for Ruddigore, Yeomen and Patience and with walk-ons in Sorcerer and Utopia as well as being Production Assistant for Pirates. I have also been able to attend every leg of every one of the Festivals (Philadelphia, Berkeley and Eastbourne, as well as Buxton) although not in full.) Since my retirement three years ago, I have had the time and opportunity to do G&S during the year as well.

Charlotte Eriksson, Iolanthe
Stockholm, Sweden

Charlotte, a business consultant, sings soprano roles in KAOS operatic society in Stockholm, Sweden. Former student theatre buff, starring exclusively in male roles. Nowadays she is lead singer in the rock band Pointer Brothers performing regularly (i.e. once a year, at her consultant firm's summer party).

Rebecca Hains, Phyllis
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Rebecca is pleased to return to the International G&S Festival for her second Savoynet production, having appeared previously as Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance) in 2004. At this year's festival, she will also play the role of Princess Zara (Utopia, Limited), with Bruce Montgomery's G&S Players.

Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Rebecca's G&S credits there include Rose Maybud (Ruddigore ) with the MIT G&S Players; Josephine (H.M.S. Pinafore) with the Methuen Young People's Theater; and Casilda (The Gondoliers) with the Savoyard Light Opera Company. Now residing in the Philadelphia area, Rebecca recently played Zara in the Ardensingers' production of Utopia, Limited; the title role in Thespis, Etc.'s production of Patience; and Kate in the G&S Society of Chester County's production of The Yeomen of the Guard. She looks forward to appearing as Lisa in the GSSCC's The Grand Duke this November.

Rebecca is pursuing a Ph.D. in Mass Media & Communication at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she is writing a dissertation titled Negotiating girl power: Girlhood on screen and in everyday life. She also teaches undergraduate courses.

Ian Henderson, Mountararat
UK

Deborah Jacobson, Fleta
Arlington, Virginia, USA

Deborah's G&S career started at the age of five when she was a Junior Daughter of the Plough in her summer camp's production of Princess Ida, and she hasn't looked back since. She is currently a performer and accompanist with the Washington Savoyards and a just-about-everything with the Victorian Lyric Opera Company, including such roles as Leila (Iolanthe), Kate (Pirates), and Helen Carte (Stan German's A Gilbert & Sullivan Drawing Room) and such titles as Music Director/Conductor (The Zoo), Assistant Music Director (Magic Flute), orchestra member (keyboard/bells, Magic Flute), rehearsal pianist, orchestra liaison, makeup artist, costumer, and dance captain.

On the non-G&S side of things, Deborah has a B. Mus. degree in Music Theory from the College of Wooster, Ohio. She has been a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus, Choralis, and Echos, and works with the students at Wilde Lake Middle School, accompanying, arranging, and leading the orchestra for their yearly school musical. She recently obtained her first non-G&S performing credit as Alice in The Secret Garden with Prince George's Little Theatre.

She had so much fun last year in Buxton accompanying for Savoynet's Pirates that you couldn't keep her away this year for all the chocolate in the world.

Karen Ann Loxley, Celia
UK

Karen studied music and french at Sheffield City College of Education. She has sung with a number of operatic societies, including City Comic Opera Society, Dore Gilbert and Sullivan Society and Birley Carr Methodist Musical and Dramatic Society. She is a recipient of the 25 years Long Service medal from N.O.D.A. and has performed in productions of every show in the G&S canon, playing 21 different roles.

Festival-goers may recognise Karen in a variety of different capacities in which she has appeared at the Festival since its founding in 1994. She has performed on stage in most of the Festival productions and also with the Northern Savoyards and Nomads both in Buxton and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1996) and Berkeley, California (1997). She has taken part in every Savoynet production, including Cox and Box (accompanist's page-turner).

Her interests include costume, and her award-winning paired costumes have been seen in several Buxton costume parades. On Festival evenings she is regularly to be found in the Festival club, either turning pages or singing or both. She has attended several Qwerts - the ones with photos of Philip Potter on top of the piano.

Her non-G&S interests include living history reenacting (1940s) and attending Murder Mystery Evenings.

Gary Stuart Maslen, Strephon
Camberley, Surrey, UK

This is Gary's first appearance with SavoyNet, but his third appearance at the International G&S Festival in Buxton. Gary has recently been working with the East Berks Operatic Society where he was commissioned to arrange Moll Flanders, and for which he musically directed last year. He has in the past conducted performances of Cox & Box, Trial by Jury and The Sorcerer, and has more recently collaborated extensively in the production of two new musicals: November the Fifth and Aladdin.

Although primarily a saxophonist, Gary is an experienced vocal soloist, having recently played the parts of Capt. Fitzbattleaxe in Utopia Limited, Hilarion in Princess Ida, Colonel Fairfax in Yeomen of the Guard, Jim Townsend in Strike up the Band, Marco in The Gondoliers and Ludwig in The Grand Duke. Gary has also appeared several times in the roles of Nanki-Poo in The Mikado (three times), Gabriel von Eisenstein in Die Fledermuas (twice) and Camille in The Merry Widow (twice). Other credits include Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore and multiple appearances in the world premiere of Trafalgar in 2001. Gary also appeared last summer with Cabbages and Things performing the Shakespearian Revue at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Having grown up in Australia, Gary returned to England in 1989 to continue his musical studies. He worked in the Middle East for three years.

Julie May, Queen of the Fairies
West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA

Julie's love of theatre goes back to her childhood in Washington DC where she was enthralled by its magic at an early age. Marriage and family kept her from the boards until 1994 when she decided that it was time to fulfill a life long dream. She plunged in by joining the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Chester County (GSSCC), Pennsylvania and hasn't looked back since. Her roles there include Cousin Hebe, Peep Bo, Isabel, Lady Angela, Daphne, Lady Psyche, Cousin Hebe, Mad Margaret and most recently Phoebe; she looks forward to playing Julia in their November 2005 production of The Grand Duke, for which she will also serve as producer.

Julie has served on the GSSCC Board in many capacities over the years and has been producer of numerous shows. She directed Trial By Jury for GSSCC in 2003. She performed in Buxton in 2000 (Daphne) in Bruce Montgomery's Thespis.

She has performed with The Ardensingers in Arden Delaware (Fiametta, Eliza Smith, the Fairy Queen, Pitti-Sing, Kalyba) and will direct their HMS Pinafore in the spring of 2006. She has also performed with Thespis Etc in Media, Pennsylvania (Katisha, Tessa), where she directed HMS Pinafore in 2002 and Patience in 2005.

Not content with just performing and directing G&S, Julie has performed at Footlighter's in Berwyn PA where she was Domina in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, as well as at the Forge Theater in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where she earned three Golden Anvil awards for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for her performances as the wild Rita La Porta, from Lucky Stiff in 2001; Woman Number 3 from Kander and Ebb's The World Goes Round in 2003 and three men (Ralph, Wikevitch, and Joe Bob) from Jane Martin's straight play, Anton in Show Business in 2004. She is currently serving as the Forge Theatre's treasurer.

Julie is a soloist at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and has performed in concerts and churches in the area. She studies voice with Kathryn Armour of Wilmington, Delaware and New York City. This summer she will direct a children's Pirates of Penzance in July as well as the GSSCC's Mikado in Doylestown, PA. She will also be performing with the G&S Players at Buxton in their Utopia. She is indeed a "maid of all work".

Richard Miller, Tolloller
New York, New York, USA

Richard J. Miller, Jr., tenor, is a resident of New York City and Loudonville, New York where he resides with his wife, Carol, and their children, Lauren and George. He is a graduate of Williams College (B.A.), Albany Law School of Union University (J.D.), and the New York University School of Law (L.L.M.). Rich has lived in Florence, Italy and has studied music at the Luigi Cherubini Conseratorio di Musica in Florence. He is the 1986 recipient of the Arthur Judson Prize in Music at Williams and is also a prior winner of the Mendelssohn Club's vocal Music Award (1987). In August 2003, he was awarded "Best Male Voice" at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England.

Rich has appeared with the Lake George Opera Festival as an apprentice artist and as a guest artist. He has also served as the Chairman of the Opera Festival. Rich is also a member of the Board of Directors of Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, New York and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In April 1998, Governor George Pataki appointed Rich as the Chairman of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center Corporation ("The Egg"). Rich has performed as an artist with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Blue Hill Troupe, Ltd., Lake George Opera Festival, Kent State University, Octavo Singers, Berkshire Lyric Theater, Staten Island Theater, Live at the Lakehouse, the University Glee Club of New York City and the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England. He has appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops, the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood and the Municipal Orchestra in Tula, Russia. He is a frequent tenor soloist for various choral and theatrical performances.

Rich has studied voice with Metropolitan Opera Tenor John Alexander, Earl Wrightson, David Bender and Leo Goecke and has participated in master classes with Phyllis Curtin. He is now studying and coaching with Ira Siff in New York City. He has performed as an apprentice artist and principal artist with The Lake George Opera Festival. Operatic roles have included Pedrillo in The Abduction From the Seraglio, Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Rodolfo in La Boheme, and Donald in Gallantry. He has appeared in numerous musical comedies and operattas, including works by Victor Herbert and Sigmund Romberg. Recent oratorio performances include Elijah at Tanglewood, Bach Mass in B Minor, Mozart Requiem, Puccini Messa di Gloria, Mendelssohn's Lobegesang, Dvorak Stabat Mater, and Haydn Creation.

Rich has played such Gilbert and Sullivan roles as Alexis and Captain Fitzbattleaxe (at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival); Ernest, Nanki Poo, The Duke of Dunstable, Luiz, Richard Dauntless, Lord Tolloller, and Strephon (with the Blue Hill Troupe, New York, New York); and Frederic (Skidmore Cllege, Saratoga Springs, New York).

Rich is a partner in the law firm of Morris & McVeigh, LLP in New York City where he specializes in tax and trust and estate related matters and the representation of cultural institutions.

Ron Pidcock, The Lord Chancellor
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Ron was born in the state of Queensland, Australia. His parents were heavily involved in theatre and he quickly acquired an intimate knowledge of stage production and performance. His first role "many years ago" was the young boy in Arthur Miller's All My Sons for the Brisbane Repertory Theatre. During his teenage years he appeared in a number of dramatic stage and ABC national radio plays, until in 1963 he commenced directing and performing in musicals with various companies, most notably the Queensland Light Opera Company, where he met his wife, Robyn. His "real job" as a bank officer saw him transferred to New Zealand in 1991 where he performed with the Wellington G & S Society and Opera Technique, before moving to Melbourne in 1994 where he joined the G & S Society of Victoria. He has either appeared in or directed over one hundred and thirty productions, which include most of the G & S repertoire and such shows as Salad Days, The Boy Friend, Oklahoma!, Annie Get Your Gun, La Belle Helene, Lola Montez, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and The Beggar's Opera. He also devised the script for a production of "Double Acts" for Wellington G & S Society, celebrating "100 years of the masters and their music".

In December last year he appeared as Major-General Stanley for Melbourne City Opera and he has just repeated the role for the G & S Society of Victoria's July production. This is his first visit to Buxton (although not the first to England) and he is delighted to not only have the opportunity of performing the role of the Lord Chancellor, but also to meet with and enjoy the G & S offerings of many other groups from all parts of the world.

Amy Rauch, Leila
Washington, D.C., USA

Amy Rauch is very new to the world of G&S. The first production she ever saw was in 2003, when she played Fleta in Washington Savoyards production of Iolanthe. However, she has tried hard to catch up to her more experienced G&S friends, and now catches a good 30% of the jokes they make. She is thrilled to be making her first trip to the Festival, her first trip to the UK, and her first appearance in a singing principle role in any G&S production.

A native of Missouri, Amy spent her time studying anthropology, and managed to earn her degree between performances with the Southwest Missouri State University Opera Workshop. She took some time off, and was rescued from her ennui by the Victorian Lyric Opera Company, Washington Savoyards, The Forgotten Opera Company, and the Rude Mechanicals, with whom she recently had the chance to perform as Lady Macbeth in that most celebrated, if often unnamed, play by Shakespeare.

Tony Smith, Private Willis
Lincoln, UK

Tony has been a G&S enthusiast since being taken to see a production of Iolanthe at the tender age of 5. His opportunity to perform was delayed until only relatively recently, 1986, however since then he has made up for lost time by appearing in almost all the operas and has had the "privilege and pleasure" of playing most of the bass/baritone principal roles. Favourites include The Sergeant of Police, The Usher, Colonel Calverley, Pooh Bah, Sir Despard, Shadbolt, Don Alhambra, Bouncer and of course Willis. Apart from a recent break in 2003/4 he has attended all the G&S Festivals and appeared many times on the Opera House Stage having had principal roles in 7 Festival and 3 Savoynet productions.

Non G&S roles have included Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Emile De Bec in South Pacific (which was incidentally performed at the Buxton Opera House) and Tevye in Fiddler. He is looking forward to rejoining the Savoynet team for what is certain to be a well polished and professional production.

Anne Allwright
Poynton, Cheshire, UK

Originally from Killin, Scotland, Anne now lives in Poynton, Cheshire where she teaches at the local Junior School. Her love of G&S started when, at the age of 8, she sat by the piano as her mother accompanied a primary school production of The Mikado. Since joining Poynton Gilbert & Sullivan Society 12 years ago, she has performed most of the operettas, playing principals roles in several of them (including her two favourites - the Baroness in The Grand Duke, and Peep-Bo in The Mikado), as well as directing for many years. She also directs shows at school, including the children's version of Pirates and a community production of Oliver! in which she also played Mrs Sowerberry and a chorus man - one of the joys of being a tall alto! Anne has participated in several SavoyNet and Festival productions at Buxton, including a SavoyNet 'spin-off', A Sensation Novel in which she portrayed Lady Rockalda, 'the yellow-haired fiend with the panther-like movements'. Fabulous role! Anne is currently rehearsing Pirates at both Poynton (co-director) and Gawsworth open-air theatre (chorus), alongside Hoodwinked, a musical version of Robin Hood, at school.

Angie Arnell

Philip Barton
Little Sandhurst, Berkshire, UK

Originally from Bristol, Philip now lives in Little Sandhurst, Berkshire. His love of the G&S operas began when he was take to see a production of The Mikado by the D'Oyly Carte at age three. Starting with performances at school and college, Philip has been active with performing societies based in Stamford, Lincolnshire and in Camberley, Surrey for the past 25 years, and he is currently vice-chairman and treasurer of the Savoy Singers He has been in several productions of each of the works in the G&S canon (plus The Rose of Persia), and for the past seven years has appeared in productions at Buxton for both the Savoy Singers and for SavoyNet. Much of Philip's career has been spent in the plastic card industry and he is now visits his company's manufacturing facility in New Jersey, USA on a regular basis. This has allowed him to take part in the current production of Pirates with the Ridgewood G&S Opera Company.

Lisa Berglund, Assistant Director
Buffalo, New York, USA

Lisa Berglund is a member of Opera-lytes in Buffalo, NY; her most recent principal role was Cousin Hebe. As a member of the chorus she appeared in the Savoynet Buxton productions of Trial, Ruddigore, Patience, Sorcerer, and Pirates. In her copious free time Lisa is a professor in the English Department at Buffalo State College. She is author or editor of two books to be published later this year: Two Decades of Death: Reviews and Essays on Detective Fiction and Teaching Bibliography, Textual Editing and Book History.

Stuart Bull
Freiston, Boston, Lincolnshire, UK

Stuart was introduced to amateur dramatics at an early age, as the back end of the horse in a production of Toad of Toad Hall. This revealed his severe lack of terpsichorian skills, and since then he has concentrated on singing tenor. School productions of Gilbert and Sullivan hooked him to the Savoy Operas, and this continued as his hobby through University. His work as a Doctor and his growing family began to take precedence, and his amateur career was "rested" for a while until an easing of professional committments allowed him to resume treading the boards. He joined Boston Operatic Society (Lincolnshire, not Massachussetts) and has appeared in many principal roles in the last ten years, including Sir Joseph Porter and Nicely-Nicely Johnson.(See www.bostonoperatic.org.uk ). He has also directed for B.O.S., including The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, and Oklahoma!

Carol Davis
New York, New York

Carol's home company is New York's Blue Hill Troupe, where she has been happily singing for many years, both in the spring (G&S) and the fall (other stuff). She also spent a year in Philadelphia (joke there somewhere, I fancy) and sang with the Savoy Company there.

She is on the Board of Directors of the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players and editor of The Palace Peeper, the newsletter of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of New York. Carol was the host of a three-weekend Gilbert & Sullivan symposium in 1999 at NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art, moderating panel discussions and emceeing evening concerts.

She and Vikki Willoughby performed a two-person cabaret at the Buxton Festival Club in 2004 and are hopeful that they might be invited back... Carol also feels sort of responsible for the Blue Hill Troupe's presence in Buxton this year and hopes against hope that bringing over their wacky Grand Duke production turns out to be the great idea that she originally imagined it to be.

This is Carol's third trip to Buxton, and she'll keep on doing it as long as time and finances permit.

Christopher Diffey
Australia

Christopher Diffey began performing at the age of 5. He was a member of the National Boys Choir, and was part of their tour of Europe in 1991, performing at St. Peter's Basilica for Pope John Paul II, as well as Westminster Abbey. He has returned in recent years as an “old boy” to sing in the NBC’s Christmas concerts at the Concert Hall, performing traditional Irish carols. He also performed as a soloist in their 40th Anniversary concert, held last year at Robert Blackwood Hall. In 1993, he was in the VSO production of La Boheme.

Christopher completed his bachelor of Music with Honors from Monash University in 2002, majoring in Vocal performance under the tutelage of Peter Mander. In 2003, he performed in the Lyric Opera Company production of The Saint of Bleecker Street, playing the role of A Young Man, as well as being lead solo in St. Mark's Easter passion, broadcast on radio station 3MBS. Last year he sang the lead Tenor solos for Opera In The Alps, 2004 in Beechworth with Orchestra Victoria under Thomas Woods. Among other pieces performed was the World Premiere of the Gordon Kerry work Through the Fire. For Opera In The Market, 2004, Christopher was again one of the principle Tenor soloists, along with David Hobson. At the 2004 Annual National Liederfest he received the Pat Nicholson Memorial Encouragement Award, as well as making the final of the Austral Salon Vocal Championships. Christopher also appeared in the Melbourne City Opera production of Carmen as El Remondado, following on in their next production, Il Barbiere di Siviglia as Count Almaviva (understudy). At the end of last year, Christopher appeared in The Gilbert and Sullivan Society's production of The Mikado as Nanki-Poo, and in their 2005 production of HMS Pinafore as Ralph Rackstraw. In his most recent Eisteddfod appearance, Christopher won the Lieder section in the Dandenong Festival of Music & Art for Youth.

Upcoming performances for 2005 include the Melbourne City Opera production of Le Nozze di Figaro as Basilio, the Lyric Opera of Melbourne's production of Don Pasquale as Ernesto as well as a concert recital in the stunning Barn Gallery at Montsalvat in July. Later this year, Christopher will be moving to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music in their postgraduate vocal course opera program under the tuition of international tenor Phillip Doghan.

Jo Dunbar
England

Jo was born in Woking, Surrey, brought up & educated in Nottingham at the Bluecoat school, before moving up to Newcastle-upon-Tyne to attend University where she gained a degree & PhD in Chemistry. She has remained in the beautiful North East of England working for a major pharmaceutical firm in Quality Assurance, specialising in documentation & systems improvement.

She started singing at the age of 6 in her father's church choir, where she rose through the ranks to Head Choir Girl & also gained the Provost Award from Southwell Cathedral. She has sung most of the major oratorios several times taking parts in Elijah, Samson but the first major piece she had to learn, aged 6, was the Nelson Mass, sung in Latin!

She was the chief soloist at school, as well as playing the flute & piano, and attended the South Notts Music School in band, orchestra & flute choir.

She didn't start any stage work until the age of 20, when she was in the chorus of Jesus Christ Superstar. The following year she defected to the Newcastle University's G&S Society to play Edith in the Broadway version of The Pirates of Penzance in 1988, and has never left G&S! She has subsequently performed at least 1 G&S show a year, but only completed the canon last year. She has played all the soprano leads excepting Zara & Ida but is happy to take part in any capacity, ensuring fun is maintained at all times!

Last year she managed to perform Pirates with 3 different groups, guesting as Mabel on 3 hours notice, not having ever played the role before, then Edith in SavoyNet's Pirates of Penzance & Mabel with her own main society. She also managed to sneak in Princess Ida with her second group. This year she is looking forward to doing Iolanthe twice -- at Buxton & then as Phyllis in October. Iolanthe holds special memories for her, as whilst helping the university's G&S society, the directors were brave enough to cast her youngest border collie, Nell, as Phyllis' sheepdog (poor old Strephon only had wooden sheep!) Nell was hoping to debut this year at Buxton, but unfortunately although she is now almost 8 years old, her brain is still stuck at 8 months!

Her other hobbies include dog agility, gardening, needlework and bell-ringing.

Paul Ensell
Gateshead, England

In the little spare time left to him, Paul teaches Maths in a school for emotionally and behaviourally disturbed boys -- where he fits right in.

Kimmo Eriksson
Stockholm, Sweden

Mary Finn
Massachusetts, USA

Chris Hall

Lauren Holmes

Jonathan Ichikawa, Gentleman Usher
Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Jonathan Ichikawa is pleased to return for his second trip to Buxton, and is very pleased to have a chance to get on stage just a bit in the Savoynet Iolanthe. He will be performing throughout the Festival with the Young Ambassadors, a new group of young adult G&S performers sponsored by the Festival.

Jonathan is working on a Ph.D. in philosophy at Brown University. He's variously from Clayton, California, Midland, Michigan, Houston, Texas, and Providence, Rhode Island. He's performed G&S with several amateur societies in Michigan, Texas, and New England, and has founded university G&S groups at Rice University and Brown University.

Jonathan started his affair with G&S as a fifteen-year-old Dr. Daly with the Midland Music Society in 1997; since then, he's performed in baritone and bass principal and chorus roles in nineteen more G&S shows. Favorite past roles include Jack Point, the Pirate King, and Bunthorne; favorite future roles include Robin Oakapple, Giuseppe, and Grosvenor.

Jonathan chronicles his G&S life and Buxton experiences here: http://buxtondiary.blogspot.com

Arthur Kincaid
North Leigh, Oxfordshire, UK

Arthur Kincaid was struck by Gilbert & Sullivan at the age of 11, when his mother gave him a record of Martyn Green performing patter songs. He next managed to persuade his parents to let him move the record player from the living room to own his room by spending the summer playing the D'Oyly Carte record of Yeomen daily, performing Jack Point with actions. He dreamed of conquering academia by graduating from essay to larger essay ultimately to a thesis on G & S, but reckoned without the need for a musical education and instead did his doctoral thesis in Renaissance literature. After teaching, as a Shakespeare specialist with secondary interest in 19th century poetry, in universities of America, Canada, Germany, Portugal and the U. K. for several years, he spent 15 years as a professional actor before going back to being Professor of English in Estonia for 12 years, from which he has just retired, a bit early. He performed in G & S only occasionally between university and latish middle age, but is making up now for lost time. He was twice winner of the Buxton costume parade, once as a disconcerted ape.

Deirdre Kincaid
Oxfordshire, UK

Deirdre has been acting since she was 8, but started singing only fairly recently. She as played Shakespearean leads, including doubling Cordelia and the Fool at the Edinburgh Fringe. She has now sung chorus in all the operas except The Grand Duke, and has been in the last 5 Savoynet Buxton shows. In June this year she played her first G&S principal, Lady Blanche. She is no stranger to fairies, having played Fleta, Titania, and the Bad Fairy in Sleeping Beauty.

When not on stage, she struggles with an overlarge garden and tries to write her novel.

Claire Little
UK

Claire Little was born in York, and currently lives and works in London, which is definitely the wrong end of the country. She has been singing G&S since 1997, most recently with Grosvenor Light Opera Company, and her roles have included a spicy pasta sauce and a tenor pirate. Iolanthe will be her fourth performance at Buxton with SavoyNet, having taken a year off performing in 2004 to help Kathryn Barton terrorise the Pirates cast with a seam ripper and a pair of pinking shears.

Claire works as a business information researcher at the Institute of Directors, and in her spare time, when not prancing around a stage in a silly costume, she enjoys taxidermy, sky-diving and frog-collecting.

George R. Miller, Train Bearer to the Lord Chancellor
New York, New York, USA

George Miller, age 9, resides in Loudonville, New York, with his family. He is in the third grade at Southgate Elementary School. He enjoys playing the piano, singing, and playing lacrosse. This is George's third appearance in a Savoynet Production. In 2002, he appeared as Hercules in Sorcerer, and was a Utopian child in the Savoynet production of Utopia, Limited in 2003.

Lauren Miller
New York, New York, USA

Lauren, age 12, lives in Loudonville, New York. She is in her last year at Southgate and will be going to Shaker Junior High next year. Along with singing, Lauren likes to play the piano, the bass clarinet, and guitar, and enjoys reading mystery and science fiction books. She is also an excellent softball player. When she is not doing a few million pounds of homework, Lauren is either listening to music, playing outside, or talking to her friends on the telephone. Lauren just appeared in her school's musical production of The Castaways as Miss Barnaby. She has also appeared in two prior Savoynet Productions --- Sorcerer (2002) and Utopia, Ltd. (2003).

Annette Nichol

John Penn

Richard Pennicard
Chelmsford, UK

Richard has been interested in G&S since listening to his aunt's recordings of Mikado and Yeomen when a child. His first performance was in Patienc at university and since then he has performed in most of the canon and would like to hear from any group within 50 miles of chelsford who are planning to perform The Grand Duke. As a baritone, he is not too choosy about the roles he plays: his most recent solo G&S parts were Sir Roderic and the Duke of Dunstable. Outside G&S his roles have included Viigand (Chess), Pirelli (Sweeney Todd) and Kecal (Bartered Bride). He has been in the chorus for three previous Savoynet productions at Buxton, and was deputy stage manager for last year's Pirates.

Robyn Pidcock
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Robyn was born in Queensland, Australia and began performing with the Queensland Light Opera Company from age 17. She has performed in many of the G & S canon, as well as operetta, opera and musical comedy in Brisbane. While residing in Wellington, New Zealand she appeared with the Wellington Gilbert & Sullivan Company.

On return to Australia, to Melbourne, Victoria, she joined the Victorian Gilbert & Sullivan Society and has appeared in the full canon (including The Grand Duke and Utopia, Ltd.), also The Emerald Isle, The Rose of Persia, Merry England and concert versions of The Beauty Stone and Haddon Hall. Robyn enjoys being in the chorus and has performed minor principal roles.

Sarah-Jane Read
Devon, UK

I was first introduced to G&S at a very young age when my mum used to play me her G&S cassette tape to get me to sleep, it was one of my favourites! I saw my first G&S show at the age of 6 when I was dragged kicking and screaming to an amateur production of HMS Pinafore. Of course I loved it and apparently the first thing I said after it was......"I'm going to be in that one day Nanna!" - Well I havn't been in Pinafore yet but after joining the Ipswich Gilbert and Sullivan Society five years ago at the age of 15 I have been a chorus member and lead dancer in Patience, Ruddigore, Gondoliers, and Iolanthe.

I first went to the Buxton G&S festival in 2002 which is when I first heard about Savoynet and decided to join as soon as I got home, which I did. I was in the chorus of Savoynet's Pirates last year and am looking forward to a second performance as a real fairy this year! I have also been in many non-G&S shows and pantos with various local ametuer groups and schools, both on stage and in the pit band for which I play mostly flute and saxophone. I am curently studying theatre at Dartington College Of Arts in Devon, where I am learning to roll on the floor, play tag and get wet and muddy doing 'site performances.' Proudest moment - Getting (nearly) the last word in Ian Bradley's new book 'Oh Joy Oh Rapture'!!!

Nick Revels
Southampton, UK

Nick Revels was born in Derby and spent the first year of his life in a village in the Peak District near Buxton, before being snatched away and forced to spend the rest of his childhood in the grim south. Nick played the violin in the school orchestra, sang in the choir, and enthusiastically took part in every school play that would have him. His Gilbert and Sullivan debut was at the age of eleven as a peer in the highly-acclaimed 1973 Eagle House (boys-only) Prep School production of Iolanthe, in which his younger brother William appeared as a fairy (go to www.williamrevels.com/about0.html for photographic evidence.) A formative experience, as he was to discover.

At Buxton, Nick helped out in rehearsals and backstage in the 2003 and 2004 Savoynet productions, and joined the cast in singing in the after-show cabaret (aided with some crucial beer-consumption), and it was suggested to him that he ought to consider appearing on stage rather than cluttering-up the auditorium. Thus encouraged he became a Savoynetter, joined Southampton Operatic Society to be a peer in their spring 2005 production of Iolanthe, and is now making his Savoynet debut as a peer: not only will he enjoy the dubious pleasure of appearing once more on stage with brother William for the first time in 32 years, but he is able to steadfastly continue with his long-held belief that a true artist should have a repertoire of one just one work.

Nick read Mechanical Engineering at Exeter University, from which encouraging start he developed a career in the food industry, including an entertaining spell selling vibrators (industrial grade) and he will enthusiastically tell you about the finer points of poultry processing.

Nick lives near Southampton, UK, married Suzanne whom he met at an industrial equipment tradeshow in Germany and they have produced two daughters, who themselves are in charge of the accidental guinea pig breeding program.

William Revels
Littlehampton, West Sussex, UK

Born in Colchester, Essex, (UK), William made his G&S stage debut at the age of eight in an all-boys prep-school production of Iolanthe as a fairy, by over a year the youngest member of the cast, his elder brother Nick being a peer. Embarrassing photographic evidence can be found at www.williamrevels.com/about0.html.

He studied History of Art at the University of London, and at the same time trained as a singer with soprano Margaret White, and later with bass-baritone Norman Bailey. During the 1990s he balanced working for English National Opera in various administrative capacities with singing semi-professionally, and in particular premiering song cycles by David Arditti and William Hutchinson, which he also recorded.

In 1997 illness forced him to leave London for the South Coast and to abandon singing, he thought for ever. But in 2000 he was able to resume, joining Littlehampton Players Operatic Society and singing his first (and still favourite) G&S role, Dr Daly. Since then he has sung with most of the local opera companies; his G&S roles include The Pirate King, Sergeant Meryll, Robin/Ruthven, Mountararat, Cox, and Giuseppe, his non-G&S credits include Fred/Petruchio (Kiss me Kate), Danilo, Camille (Merry Widow), Falke, Eisenstein (Fledermaus), Paris (La Belle Helene), and Raoul (La Vie Parisienne).

At The G&S Festival at Buxton he has played Mr Goldbury and Samuel, both in Savoynet productions, and will be singing Counsel for the Plaintiff in Trial by Jury in the 2005 David Duffey production.

His musical first-love, however, has always been Verdi, and he numbers among his roles the title part in Rigoletto, Germont Pere (Traviata) and Ford (Falstaff), and will be singing Montano (Otello) for Southwick Opera in May 2006. He is very much looking forward to the Savoynet Iolanthe and being on stage with big brother Nick for the first time in 32 years!

Jane Richardson

Les Richardson

John Sabberton
NewWoodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, UK

John comes from Woodhall Spa in rural Lincolnshire and has performed in most of the G & S operettas taking minor principal parts and chorus. He is also a member of Nene Opera in Peterborough who are also performing at Buxton this season. Other societies include West Norfolk G & S Society and Boston Operatic where, apart from G & S, he has performed inseveral Musicals recently(Oklahoma, Guys & Dolls, and South Pacific this Autumn).

John is an accountant by trade and owns his own compnay, which is a national chicken-selling and production based company, selling throughout the UK.

John is married with one daughter, who is a hairdresser.

Marc Shepherd, Chorus Leader
New York, New York, USA

Marc caught the G&S bug starting in junior high school, first performing, and later assistant-directing, over eight happy years at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Northern Michigan. He went on to join the University of Michigan Gilbert & Sullivan Society in his college years, performing in nine productions over five years, and also serving as its President for one year and as editor of the journal GASBAG for another.

After graduation, a professional life intruded, and Marc dropped out of performing for about a dozen years, until appearing in the chorus of both Festival Productions in the innaugural G&S Festival at Buxton in 1994. He has also appeared at Buxton in the Savoynet productions of Yeomenand Sorcerer, and he assistant-directed Patience.

David Stieber
Coppet, Switzerland

Now making his UK stage debut at an advanced age, despite having grown up (in Bournemouth) in a family that had been very active in a 1930's London G&S group. Having undergone a gnome transplant over 30 years ago, he moved to Switzerland where he has since lurked in the chorus of countless productions of the Geneva Amateur Operatic Society, among which 7 G&S shows including this spring's Iolanthe, which gave him the courage to apply to join this production. He also took part in a number of G&S shows in the Boston (USA) area in the early 1980's (including a nautical Pinafore on board the Boston harbour cruise), as well as in La Périchole a few years ago at the Waterford Festival in Ireland.

David spectated at the first 4 G&S Festivals in the 90's, starting in Buxton and then moving on to Philadelphia and San Francisco, as well as the more recent Eastbourne edition featuring those remarkable Estonians. Other manifestations of a propensity for obscure travel include drafting these notes in the middle of the Guatemalan jungle.

Kelsey Thornton
Breda, Netherlands

I have sung in all 13 Gilbert & Sullivan Operettas at least once and a number of times at Gawsworth Hall, a Tudor stately home near Macclesfield, in their Summer Opera season.

I have taken part in many shows at the International G&S festival as part of the chorus backing ex-D'Oyly Carte principals such as Kenneth Sandford, Valerie Masterson and Gillian Knight.

I have also been on stage in all of the SavoyNet shows to date, and many 'festival' productions.

Since moving to the Netherlands some years ago I have had to curtail my (UK) choir activities, but I have still managed to sing with the Carols for Christmas! choir at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Belgium. That was a wonderful experience!

Previously, I have sung with the Hathersage Choir as Pluto in a concert of Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, a number of opera and musical theatre concerts with the Phoenix Opera Chorus, and I have also been able to sing with the Malcolm Sargent Charity choir in the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Sarah Vamplew
Sidcup, Kent, UK

Sarah is a student in Canterbury currently studying for a degree in Social Science. When not studying she lives in Sidcup, Kent helping out backstage in shows at the Bob Hope theatre Eltham. She has been a part of savoynet since 1999 and returns to complete another show in the canon after a year's break. Sarah has grown up with G&S and is looking forward to being in another Savoynet show and to metting faces old and new.

Chris Wain
Newcastle-under-Lyme, UK

Chris learnt his G&S young - at the age of two his godfather said he was the youngest child he had ever heard singing "A more humane Mikado." Rather later, his first appearance on stage in the canon was for the Oxford University Gilbert & Sullivan Society in The Yeomen of the Guard, as townsman and headsman’s assistant. After some years singing little G&S (except for extracts in a local male voice choir) he rediscovered it at about the same time as the first Buxton festival. He has been in each Savoynet production since 1998, and in the rest of the year sings with the Centenary Amateur Operatic Society at Stoke-on-Trent. He believes he was the last Ko-Ko of the 20th century (at any rate in the Greenwich time-zone), having held a QWERT in which The Mikado finished at 11.40 pm on 31st December 2000.

Chris has been known to appear in other thespian activities, and was last seen on Good Friday as Pontius Pilate. His other interests include politics (he agrees with Private Willis) and the works of Dorothy L Sayers (who was also fond of using quotations from Gilbert & Sullivan). His ambition is to sing "Hail Poetry" in the Antarctic. He also finds time to work at Keele University, where he began as a librarian but now works in the QA Office.

Sandra Wain
Newcastle-under-Lyme, UK

Sandra has enjoyed singing all her life in a wide variety of styles and contexts. She began her G&S career at the top, starring as Nanki-Poo (no, this is not a mistake -- it was at an all-girls school!), but she did not then know how significantly the canon was to figure in her future life. When she met Chris she had to follow a steep learning curve, which she surmounted well, completing her full set of operas as an audience-member within three years. She has been attending QWERTs since 1998, and this is her third Savoynet production. She claims never to quote G&S ... well, hardly ever.

She also sings currently with Centenary Amateur Operatic Society and the Keele Chapel Singers. She works as a housing manager in local government.

Laurence Weissbrot
Glastonbury, Connecticut, USA

Laurie was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Queens. His first introduction to G&S was before he entered elementary school, when his older brother's school mounted a production of Pinafore. He did a little acting in High School and college, and then stayed away from the stage as he pursued a career as an actuary. When his children were studying Suzuki violin, he began studying voice with their music theory teacher. A successful audition for chorus launched his singing career with Simsbury Light Opera Company near Hartford, Connecticut. After five years in the Simsbury chorus and understudying 14 roles without ever getting a chance at a lead, he joined Connecticut Gilbert and Sullivan Society, which cast him as Grosvenor. Subsequently he has had the great fortune to play Tipseon, Bill Bobstay, the Pirate King (also with Actorsingers in Nashua, New Hampshire), Antonio, the Usher, Pish Tush, Marmaduke, Private Willis, Wilfred Shadbolt, Dick Deadeye, Roderic, Arac, Sergeant of Police, Don Alhambra and The Mikado.

Since discovering Savoynet, Laurie has met many new G&S friends at a variety of Sing-outs, Sing-ins and QWERTs. His three-octave range allowed him to try the high baritone of Luiz at the recent QWERTY/Conn III.

He is really looking forward to his first trip to Buxton (or to England, for that matter), and appearing in the Savoynet production of Iolanthe. "Performing Gilbert and Sullivan is the most fun you can have with someone else's clothes on."

Barbara Whitfield
Cheshire, UK

Barbara is a Local Government employee working for Cheshire County Council as a Facilities Manager in Social Services. Married with two sons, Barbara lives with her family in the heart of Cheshire and enjoys many hobbies besides singing, including cookery, entertaining, walking and, until recently, leading the Junior section of Mid Cheshire Amateur Operatic Society for 6 1/2 years, to name but a few.

Barbara has enjoyed "treading the boards" since the tender age of 17. She has a wide variety of experience from local amateur dramatics to the professional stage and TV. Although Barbara enjoys playing dramatic roles, she has a soft spot for G&S and is currently a member of several operatic societies, including the Pheonix Opera Chorus who perform annually at Gawsworth Hall open-air theatre. The last time Barbara performed in Iolanthe, she gained notoriety for "upstaging" the Fairy Queen with her comic antics. She promises, however, to be on her best behaviour for the Buxton performance "honestly!" Alongside Iolanthe, Barbara is currently rehearsing The Pirates of Penzance with two companies, Pheonix Opera Chorus, for Gawsworth Hall in July and as Edith with Poynton Gilbert & Sullivan Society in October. Alongside these, Barbara is also rehearsing The Merry Widow with Warrington Light Opera for next Spring. This will be Barbara’s first Savoynet production and she is delighted to be taking part this year.

Ian Whitfield
Cheshire, UK

Ian is a self employed Painter & Decorator. Married with two sons, Ian lives with his family just outside Northwich in Cheshire. Ian’s hobbies include singing, gardening and, most important of all, supporting Manchester City Football Club where he has been a season ticket holder for many years along with his youngest son.

Known locally as "The Singing Decorator", Ian has performed many major roles in both musical theatre and the Gilbert & Sullivan operas. His roles have covered such diverse characters as Alfred P Doolittle in My Fair Lady under the direction of Howard Raw and Ali Hakim in Oklahoma. However, Ian's first love is G&S and it is here that he excels. His roles include The Sergeant of Police in The Pirates of Penzance, Shadbolt & Sergeant Meryll in The Yeomen of the Guard, Colonel Calverley in Patience, Arac in Princess Ida, Mountararat in Iolanthe, The Judge & Usher in Trial by Jury and his all time favourite, Pooh Bah in The Mikado.

Alongside Iolanthe, Ian is also rehearsing for Pirates of Penzance with the Pheonix Opera Company for Gawsworth in July, The Merry Widow with Warrington Light Opera for next Spring and the Pirate King, Pirates of Penzance, for Poynton G&S Society in October. This will be Ian's second Savoynet production, having previously taken part in The Yeomen of the Guard, and he is looking forward to seeing some familiar faces again this year.

Victoria Willoughby
New York, USA

I have no idea how I became so entrenched in Gilbert and Sullivan for all these years as I am sure I was just setting off to meet people outside of work for a friendly beer. But after performing chorus for the entire canon (sometimes twice) I can conjure up as many 'Gilbertian Lines' as anyone else on Savoynet and the songs never really leave my head for any extended period of time.

I am a member of The St. Barts Players and the Blue Hill Troupe, Ltd. Favorite roles elsewhere include Domina (A Funny Thing...), Rapunzel (Into the Woods), Jenny (Company) and Madame Arcati (High Spirits). I also performed with the Savoynet in Buxton as Mrs. Partlett (Sorcerer) and Kate in last year's production of Pirates.

During the day I work as a paralegal and share a house upstate with husband Jack, a very time consuming activity, I must say.