It's 11 o'clock on a Thursday morning. From a nearby park drifts the strains of opera music and laughter. Is it the residents of the local loony bin? No, it's just us spending a refreshing morning at the park.
We're perched on the see-saw, bouncing gently as we fumble our way through our favourite Gilbert and Sullivan pieces.
"I'm called Little Buttercup," we sing gaily, before suddenly switching to, "For I am a pirate king!"This is hardly the music you would expect a normal seven year old to be singing. But then, most seven year olds haven't been introduced to the delights of Gilbert and Sullivan's comical operettas.
From men disguised as women in a lady's academy, to pirates, to ancient Japan, their operas seem to cover everything under the sun. The music is catchy, and the words amusing. We love to sit down of a night to watch a production.
"What shall we watch? Princess Ida?"
"I want to watch The Mikado."
"How about The Pirates of Penzance?"
Eventually we decide on a movie and settle down to watch it, humming the music, and laughing at familiar jokes.
We love these operas so much that we even borrowed a book of their music from the library. Even Charlotte the shy singer can be persuaded to take on one of the male parts. The little girls revel in the songs of their favourite characters, while I glory in the showy soprano parts.
We're Gilbert and Sullivan girls, and proud to be so. Our song matter, our conversations, the movies on our shelves all proclaim this fact. And we'll be Gilbert and Sullivan girls for a long time more.
Have you seen any of Gilbert and Sullivan's amazing operas? Do you like to sing random songs from your favourite musicals?
