Welcome to the 2012 newLOG summer tour. This will be the tenth June visit to Louth, and our ninth as the New London Opera Group. To mark this, we are tackling one of the most difficult and demanding of the G&S operas, Utopia Limited, first performed at the Savoy Theatre in 1893. Over the coming months, we will be adding more information to the website, including the precise version of the libretto we will be using and material for the auditions. Utopia Limited was the opera that marked Gilbert and Sullivan's comeback, after the bitter carpet quarrel, during which the partners had faced each other across a court room. By contrast, Utopia was produced in a spirit of almost unprecedented harmony and co-operation, with both men bending over backwards to accommodate the other's requests and suggestions.

Utopia Limited was produced on an unprecedented scale of opulence – the original production cost almost twice the cost of mounting The Gondoliers, which had been such a source of disagreement during the carpet quarrel. There is more pure stage spectacle in Utopia, than in any of the other operas, with several processions and ceremonies, culminating in a full-scale recreation of a Victorian court reception in Act II. Utopia Limited also deploys a much larger cast than any of the other operas. There are 11 male principal roles, rising to 15 when one includes the quartet of Life Guards, and the number of female principals equates to those of Princess Ida.

First night reviews of the opera were largely positive, with George Bernard Shaw (no less) writing that he "enjoyed the score of Utopia Limited more than any of the previous Savoy operas". Audiences remained steadily good throughout the original run. However, the enormous cost of the production meant that even large audiences produced only a small profit (but most importantly, the production did not make a loss) and the opera was eventually closed after 245 performances (just one fewer than Princess Ida in 1884). Even after the closure, the touring D'Oyly Carte companies continued to play Utopia into the twentieth century.

However, from then on Utopia Limited slid into obscurity. Gilbert was thinking about a revival at the Savoy when he died in 1911; Rupert D'Oyly Carte considered a revival in the 1920s, but decided that the huge cost of staging the work was prohibitive. Utopia Limited was finally revived by the D'Oyly Carte Opera in their centenary season in 1975, a production that was so oversubscribed that extra performances had to be scheduled later in the year. The opera was also recorded (without dialogue). The most recent professional production was at the 2011 Buxton G&S festival, where the opera was a given a triumphant sell out production by an all-star cast of modern Savoyards, including Donald Maxwell, Jill Pert and Simon Butteriss. Reviewing this performance in the Daily Telegraph, Rupert Christiansen wrote that

"Sullivan is on top form throughout. The choruses are as good if not better than any in the canon, and other highlights include a duet of almost Verdian beauty for tenor and soprano, a show-stopping patter septet, a deliciously camp number for the stomping Life Guards, and a wittily Betjemanesque hymn to English girls of five foot ten and eleven stone two."

Utopia Limited has twice been recorded and broadcast by the BBC in 1966 and 1989.

Apart from these rare productions, it has been left to amateur companies to fly the flag for Utopia Limited. The University of London Opera Group (newLOG's predecessor) produced the opera in 1965 and 1985, and our sister company at Imperial College, London, performed it in 1990. This is the first production by a group on our circuit since then.

This production will be conducted by Graham Rogers, newLOG's Musical Director and G&S specialist. Stage direction will be by Chris Cann, who has previously directed a number of productions for newLOG and other companies. The production is shaping up to be the most spectacular show we have yet done at the Riverhead Theatre, Louth, so don't miss out on this rare opportunity to perform one of the most underrated Savoy Operas.
Why take part in Utopia Limited?

Why indeed? Here are 10 reasons to take part:

1. It's a "once in a lifetime" chance to be in the most rarely performed G&S show! Utopia Limited hasn't been staged by our circle of London groups for over 20 years: this is a great opportunity to clock it up and/or complete your set of G&S operas.

2. With its satire on political corruption (MPs expenses), financial chicanery (banking crash) and the gutter press (phone hacking), Utopia Limited has become a particularly topical opera to stage.

3. There are a lot of principal roles (particularly compared to HMS Pinafore) that give a chance for more members of the company to shine. There are the same number of female roles as for Princess Ida (4 major and 3-4 smaller) and a total of 15 male roles of varying sizes, including four Life Guard troopers.

4. Just because it's never done, that doesn't mean it's no good! It's full of the fun music, lively wit and plentiful chorus involvement that you love in all the other G&S shows. The main obstacles to staging it are the requirements for a large cast and opulent costumes – but newLOG is well up for meeting those demands. Our production will go all-out for the lavish stage spectacle: it really will be quite an experience.

5. The only experience of Utopia Limited that most people in our circle have are the unrehearsed scratch concert performances at the Imperial College G&S marathons. These are hardly the best way to judge the work, which includes a lot of memorable but challenging music in Sullivan's mature style that is not easily sight-readable; but after a couple of rehearsals you won't be able to stop humming it. The marathons also don't involve any of the all-important stage spectacle on which the show relies. Our production will be a great opportunity to re-evaluate the opera: remember, the 2003 Imperial production of The Grand Duke led to a favourable reappraisal of that work, previously dismissed as a complete dud, but hugely enjoyed by all who took part.

6. By doing the Louth tour, you get to be part of the lovely and unique Louth experience with all the parties, the curry, beach picnic and other fun social events - "organised" and otherwise. Summer wouldn't be the same without Louth!

7. It is always wonderful to perform for the appreciative Louth audiences: our performances are an eagerly awaited fixture in the Riverhead Theatre calendar.

8. If you're suspicious of Utopia because you don't know it, think back to your first encounter with a G&S show and remember what a joyous voyage of discovery it was. It's fantastic to have the chance to experience that again.

9. The show will be produced by an experienced and passionate team, including Graham Rogers (MD) and Chris Cann (stage director), both of whom have been responsible for many of newLOG's great successes in Louth.

10. Our Utopia production is going to be a major event – don't miss out! Because productions are so rare, we expect to attract fans from all over the country to see our version. The recent Buxton Festival production was a total sell out, complete with returns queues round the block!