Ruddigore, New Rosemere Amateur Operatic Society, Albert Halls. Runs until Saturday: THERE can surely be no three words in the English language that can chill the blood quite like Gilbert and Sullivan.

To their modern detractors,

NOTHING seems to capture the eccentricities of the imperial age as effectively as the operas by Gilbert and Sullivan such as, HMS Pinafore, the Pirates of Penzance or indeed Ruddigore.

More than a century after their hey-day their work remains as much part of English heritage as roast beef.

This phenomenon is largely thanks to the unrelenting zeal of performing groups such as the Rosemere Amateur Operatic Society, who thrive on Sullivan's bombastic tunes and relish every word of Gilbert's biting satirical wit.

So exactly what awaits the uninitiated at Bolton's latest outing for G&S?

Well, of course you get the odd ruddy-faced sailor, Union Flags in abundance and choruses that threaten to lift the roof off Albert Hall every five minutes.

The sizeable audience knew what to expect and lapped up every minute of it.

And judging by the rapturous applause which greeted the culmination of every scene sometimes before it had quite finished, many of them were perhaps not unfamiliar with the opera itself.

Besides, even the coldest heart could not deny its benefactor the odd wry smile when Gilbert is at his most sardonic or swell as Sullivan lifts the orchestra to new heights in spite of the odd squeaky violin.

And with a devoted cast that seem destined to be still dancing the hornpipe when this review hits print, even a cynic can afford a smile.

Gareth Tidman