You are known to be obsessed with G&S. Why do you find their repertoire so special?

My love affair with G&S (and how many creators are instantly recognised by their initials alone?) really began in high school. I love the language, the wit, the honest emotion and the topsy-turvy madness. At 16, when performing my first G&S role, I discovered a book called Martyn Green’s Treasury of Gilbert & Sullivan, which annotated all of the librettos. I read it from cover to cover and fell in love with the language – words that you’d never meet in your ordinary life; words that seemed to have been coined simply for the thrill of it. Even without hearing the music, I was hooked. 

Stuart Maunder. Photo © Charlie Kinross

My adoration of Sullivan came a little later. Through recordings of the Savoy Operas, I revelled in the composer’s sprightly, gleeful invention as well as getting my first taste of classical music. Sullivan’s extraordinary ability to satirise, pay homage and celebrate other composers allowed me to discover a whole new world of musical styles from Handel to Donizetti, Verdi and even...