My first experience of G&S was when I was taken, aged about 10, by my parents to see a local amateur operatic group. I thought then what a jolly lot they were and the cheerful music has been with me ever since. All the performances since have been similar – the cast having a good time, never mind the audience.

The Theatre Royal refers to this operetta as ‘a musical delight’ and so it is. With rip-roaring gusto the Carl Rosa Opera opens the evening with a sea-faring number sung and played with enthusiasm on board HMS Pinafore.

Set in 1805 this was, at the time written, by far the longest running of any of any of the Savoy Operas. HMS Pinafore was written with Gilbert’s usual flare for both satire of the British class system and mistaken identity. Babies mistakenly swapped at a tender age later fall in love and the outlandish thought that a captain’s daughter, Josephine, could marry an ordinary seaman cannot even be contemplated.

Josephine (Abigail Iveson, a fine soprano), is to marry the admiral (Eric Roberts) but she has set her heart on Ralph Rackstraw, (Jeremy Finch) an ordinary seaman. Unable to accept the admiral’s offer he assumes that she thinks she is not good enough for him and with Never Mind the Why and Wherefore he stresses that all men are equal.

Josephine has the answer she needs – that she and Ralph can marry.

Even better, it then turns out that as babies both Josephine and Ralph had been farmed out as infants and mistakenly returned to their wrong parents.

Ralph is indeed the captain, and the captain (Stephen Page), an ordinary seaman.

The entire cast sang their way with authority and though in the first act Captain Corcoran seemed to have a little more character, the admiral (along with his sisters and his cousins and his aunts) brought a bit more frivolity to the stage.

The second act seemed to quicken its pace, with the story moving along more robustly and bringing more personality to the characters.

It would be hard to pick anyone out as the outstanding performer, voices were rich and resounding.

The seamen’s routines were feet-perfect while the ladies were just that. The cast, with a wealth of experience behind them in both opera and theatre including the West End, were supported by an excellent orchestra under the leadership of Timothy Henty.

I suppose we should have expected nothing less than we got, a thoroughly good evening . The fun lasts until Saturday.