A SOCIETY of singers will be performing a Gilbert and Sullivan classic this weekend.

Maldon Choral Society is performing The Sorcerer on Saturday from 7.30pm at the United Reformed Church in Maldon.

The performance will feature soloists from Chelmsford City Opera and pianist Caroline Finlay will provide the accompaniment.

In the musical, Alexis, a young man, believes that love will overcome all class barriers.

To promote this idea, he hires a sorcerer, Mr John Wellington Wells, to brew a love elixir to be served at the feast celebrating his wedding to Aline.

This potion will cause all attending the feast in the village, except those who are married, to fall asleep and on waking up, to fall in love with the first person they see. The result, of course, is chaos.

Gilbert’s passion for satirising the excessive focus of the English on class differences is introduced for the first time in this work, with a plot that turns the entire social order upside down. Music director Gillian Ward Russell said: “Occasionally, we venture into the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan, which we present semi-staged with soloists.

“This work is a tale of romance and fantasy, where the marriage of Gilbert’s witty words and Sullivan’s memorable melodies make a perfect partnership.”

Tickets are £12 in advance and £14 on the door.

Tickets will be available from the Tourist Information Centre in Wenlock Way, or by calling 01621 856503, emailing tic@maldon.gov.uk or visiting ticketsource.co.uk/maldon-choral-society. The society’s autumn concert will be Mozart’s Requiem on November 23. Visit maldonchoralsociety.org.uk.