On a day of flood alerts, Venetian sunshine fills the theatre. Yes, The Gondoliers are in town, in Scottish Opera’s sparkling production.

Designer Dick Bird’s Venice is more fuzzy Watteau than pin-sharp Canaletto, aided by Paul Keogan’s lighting. The canal runs along the back of the stage, handy for arrivals by gondola, and the costumes are gorgeous. Hat-tip to Yvonne Howard (Duchess of Plaza-Toro) for singing while wearing an upholstered side-board, and with what looked like an elongated model gondola in her wig.

W.S Gilbert’s plot is more plausible than most – a royal child, orphaned by a revolution, rescued by the Grand Inquisitor and left with a gondolier and his wife, to bring up in safety. The two boys become gondoliers and all the girls fancy them; Marco (William Morgan) and Giuseppe (Mark Nathan) are both rather full of themselves. Living in republican Venice - having just married Gianetta (Ellie Laugharne) and Tessa (Sioned Gwen Davies) respectively - when they are told that one of them is king of Barataria, they decide to share the role and for everyone in their new kingdom to be equal. The attitudes they strike are mirror images, and their parti-coloured royal garments further illustrate their indivisibility. When Marco sings about a pair of sparkling eyes, Giuseppe is in full agreement.

Patter merchant Richard Suart updates the Duke of Plaza-Toro’s lyrics in traditional fashion with references to Extinction Rebellion and loft insulation, Cummings and goings, ‘prenez un grip’ and ‘donnez-moi un break’. Ben McAteer is channelling Elizabethan dramatist Robert Greene, from the TV series ‘Upstart Crow’, in his portrayal of the Grand Inquisitor. He may even twirl his moustache.

The Duke’s daughter, Casilda, is aghast to discover she was wed in infancy to the infant king-to-be of Barataria, for she and her father’s drummer / attendant are in love. Catriona Hewitson, whose frock is only half as wide as her mother’s, is no simpering miss. She is brisk and practical compared with her beloved Luiz (Dan Shelvey), whose character is surprisingly wet for a bari-hunk. His mother is tortured onstage by the Grand Inquisitor – Cheryl Forbes’s agonised screams are surprisingly musical.

If Gilbert’s libretto is witty and fun, Sullivan’s music is varied and complex – the quartet "In a contemplative fashion" one such, well-sung by the two gondoliers and their wives. From the opening notes of the overture, the orchestral playing, conducted by Derek Clarke, is effervescent as prosecco, yet precise and flowing towards the inexorably happy ending.

And then there is the dancing. As in any G&S opera, the chorus has a lot of singing to do and does it very well. To do so and dance so vigorously is more of a challenge. Isabel Baquero’s choreography is lively and fills the stage with swirling and twirling, stamping and clapping which fits naturally into the storyline – a true opera-ballet!

Thus director Stuart Maunder sends the audience out with a smile on their face and a spring in their step, telling each other ‘That was great’.