About the Society
A scene from our 2009 production of Iolanthe
Melrose Amateur Operatic Society (MAOS) was formed in 1935 by Gilbert and Sullivan enthusiasts and is the only society regularly performing Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the Scottish Borders.
75 years later, the Society continues to perform a Gilbert and Sullivan opera annually in the Corn Exchange, Melrose. There has been an annual show every year, apart from the war years and 1958. (We don’t know why there was no production that year - please let us know if you do!)
There are currently 39 singing members, 15 non-singing members and four life members. The Society is managed by a committee elected by members at the Annual General Meeting in May, when the show for two years hence is chosen by popular vote of members. (ie 2012 show chosen in 2010).
In 2010, the Society’s 75th anniversary production was The Gondoliers, the ninth time we have performed it.