Two humble, handsome gondoliers choose their brides from several eligible young ladies in Venice. But within minutes of their marriage, the Grand Inquisitor of Spain reveals that one of them is actually the King of Barataria. But which is the king? And which the gondolier? The two gondoliers are whisked off, without their new brides, to Barataria to reign jointly (taking their ideals of a Republic with them) until the true king is determined. The King (whichever he is) had been married, when an infant, to the impoverished daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro, Spain. The daughter, however, secretly loves another. How will this entangled situation be resolved? With clever Gilbert and Sullivan humor, one of Sullivan’s finest orchestrations, and lively song and dance.