“Opera Meets Bollywood” is the eye-catcher on the yellow flyers advertising “The Sorcerer,” and the short answer is that the Stanford Savoyards manage to pull it off. This Gilbert & Sullivan light opera follows Alexis Iyangar, a benevolent but misguided young man who is convinced that the joy of love can override all worldly unhappiness. When Alexis commissions a sorcerer to create a love potion for the entire village, minor disasters ensue.

Director David Euresti’s decision to set this production in Victorian India is surprising, considering that no “Bollywood” alterations to the musical score accompany the decision to dress actors in traditional Indian attire and change Western last names like “Poindextre” to equisyllabic Indian counterparts, like “Iyengar.”

The theme, however, proves to be surprisingly attractive and effective: bright silks adorn the stage and chorus numbers are livened up by Bollywood-style choreography, which effortlessly blends in with Gilbert & Sullivan’s original score. In fact, the theme is executed so well that one could legitimately wonder if the opera was, in its original form, set in an amicable Indian village during the English occupation.

The more difficult question to answer may be how the theme complicates the pressures normally associated with the performance of a “light opera”: directing actors to balance the pressures of singing, dancing, and acting.

The cast makes a valiant effort on all fronts, and there is certainly a good deal of talent in the show. The show features an endearing and active chorus of villagers, and the flurry of action in the chorus pieces is one of the most entertaining parts of the show. Freshmen Alejandra Martinez and Rebecca Sacks, as unhappy maiden Constance and her mother Mrs. Partlett, respectively, open the show with excellent vocal performances and maintain strong stage presences throughout. Paul Melville as Sir Mahadesh Iyengar, Alexis’ father, and Jenn Wheelwright as Lady Abilasha Balrampour, Alexis’ mother-in-law, also give commendable performances, as long-time mutual admirers frustrated by the demands of social propriety.

Geoff Schaeffer’s portrayal of sorcerer John Wellington Wells is also notable in that he shows off vocal talent as well as admirable comedic timing. Schaffer’s ability to enunciate while singing quick, tongue-twisting lines is also a welcome relief in a show in which vocals are sometimes overpowered by the capable orchestra.

Jonathan Erman gives an energetic and enthusiastic performance of Alexis Iyengar, and though his on-stage happiness feels a little gratuitous in parts, he handles his numerous lines with panache while unequivocally excelling as a vocalist. His collaboration with sophomore Aumna Iqbal, who plays Alexis’ oft-suffering wife Aline, may be the best part of the show. While Erman and Iqbal do not have palpable romantic chemistry onstage, their harmony is outstanding, and this vocal chemistry is the driving force behind the show.

Iqbal, however, is a case study for the extensive pressures that the Bollywood twist places on cast members. Though a capable leading lady and an excellent soprano, Iqbal appears distracted as she leads an ensemble of female dancers in Bollywood-style group dancing. Her dancing is fine and her performance, in the end, is one of the show’s strongest, but her uneasy preoccupation with perfecting the complicated choreography is mirrored throughout the show in many other cast members who must juggle complex dance moves with singing and dancing.

Overall, this ambitious production is a worthwhile endeavor. For one, this may be the only wedding of Bollywood and comedic opera that this campus will ever see. Additionally, unlike many Gilbert & Sullivan operas, “The Sorcerer” is not weighted down by lengthy plots that meander pointlessly, but explores an outrageous premise with a series of deft, light scenes. It is a good story told in an entertaining manner, and this production manages the essential integrity of the original while executing a daring twist to satisfaction.

“The Sorcerer” will be running November 10, 11, and 18 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 19 at 2:30 p.m. in the Dinkelspiel Auditorium. Tickets are $10 for students and children, $12 for seniors, and $16 for adults.