The Pirates of Penzance
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The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on December 31, 1879, where the show was a hit with audiences and critics [1]. The London premiere was on April 3, 1880, at the Opera Comique, where it ran for 363 performances, having already been playing successfully for over three months in New York.
Pirates remains popular today, taking its place along with The Mikado and H.M.S. Pinafore as one of the most frequently played Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Its successful 1981 Broadway revival by Joseph Papp refreshed its popularity.
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[edit] Background
The Pirates of Penzance was the only Gilbert and Sullivan opera to have its official premiere in New York. At the time, American law offered no copyright protection to foreigners. After their previous opera, H.M.S. Pinafore, was a hit in London, over a hundred American companies quickly mounted unauthorized "pirated" productions, often taking considerable liberties with the text and paying no royalties to the creators. By mounting their next opera in New York, Gilbert and Sullivan hoped to forestall further "piracy," by establishing the official production in America before others could copy it. Gilbert, Sullivan, and their producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte, tried for many years to control the American performance copyrights over their operas, without success.[1]
The creative period for Pirates was unusual, in that Sullivan composed the acts in reverse — bringing the completed Act II with him, with Act I existing only in sketches. When he arrived in New York, he found that he had left the sketches behind, and he had to reconstruct the first act from memory. Gilbert told a correspondent many years later that Sullivan was unable to recall his setting of the entrance of the women's chorus, so they substituted the chorus "Climbing over rocky mountain" from their earlier opera, Thespis. Sullivan's manuscript for Pirates contains pages removed from a Thespis score, with the vocal parts altered from their original context as a four-part chorus.
Some scholars (e.g., Tillett and Spencer, 2000) have offered evidence that Gilbert and Sullivan had planned all along to re-use "Climbing over rocky mountain," and perhaps other parts of Thespis, noting that the presence of a Thespis score in New York when there were no plans to revive it might not have been accidental. In any event, "Climbing over rocky mountain," one other song, and a ballet are the only portions of the score of Thespis known to have survived.
On December 10, 1879, Sullivan wrote a letter to his mother about the new opera, upon which he was hard at work in New York. "I think it will be a great success, for it is exquisitely funny, and the music is strikingly tuneful and catching." True enough, The Pirates of Penzance was an immediate hit in New York, and later London, and takes its place today as one of the most popular G&S works.
There was one other premiere of note. To secure British copyright, there was a perfunctory performance the evening before the New York premiere, at the Royal Bijou Theatre Paignton, Devon, organised by Helen Lenoir (who would later marry Richard D'Oyly Carte). The cast, having performed Pinafore the night before, read from scripts carried onto the stage, making do with whatever costumes they had on hand.
The work's title is a multi-layered joke. On the one hand, Penzance was a docile seaside resort at the time, and not the place where one would expect to encounter pirates. On the other hand, the title was also a jab at the theatrical pirates who had staged unlicensed productions of H.M.S. Pinafore in America.
Sullivan's score borrowed from several musical traditions. In the Major-General's Act II song, "Sighing softly to the river", the composer imitates Schubert's partsongs for male voices. Also, the "Come, Friends Who Plough the Sea" section of "With Catlike Tread" resembles the anvil chorus from Il Trovatore. In another scene in Act II, Mabel addresses the police, who chant their response, in an imitation of the form of an Anglican church service's canticle and response. One of the most famous passages from the finale to Act I, referred to as "Hail Poetry", is a five-part musical piece, utilising all of the voices in a chorale style.
[edit] Roles
- Major-General Stanley (comic baritone)
- The Pirate King (bass-baritone)
- Samuel, his Lieutenant (baritone)
- Frederic, the Pirate Apprentice (tenor)
- Sergeant of Police (bass)
- Mabel (soprano), Edith (mezzo-soprano), Kate (mezzo-soprano), Isabel (speaking), General Stanley's Daughters
- Ruth, a Piratical Maid of all work (contralto)
- Chorus of Pirates, Police and General Stanley's Daughters
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Act I
Frederic, a young man with a strong sense of duty, is seen celebrating his twenty-first birthday in the company of a group of pirates ("Pour, oh pour the pirate sherry"). His nurse Ruth appears and reveals that she had apprenticed Frederic to the pirate band by mistake, many years ago ("When Frederic was a little lad"), she misheard Frederic's father, who wanted the little lad to become a ship's pilot. Because Frederic has never seen any women other than Ruth, he believes her to be beautiful, and agrees to marry her later that day. Although Frederic is sympathetic to his pirate friends (they being all orphans whose gentle natures make their piratical careers difficult) his sense of duty nonetheless compels him to leave the band upon the completion of his apprenticeship, then destroy them. He invites the Pirate King to give up piracy and go with him, but is refused ("Oh! better far to live and die"). Upon leaving the pirates, Frederic sees a group of beautiful young girls on the shore, and realizes that Ruth lied to him about her features ("Oh false one! You have deceived me!"). He hides before the girls arrive.
The girls enter the stage singing ("Climbing over rocky mountain"). Frederic reveals himself ("Stop, ladies, pray!") and appeals to them for affection ("Oh! is there not one maiden breast?") to help him reform; one of them, Mabel, responds to his plea, and chides her sisters for their lack of charity ("Oh sisters deaf to pity's name for shame!"). She sings to him ("Poor wand'ring one"), and Frederic and Mabel quickly fall in love. The other girls contemplate whether to eavesdrop, or leave the new couple alone ("What ought we to do?"), and eventually decide to sing about the weather ("How beautifully blue the sky"). Frederic warns the girls of the pirates nearby ("Stay, we must not lose our senses"), but they are interrupted by the arrival of said pirates, who wish to capture all the girls for wives ("Here's a first rate opportunity"). Mabel warns the pirates that the girls' father is a Major-General ("Hold, monsters!"), who soon arrives and introduces himself ("I am the very model of a modern Major-General"). The pirates attempt to kill him and take his daughters, but he appeals to them for clemency on the grounds that he's an orphan ("Oh, men of dark and dismal fate"). The soft-hearted pirates are sympathetic, and release the girls ("Hail, Poetry!").
[edit] Act II
The Major-General sits by the mausoleum on his estate, surrounded by his daughters. He laments his tortured conscience at the lie he told the Pirate King, while they attempt to console him ("Oh dry the glist'ning tear"). The Police Sergeant and his policemen enter to announce their readiness to go forth and arrest the pirates ("When the foeman bares his steel"). Frederic, who is to lead the group, pauses for a moment's reflection ("Now for the pirate's lair"), at which point he encounters Ruth and the Pirate King. They inform him that his apprenticeship was worded so as to bind him to them until his twenty-first birthday – and, because that birthday happens to be on the extra day of Leap Year (February 29), that means that technically only five birthdays have passed ("When you had left our pirate fold"), and he will not reach his twenty-first birthday until 1940, when he will be in his eighties. Frederic is convinced that he must rejoin the pirates by this logic, and thus he sees it as his duty to inform the Pirate King of the Major-General's lie ("Away, away, my heart's on fire").
He meets Mabel ("All is prepared") and she pleads with him to stay ("Stay Frederic, stay"), but he refuses regretfully, explaining that he must fulfill his duty to the pirates until his 21st birthday in 1940. He promises to return then and claim her. They agree to be faithful to each other until then ("Oh here is love and here is truth"). Mabel consoles herself ("No, I am brave"), The police and their Sergeant are told they must go alone ("When the foeman bares his steel" (reprise)"), and they lament their fate ("When a felon's not engaged in his employment"). They hide on hearing the approach of the pirates ("A rollicking band of pirates we"), who have stolen onto the grounds, meaning to avenge themselves for the Major-General's lie ("With cat-like tread"). The police and the pirates prepare for the fight ("Hush, hush! not a word"). The Major-General himself appears, sleepless with guilt ("Sighing softly to the river"), and his daughters follow him ("Now what is this and what is that"). The pirates, of course, leap to the attack, and the police to the defence; but the police are easily defeated. The Sergeant plays his trump card, demanding that the pirates yield "in Queen Victoria's name"; the pirates, overcome with loyalty to their Queen, do so. Ruth appears and reveals that the orphan pirates are in fact noblemen; all is forgiven, Frederic and Mabel are reunited, and the Major-General is happy to marry his daughters to the noble pirates after all ("Poor Wandering Ones" reprise).
[edit] Musical numbers
- Overture (includes "With cat-like tread", "Ah, leave me not to pine", "Pray observe the magnanimity", "When you had left our pirate fold", "Climbing over rocky mountain", and "How beautifully blue the sky")
[edit] Act I
- 1. "Pour, oh pour, the pirate sherry" (Samuel and Chorus of Pirates)
- 2. "When Fred'ric was a little lad" (Ruth)
- 3. "Oh, better far to live and die ...I am a pirate king!" (Pirate King and Chorus of Pirates)
- 4. "Oh! false one, you have deceiv'd me" (Frederic and Ruth)
- 5. "Climbing over rocky mountain" (Chorus of Girls)
- 6. "Stop, ladies, pray" (Edith, Kate, Frederic, and Chorus of Girls)
- 7. "Oh, is there not one maiden breast?" (Frederic and Chorus of Girls)
- 8. "Poor wand'ring one" (Mabel and Chorus of Girls)
- 9. "What ought we to do?" (Edith, Kate, and Chorus of Girls)
- 10. "How beautifully blue the sky" (Mabel, Frederic, and Chorus of Girls)
- 11. "Stay, we must not lose our senses" ... "Here's a first-rate opportunity to get married with impunity" (Frederic and Chorus of Girls and Pirates)
- 12. "Hold, monsters" (Mabel, Major-General, Samuel, and Chorus)
- 13. "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" (Major-General and Chorus)
- 14. Finale Act I (Mabel, Kate, Edith, Ruth, Frederic, Samuel, King, Major-General, and Chorus)
- "Oh, men of dark and dismal fate"
- "I’m telling a terrible story"
- "Hail, Poetry"
- "Oh, happy day, with joyous glee"
- "Pray observe the magnanimity"
[edit] Act II
- 15. "Oh, dry the glist'ning tear" (Mabel and Chorus of Girls)
- 16. "Then, Frederic, let your escort lion-hearted" (Frederic and Major-General)
- 17. "When the foeman bares his steel" (Mabel, Edith, Sergeant, and Chorus of Policemen and Girls)
- 18. "Now for the pirates' lair!" (Frederic, Ruth, and King)
- 19. "When you had left our pirate fold" ("A paradox") (Ruth, Frederic, and King)
- 20. "Away, away! My heart's on fire!" (Ruth, Frederic, and King)
- 21. "All is prepar'd; your gallant crew await you" (Mabel and Frederic)
- 22. "Stay, Fred'ric, stay" ... "Oh, here is love, and here is truth" (Mabel and Frederic)
- 23. "No, I'll be brave" ... "Though in body and in mind" (Reprise of "When the foeman bares his steel") (Mabel, Sergeant, and Chorus of Police)
- 23a. "Sergeant, approach!" (Mabel, Sergeant of Police, and Chorus of Police)
- 24. "When a felon's not engaged in his employment" (Sergeant and Chorus of Police)
- 25. "A rollicking band of pirates we" (Sergeant and Chorus of Pirates and Police)
- 26. "With cat-like tread, upon our prey we steal" (Samuel and Chorus of Pirates and Police)
- 27. "Hush, hush, not a word!" (Frederic, King, Major-General, and Chorus of Police and Pirates)
- 28. Finale, Act II (Ensemble)
- "Sighing softly to the river"
- "Now what is this, and what is that?"
- "Frederic here! Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!"
- "With base deceit you worked upon our feelings!"
- "You/We triumph now"
- "Away with them, and place them at the bar!"
- "I pray you, pardon me, ex-Pirate King!" (Reprise of "I am the very model")
- "Poor wandering ones!"
[edit] Versions
In the original productions, the revelation by Ruth that the pirates are "all noblemen who have gone wrong" prompted the following exchange (recalling a famous passage in H.M.S. Pinafore):
-
- GIRLS: Oh spare them! they are all noblemen who have gone wrong.
- GENERAL: What, all noblemen?
- KING: Yes, all noblemen!
- GENERAL: What, all?
- KING: Well, nearly all!
Gilbert deleted this exchange in the 1900 revival, and the Chappell vocal score was revised accordingly. The new D'Oyly Carte Opera Company restored the original version in their 1989 production.
[edit] Production history
From the beginning, The Pirates of Penzance has been one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most popular comic operas. After its unique "triple opening" in 1879–80, it was revived in London in 1888, in 1900, and for the Savoy repertory season of 1908–09. In the British provinces, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company toured it almost continuously from 1880–1884, and again in 1888. It re-entered the touring repertory in 1893, and was never again absent through to the company's closure in 1982.
In America, after the New York opening on New Year's Eve, 1879, Richard D'Oyly Carte launched four companies that covered the United States on tours that lasted through the following summer. Gilbert and Sullivan themselves trained each of the touring companies through January and early February 1880, and each company's first performance – whether it was in Philadelphia, Newark, or Buffalo – was conducted by the composer.
There was still no international copyright law, and the first unauthorized New York production was given by the Boston Ideal Opera Company at Booth's Theatre in September 1880. The first non-D'Oyly Carte professional production in a country that was subject to Gilbert's copyright (other than J. C. Williamsons' authorised productions) was in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, in September 1961. In 1979, the Torbay branch of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society presented a centenary tribute to the world premiere performance of Pirates in Paignton, with a production at the Palace Avenue Theatre (situated a few metres from the former Bijou Theatre).
As discussed below, Joseph Papp's 1980-83 Pirates gave a boost to the opera's popularity. Professional and amateur productions of the opera continue with frequency. In March 2007, the New York City Opera is mounting a new production, following their recent productions of The Mikado and Patience.[2]
The following table shows the history of the D'Oyly Carte productions in Gilbert's lifetime:
| Theatre | Opening Date | Closing Date | Perfs. | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bijou Theatre, Paignton | December 30, 1879 | December 30, 1879 | 1 | English copyright performance. |
| Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York | December 31, 1879 | March 6, 1880 | 100 | Original run in New York. The company toured the Eastern seaboard between March 8 and May 15. Three other touring companies were launched in January and February 1880. |
| May 17, 1880 | June 5, 1880 | |||
| Opera Comique | April 3, 1880 | April 2, 1881 | 363 | Original London run. |
| Savoy Theatre | December 23, 1884 | February 14, 1885 | ? | Series of matinées with a juvenile cast. |
| Savoy Theatre | March 17, 1888 | June 6, 1888 | 80 | First professional revival. |
| Savoy Theatre | June 30, 1900 | November 5, 1900 | 127 | Second professional revival. |
| Savoy Theatre | December 1, 1908 | March 27, 1909 | 43 | Second Savoy repertory season; played with five other operas. (Closing date shown is of the entire season.) |
[edit] Historical casting
The following tables show the casts of the principal original productions and D'Oyly Carte Opera Company touring repertory at various times through to the company's 1982 closure:
| Role | Paignton 1879 |
New York 1879 |
Opera Comique 1880 |
Savoy Theatre 1888 |
Savoy Theatre 1900 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major-General | Richard Mansfield | J. H. Ryley | George Grossmith | George Grossmith | Henry Lytton |
| Pirate King | F. Federici | Sr. Brocolini | Richard Temple | Richard Temple | Jones Hewson |
| Samuel | G. J. Lackner | Furneaux Cook | George Temple | Richard Cummings | W. H. Leon |
| James | John Le Hay | role eliminated | |||
| Frederic | Llewellyn Cadwaladr | Hugh Talbot | George Power | J. G. Robertson | Robert Evett |
| Sergeant | Fred Billington | Fred Clifton | Rutland Barrington | Rutland Barrington | Walter Passmore |
| Mabel | Emilie Petrelli | Blanche Roosevelt | Marion Hood | Geraldine Ulmar | Isabel Jay |
| Edith | Marian May | Jessie Bond | Julia Gwynne | Jessie Bond | Lulu Evans |
| Kate | Lena Monmouth | Rosina Brandram | Lilian La Rue | Nellie Kavanagh | Alice Coleman |
| Isabel | Kate Neville | Billie Barlow | Neva Bond | Nellie Lawrence | Agnes Fraser |
| Ruth | Fanny Harrison | Alice Barnett | Emily Cross | Rosina Brandram | Rosina Brandram |
| Role | Savoy Theatre 1908 |
D'Oyly Carte 1915 Tour |
D'Oyly Carte 1925 Tour |
D'Oyly Carte 1935 Tour |
D'Oyly Carte 1945 Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major-General | Charles H. Workman | Henry Lytton | Henry Lytton | Martyn Green | Grahame Clifford |
| Pirate King | Henry Lytton | Leicester Tunks | Darrell Fancourt | Darrell Fancourt | Darrell Fancourt |
| Samuel | Leo Sheffield | Frederick Hobbs | Joseph Griffin | Richard Walker | Hilton Layland |
| Frederic | Henry Herbert | Dewey Gibson | Charles Goulding | John Dean | John Dean |
| Sergeant | Rutland Barrington | Fred Billington | Leo Sheffield | Sydney Granville | Richard Walker |
| Mabel | Dorothy Court | Elsie McDermid | Elsie Griffin | Kathleen Frances | Helen Roberts |
| Edith | Jessie Rose | Nellie Briercliffe | Eileen Sharp | Marjorie Eyre | Marjorie Eyre |
| Kate | Beatrice Boarer | Betty Grylls | Aileen Davies | Maisie Baxter | Ivy Sanders |
| Isabel | Ethel Lewis | Kitty Twinn | Hilary Davies | Elizabeth Nicell-Lean | Maysie Dean |
| Ruth | Louie Rene | Bertha Lewis | Bertha Lewis | Dorothy Gill | Ella Halman |
| Role | D'Oyly Carte 1950 Tour |
D'Oyly Carte 1958 Tour |
D'Oyly Carte 1968 Tour |
D'Oyly Carte 1975 Tour |
D'Oyly Carte 1982 Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major-General | Martyn Green | Peter Pratt | John Reed | James Conroy-Ward | Alistair Donkin |
| Pirate King | Darrell Fancourt | Donald Adams | Donald Adams | John Ayldon | John Ayldon |
| Samuel | Donald Harris | George Cook | Alan Styler | Jon Ellison | Michael Buchan |
| Frederic | Leonard Osborn | Thomas Round | Philip Potter | Colin Wright | Meston Reid |
| Sergeant | Richard Watson | Kenneth Sandford | George Cook | Michael Rayner | Clive Harre |
| Mabel | Muriel Harding | Jean Hindmarsh | Valerie Masterson | Julia Goss | Vivian Tierney |
| Edith | Joan Gillingham | Joyce Wright | Peggy Ann Jones | Patricia Leonard | Jill Pert |
| Kate | Joyce Wright | Elizabeth Howarth | Pauline Wales | Caroline Baker | Helene Witcombe |
| Isabel | Enid Walsh | Jane Fyffe | Susan Maisey | Rosalind Griffiths | Alexandra Hann |
| Ruth | Ella Halman | Ann Drummond-Grant | Christene Palmer | Lyndsie Holland | Patricia Leonard |
[edit] Joseph Papp's Pirates
In 1980, Joseph Papp and the Public Theater of New York City brought a new production of Pirates directed by Wilford Leach to the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, one of the series of Shakespeare in the Park summer events. The show played for 10 previews and 35 performances. It then transferred to Broadway, opening on January 8, 1981 for a run of 20 previews and 787 performances at the Uris and Minskoff Theatres.
Compared to traditional productions of the opera, Papp's Pirates featured a more swashbuckling Pirate King and Frederic, and a broader, more musical comedy style of humour. It also featured an adapted orchestration and a number of key changes. The "Matter Patter" trio from Ruddigore and "Sorry her lot" from H.M.S. Pinafore were interpolated. The production also restored Gilbert and Sullivan's original New York ending, with a reprise of the Major-General's song in the Act II finale.
Linda Ronstadt starred as Mabel, Rex Smith as Frederic, Kevin Kline as the Pirate King, Patricia Routledge as Ruth (replaced by Estelle Parsons for the Broadway transfer), George Rose as the Major-General, and Tony Azito as the Sergeant of Police. Notable replacements during the Broadway run included Pam Dawber, Karla DeVito, and Maureen McGovern as Mabel; Robby Benson, Patrick Cassidy, and Peter Noone as Frederic; James Belushi, Gary Sandy, and Treat Williams as the Pirate King; George S. Irving as the Major-General; and Kaye Ballard as Ruth.
The production opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, on May 26, 1982 for a run of 601 performances. Notable among the cast were George Cole and Ronald Fraser as the Major-General; Michael Praed and Peter Noone as Frederic; Tim Curry and Oliver Tobias as the Pirate King; Chris Langham as the Sergeant of Police; Pamela Stephenson as Mabel; and Annie Ross as Ruth.
The production was turned into a film (released in 1983), with all of the original Broadway cast reprising their roles, except that Angela Lansbury replaced Estelle Parsons as Ruth. The film was not a success, but, according to the IMDB, this "had nothing to do with the reviews, which were often quite positive. The real problem lay with Universal's decision to release the film simultaneously to SelecTV and to theaters. Theater owners were so angry that they boycotted the film; in the end, only 92 theaters agreed to show it, and it enjoyed a long run at only one of them." [3] The film has been shown occasionally on television. Another film based loosely on the opera, The Pirate Movie, was released during the Broadway run.
The production design has been widely imitated in other modern productions of Pirates, even where traditional orchestration and standard score are used.
[edit] Cultural impact
On February 29, 1940, the New York Times ran an article noting that Frederic was finally out of his indentures.
The music to the song I am the very model of a modern Major-General has been used with numerous other fast-sung lyrics, notably as Tom Lehrer's song, The Elements. Many other parodies of this song can be found at Major-General's Song.
Other tunes that have been used frequently in other contexts include:
- The tune for the chorus for With cat-like tread, which begins "Come, friends, who plough the sea" is also known as the tune for "Hail, hail, the gang's all here."
- With cat-like tread and Modern Major General were both parodied in an episode of Animaniacs. The former was changed to a song about surfing a whale, and the latter became a song by Yakko Warner about him being "the very model of a cartoon individual".
Isaac Asimov wrote a short story called "The Year of the Action", in which the protagonists try to decide whether the action of Penzance took place on March 1, 1873, or March 1, 1877. (That is, did Gilbert forget, or not know, that 1900 was not a leap year?)
In the film Pretty Woman, Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) covered a social gaff by prostitute Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts), who said that the opera La Traviata was so good that she almost "peed in [her] pants" by saying that she had said that she liked it almost as much as "The Pirates of Penzance."
In the TV series, The West Wing, "The Pirates of Penzance" and other Gilbert & Sullivan plays are mentioned, in particular by Deputy Communications Director, Sam Seaborne, who was once recording secretary of the Gilbert and Sullivan society in school.
In Walt Disney's cartoon Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004), there is a performance of The Pirates of Penzance that becomes the setting for the climactic battle between the Musketeers and Captain Pete.
In the movie Kate and Leopold, there are multiple references made to The Pirates of Penzance, including a scene where Leopold sings "I Am The Very Model of A Modern Major General" and accompanies himself on the piano.
In the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a casino is called "Pirates in Men’s Pants", a crude play on Pirates of Penzance.
The Sierra adventure game Space Quest III has the title "The Pirates of Pestulon".
In the TV series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a poster from "The Pirates of Penzance" hangs on Matt Albie's (Matthew Perry) office wall.
The opera has lent itself to unlikely slang used by Melbournian youths. It is common jargon to refer to marijuana as "Pirates of Penzance" and/or the "Gilbert & Sullivan Special"
[edit] Adaptations
- Di Yam Gazlonim A Yiddish adaptation of Pirates by Al Grand that continues to be performed frequently in the United States.
- Parson's Pirates by Opera della Luna
- The Pirate Movie
- PIRATES! Of Penzance: A Musical Comedy (2006), an adaptation by Nell Benjamin, first presented Nov 1, 2006 at Goodspeed Opera House. The adaptation is also scheduled to be presented in 2007 at the Paper Mill Playhouse.
- Pirates of Penzance - The Ballet!
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Gänzl, Kurt (1986). The British Musical Theatre—Volume I, 1865–1914. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Rollins, Cyril; R. John Witts (1962). The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: A Record of Productions, 1875–1961. London: Michael Joseph. Also, five supplements, privately printed.
- Tillett, Selwyn & Roderick Spencer (2002). "Forty Years of Thespis Scholarship". Retrieved on 2006-05-25.
[edit] External links
- The Pirates of Penzance at The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive
- The Pirates of Penzance at The Gilbert & Sullivan Discography
- Discussion of the background of the Paignton and New York openings
- The Pirates of Penzance at IMDB
- Papp's Pirates at The Internet Broadway Database
- Review of the opening night by Clement Scott
- Site containing biographies of the people listed in the historical casting chart
- Kevin Wachs' research as to the original incarnation of the opera (PDF file)
- Page includes MP3 files of music from Pirates
- Page linking to numerous Pirates song parodies
| Gilbert and Sullivan | |
|---|---|
| The Triumvirate: W. S. Gilbert | Arthur Sullivan | Richard D'Oyly Carte |
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| The Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: Thespis • Trial by Jury • The Sorcerer • H.M.S. Pinafore • The Pirates of Penzance • Patience • Iolanthe • Princess Ida The Mikado • Ruddigore • The Yeomen of the Guard • The Gondoliers • Utopia, Limited • The Grand Duke |
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| Other Works and People: Other Works by W. S. Gilbert • Other Operas by Arthur Sullivan • Other Music by Arthur Sullivan People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan • Gilbert and Sullivan performers |
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