The Pirates of Penzance

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The Pirates of Penzance

The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty, is a comic opera
Comic opera

Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Comic opera first developed in 18th-century Italy as opera buffa, an alternative to opera seria....
in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan

Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan Royal Victorian Order was an English composer, of Irish and Italian descent, best known for his comic opera Gilbert and Sullivan with libretto W....
and libretto
Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
by W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert

Sorry, no overview for this topic
. It is one of the Savoy Opera
Savoy opera

The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners....
s. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
on 31 December 1879, where the show was a hit with audiences and critics. The London premiere was on 3 April 1880, at the Opera Comique
Opera Comique

The Opera Comique was a 19th-century opera house constructed between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand, London. The theatre opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway....
, 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
The Mikado

The Mikado or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan....
and H.M.S.

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Quotations

KING: There are the remains of a good woman about Ruth.

KING: Well, Frederic, if you conscientiously feel that it is your duty to destroy us, we cannot blame you for acting on that conviction. Always act in accordance with the dictates of your conscience, my boy, and chance the consequences.

Encyclopedia

The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty, is a comic opera
Comic opera

Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Comic opera first developed in 18th-century Italy as opera buffa, an alternative to opera seria....
in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan

Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan Royal Victorian Order was an English composer, of Irish and Italian descent, best known for his comic opera Gilbert and Sullivan with libretto W....
and libretto
Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
by W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert

Sorry, no overview for this topic
. It is one of the Savoy Opera
Savoy opera

The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners....
s. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
on 31 December 1879, where the show was a hit with audiences and critics. The London premiere was on 3 April 1880, at the Opera Comique
Opera Comique

The Opera Comique was a 19th-century opera house constructed between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand, London. The theatre opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway....
, 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
The Mikado

The Mikado or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan....
and H.M.S. Pinafore as one of the most frequently played Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan

'Gilbert and Sullivan' refers to the Victorian era partnership of librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan . Together, they wrote fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S....
operas. Its 1981 Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
revival by Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp

Joseph Papp was an United States theatrical producer and theatre director. He was a high school student of Harlem Renaissance playwright Eulalie Spence....
ran for 787 performances and spawned many imitations.

Background
The Pirates of Penzance was the only Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan

'Gilbert and Sullivan' refers to the Victorian era partnership of librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan . Together, they wrote fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S....
opera to have its official premiere in New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
. At the time, American law offered no copyright
Copyright

Copyright is a form of intellectual property which gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation; after which time the work is said to enter the public domain....
protection to foreigners. After their previous opera, H.M.S. Pinafore, was a hit in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, 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. They did succeed, by mounting the first production themselves, as well as operating U.S. touring companies and delaying publication of the score and libretto, in keeping for themselves the direct profits of the venture.However, Gilbert, Sullivan, and their producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte

Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English people talent agent, theatrical impresario and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era.Carte started his career in his father's music publishing and musical instrument manufacturing business....
, continued their efforts for many years to control the American performance copyrights over their operas, without success.

After the success of Pinafore, Gilbert was eager to get started on the next opera, and he began working on the libretto in December 1878. The composition of the music for Pirates was unusual, in that Sullivan composed the acts in reverse — intending to bring the completed Act II with him to New York, with Act I existing only in sketches. When he arrived in New York, however, 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
Thespis (opera)

Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, is an operatic extravaganza that was the first collaboration between dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan....
. 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 10 December 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. To secure British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
copyright
Copyright

Copyright is a form of intellectual property which gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation; after which time the work is said to enter the public domain....
, there was a perfunctory performance the afternoon before the New York premiere, at the Royal Bijou Theatre Paignton
Paignton

Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998....
, Devon
Devon

Devon is a large Counties of England in South West England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county but often indicating a shire....
, organised by Helen Lenoir (who would later marry Richard D'Oyly Carte). The cast, having performed Pinafore
HMS Pinafore

H.M.S. Pinafore or, The Lass that Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert....
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
Penzance

Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, UK.Granted various Royal Charters from 1512 onwards and Incorporation in 1614, it has a population of 20,255 and is currently Penwith's principal town....
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
Il trovatore

Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Leone Emanuele Bardare and Salvatore Cammarano, based on the Play El Trovador by Antonio Garc?a Guti?rrez....
. 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.

The character of Major-General Stanley was also based partly on Field Marshal Garnet Wolsely
Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley

Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley Order of St Patrick Order of the Bath Order of Merit Order of St Michael and St George Volunteer Decoration Privy Council of the United Kingdom was a United Kingdom army officer....
.

Roles

Major-General Stanley (comic baritone
Baritone

Baritone is a type of European classical music male voice type that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice....
)
The Pirate King (bass-baritone
Bass-baritone

A bass-baritone is a high-lying Bass that shares certain qualities with the baritone voice type.The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Richard Wagner roles: the Dutchman in The Flying Dutchman , Wotan/Der Wanderer in the Ring Cycle and Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von N?rnbe...
)
Samuel, his Lieutenant (baritone
Baritone

Baritone is a type of European classical music male voice type that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice....
)
Frederic, the Pirate Apprentice (tenor
Tenor

The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....
)
Sergeant of Police (bass)
Mabel (soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
), Edith (mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano

A mezzo-soprano is a type of European classical music female voice type whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above ....
), Kate (mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano

A mezzo-soprano is a type of European classical music female voice type whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above ....
), Isabel (speaking), General Stanley's Daughters
Ruth, a Piratical Maid of all work (contralto
Contralto

In music, a contralto is a type of European classical music female voice type with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a mezzo-soprano. The term is used to refer to the deepest female singing voice....
)

Chorus of Pirates, Police and General Stanley's Daughters

Synopsis
Act I

On the coast of Cornwall
Cornwall

Cornwall , constitutional Duchy and palatine, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of England, United Kingdom, located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain....
, at the time of Queen Victoria's reign, Frederic, a young man with a strong sense of duty, celebrates, amidst the pirates
Piracy

Piracy is a warlike act committed by a foreign nonstate actor, especially robbery or crime committed at sea, on a river, or sometimes on shore, either from a vessel flying no national flag, or one flying a national flag but without authorization from a nation....
, the completion of his twenty-first year and the apparent end of his apprenticeship ("Pour, oh pour the pirate sherry"). The pirates' maid of all work, Ruth, appears and reveals that, as Frederic's nursemaid long ago ("When Frederic was a little lad"), she had made a mistake "through being hard of hearing": she had misheard Frederic's father's instructions and apprenticed him to a pirate, instead of to a ship's pilot
Maritime pilot

A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. Legally the master remains in command of the ship....
.

Frederic has never seen any women other than Ruth, and he believes her to be beautiful – the pirates know better and suggest that Frederic take Ruth with him when he returns to civilisation. Frederic announces that, although it pains him to do so, such is his sense of duty that, once free from his apprenticeship, he will be forced to devote himself to their extermination. He points out that they are not very successful pirates, since, being orphans themselves, they allow their prey to go free if they too are orphans. Frederic notes that word of this has got about, so captured ships' companies routinely claim to be orphans. Frederic invites the pirates to give up piracy and go with him, so that he need not destroy them, but the Pirate King notes that, compared with respectability, piracy is comparatively honest ("Oh! better far to live and die"). The pirates depart, leaving Frederic and Ruth. Frederic sees a group of beautiful young girls approaching the pirate lair, and realizes that Ruth lied to him about her appearance ("Oh false one! You have deceived me!"). Sending Ruth away, Frederic hides before the girls arrive.

The girls burst exuberantly upon the secluded spot ("Climbing over rocky mountain"). Frederic reveals himself ("Stop, ladies, pray!") and appeals to them to help him reform ("Oh! is there not one maiden breast?"). 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 to leave the new couple alone ("What ought we to do?"), and eventually decide to "talk about the weather," although they steal a glance or two at the affectionate couple ("How beautifully blue the sky").

Frederic warns the girls of the pirates nearby ("Stay, we must not lose our senses"), but before they can flee, the pirates arrive and capture all the girls, intending to marry them ("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"). He appeals to the pirates not to take his daughters, leaving him to face his old age alone. Having heard of the famous Pirates of Penzance, he pleads for their release on the ground that he's an orphan ("Oh, men of dark and dismal fate"). The soft-hearted pirates are sympathetic and release the girls ("Hail, Poetry!"), making Major-General Stanley and his daughters honorary members of their band.

Act II

The Major-General sits in a ruined chapel on his estate, surrounded by his daughters. His conscience is tortured by the lie that he told the pirates, and the girls attempt to console him ("Oh dry the glist'ning tear"). The Sergeant of Police and his corps arrive to announce their readiness to go forth to arrest the pirates ("When the foeman bares his steel"). The girls loudly express their admiration of the police for facing likely slaughter at the hands of fierce and merciless foes. The police are unnerved by this, and remain around (to the Major-General's frustration) but finally leave.

Left alone, Frederic, who is to lead the group, pauses to reflect on his opportunity to atone for a life of piracy ("Now for the pirate's lair"), at which point he encounters Ruth and the Pirate King. It has occurred to them 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 29 February (in a leap year
Leap year

A leap year is a year containing one or more extra days in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or seasonal year....
), it means that technically
Quibble (plot device)

In literature, a quibble is a common plot device, used to fulfill the exact verbal conditions of an agreement in order to avoid the intended meaning....
only five birthdays have passed ("When you had left our pirate fold"), and he will not reach his twenty-first birthday until he is in his eighties. Frederic is convinced by this logic that he must rejoin the pirates, and thus he sees it as his duty to inform the Pirate King of the Major-General's deception. The outraged outlaw declares that their "revenge will be swift and terrible" ("Away, away, my heart's on fire").

Frederic meets Mabel ("All is prepared"), and she pleads with him to stay ("Stay Frederic, stay"), but he explains 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, though to Mabel "It seems so long" ("Oh here is love and here is truth"), and Frederic departs. Mabel steels herself ("No, I'll be brave") and tells the police that they must go alone to face the pirates. They muse that an outlaw might be just like any other man, and it is a shame to deprive him of "that liberty which is so dear to all" ("When a felon's not engaged in his employment"). The police 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"). Just then, the Major-General appears, sleepless with guilt, and the pirates also hide, while General Stanley listens to the soothing sighing of the breeze ("Sighing softly to the river"). The girls come looking for him ("Now what is this and what is that"). The pirates leap to the attack, and the police rush to the defence; but the police are easily defeated, and the Pirate King urges the captured Major General to prepare for death. The Sergeant plays his trump card, demanding that the pirates yield "in Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was from 20 June 1837 the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and from 1 May 1876 the first Empress of India of the British Raj until her death....
's name"; the pirates, overcome with loyalty to their Queen, do so. Ruth appears and reveals that the orphan pirates are in fact "all noblemen who have gone wrong". The major-general is impressed by this and all is forgiven. Frederic and Mabel are reunited, and the Major-General is happy to marry his daughters to the noble pirates after all.

Musical numbers

Overture (includes "With cat-like tread", "Ah, leave me not to pine", "Pray observe the magnanimity
Magnanimity

Magnanimity is the virtue of being great of mind and heart. It encompasses, usually, a refusal to be petty, a willingness to face danger, and actions for noble purposes....
", "When you had left our pirate fold", "Climbing over rocky mountain", and "How beautifully blue the sky")

Act I
1. "Pour, oh pour, the pirate sherry
Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. In Spanish language, it is called Vino de Jerez....
" (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"
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!"
"Poor wandering ones!"

Versions
In the original New York production, 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):
GENERAL,POLICE & GIRLS: What, all noblemen?
KING & PIRATES: Yes, all noblemen!
GENERAL, POLICE & GIRLS: What, all?
KING: Well, nearly all!

ALL: They are nearly all noblemen who have gone wrong.
Then give three cheers, both loud and strong,
For the twenty noblemen who have gone wrong....

In the original London production, this exchange was shortened to:
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 revived D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged performances of Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy Operas in the UK, Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia and elsewhere from the 1870s until it closed in 1982....
restored the original version in their 1989 production.

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
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged performances of Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy Operas in the UK, Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia and elsewhere from the 1870s until it closed in 1982....
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
Richard D'Oyly Carte

Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English people talent agent, theatrical impresario and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era.Carte started his career in his father's music publishing and musical instrument manufacturing business....
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. In Australia, its first authorized performance was on 19 March 1881 at the Theatre Royal, Sydney
Sydney

Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
, produced by J. C. Williamson
J. C. Williamson

James Cassius Williamson was an United States actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd.Born in Pennsylvania, Williamson moved with his family to Milwaukee, Wisconsin....
.

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 had been subject to Gilbert's copyright (other than Williamsons' authorised productions) was in Stratford, Ontario
Stratford, Ontario

Stratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County, Ontario in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 30,461, according to the 2006 census....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, in September 1961. In 1979, the Torbay
Torbay

Torbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth....
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
Joseph Papp

Joseph Papp was an United States theatrical producer and theatre director. He was a high school student of Harlem Renaissance playwright Eulalie Spence....
's 1980–83 Pirates gave a boost to the opera's popularity. Professional and amateur productions of the opera continue with frequency. In 2007, the New York City Opera
New York City Opera

The New York City Opera was founded in 1943 with the aim of an opera company that would be financially accessible to a wide audience, innovative in its choice of repertory, and a home for United States singers and composers....
mounted a new production as did Opera Australia
Opera Australia

Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne....
.

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 30 December 1879 30 December 1879 1 English copyright performance.
Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York 31 December 1879 6 March 1880 100 Original run in New York. The company toured the Eastern seaboard between 8 March and 15 May. Three other touring companies were launched in January and February 1880.
17 May 1880 5 June 1880
Opera Comique 3 April 1880 2 April 1881 363 Original London run.
Savoy Theatre 23 December 1884 14 February 1885 ? Series of matinées with a juvenile cast.
Savoy Theatre 17 March 1888 6 June 1888 80 First professional revival.
Savoy Theatre 30 June 1900 5 November 1900 127 Second professional revival.
Savoy Theatre 1 December 1908 27 March 1909 43 Second Savoy repertory season; played with five other operas. (Closing date shown is of the entire season.)

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
Richard Mansfield

Richard Mansfield was an Anglo-American actor best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas and for his portrayal of the dual title roles in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
J. H. Ryley
J. H. Ryley

John Handford Ryley, was an England singer and actor, best known for his performances in the comic baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, particularly in America....
George Grossmith
George Grossmith

George Grossmith was an English people comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical sketches, some 600 songs and piano pieces, three books and both serious and comic pieces for newspapers and magazines....
George Grossmith
George Grossmith

George Grossmith was an English people comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical sketches, some 600 songs and piano pieces, three books and both serious and comic pieces for newspapers and magazines....
Henry Lytton
Henry Lytton

Sir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century....
Pirate King F. Federici Sgr. Brocolini
Signor Brocolini

John Clark, better known as Signor Brocolini , was an Irish-born United States operatic singer remembered for creating the role of the Pirate King in the original New York City production of The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan, in 1879-80....
Richard Temple Richard Temple Jones Hewson
Samuel G. J. Lackner Furneaux Cook
Furneaux Cook

Furneaux Cook , born John Furneaux Cook, was an English people opera singer and actor best known for baritone roles in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan and Alfred Cellier on the London stage....
George Temple Richard Cummings W. H. Leon
James John Le Hay
John Le Hay

John Le Hay was the stage name of John Healy was an Irish-born singer and actor best remembered for his portrayal of the comic baritone roles in the Savoy opera....
role eliminated
Frederic Llewellyn Cadwaladr Hugh Talbot
Hugh Talbot

Hugh Talbot was an Ireland tenor and actor best known for creating, to universally bad reviews, the role of Frederic in the Gilbert and Sullivan hit The Pirates of Penzance in the New York production....
George Power J. G. Robertson Robert Evett
Robert Evett

Robert Evett was an English people singer, actor, theatre manager and producer....
Sergeant Fred Billington
Fred Billington

Fred Billington, was an English people singer and actor, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Fred Clifton Rutland Barrington
Rutland Barrington

Rutland Barrington was an English people singer, actor, comedian, and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his performing career spanned more than four decades....
Rutland Barrington
Rutland Barrington

Rutland Barrington was an English people singer, actor, comedian, and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his performing career spanned more than four decades....
Walter Passmore
Walter Passmore

Walter Henry Passmore was an English singer and actor best known as the first successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Mabel Emilie Petrelli Blanche Roosevelt
Blanche Roosevelt

Blanche Roosevelt , was an United States opera singer and author. Her father was state Senator Tucker of Wisconsin....
Marion Hood
Marion Hood

Marion Hood was an English soprano who performed in opera and musical theatre in the last decades of the 19th century. She is perhaps best remembered for creating the role of Mabel in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance in London....
Geraldine Ulmar
Geraldine Ulmar

Geraldine Ulmar was an United States singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Isabel Jay
Isabel Jay

Isabel Jay was an England opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and in musical theatre....
Edith Marian May Jessie Bond
Jessie Bond

Jessie Bond was an English people singer and actress best known for creating the mezzo-soprano soubrette roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas....
Julia Gwynne
Julia Gwynne

Julia Gwynne was an English people opera singer best remembered for her performances with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1879 to 1883....
Jessie Bond
Jessie Bond

Jessie Bond was an English people singer and actress best known for creating the mezzo-soprano soubrette roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas....
Lulu Evans
Kate Lena Monmouth Rosina Brandram
Rosina Brandram

Rosina Brandram was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for her work in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Lilian La Rue Nellie Kavanagh Alice Coleman
Isabel Kate Neville Billie Barlow Neva Bond Nellie Lawrence Agnes Fraser
Ruth Fanny Harrison Alice Barnett
Alice Barnett

Alice Barnett was an English people singer and actress, best known for her performances in contralto roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Emily Cross Rosina Brandram
Rosina Brandram

Rosina Brandram was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for her work in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Rosina Brandram
Rosina Brandram

Rosina Brandram was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for her work in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....

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
Charles H. Workman

Charles H. Workman was a singer and actor best known as a successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas....
Henry Lytton
Henry Lytton

Sir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century....
Henry Lytton
Henry Lytton

Sir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century....
Martyn Green
Martyn Green

William Martyn-Green , better known as Martyn Green, was an English people actor and singer. He is best known for his work as principal comedian in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas, which he performed and recorded with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and other troupes....
Grahame Clifford
Grahame Clifford

Grahame Clifford , was an English opera singer and actor primarily known for his work in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and as principal baritone of the Royal Opera, London....
Pirate King Henry Lytton
Henry Lytton

Sir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century....
Leicester Tunks Darrell Fancourt
Darrell Fancourt

Darrell Fancourt was an England bass-baritone, known for his performances of the Savoy opera with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Darrell Fancourt
Darrell Fancourt

Darrell Fancourt was an England bass-baritone, known for his performances of the Savoy opera with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Darrell Fancourt
Darrell Fancourt

Darrell Fancourt was an England bass-baritone, known for his performances of the Savoy opera with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Samuel Leo Sheffield
Leo Sheffield

Leo Sheffield was an England singer and actor best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Frederick Hobbs Joseph Griffin Richard Walker
Richard Walker (singer)

Richard Walker, was an England opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in the baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Hilton Layland
Frederic Henry Herbert Dewey Gibson Charles Goulding
Charles Goulding

Charles Goulding was an English people operatic tenor best known for his performances with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the Gilbert and Sullivan repertory....
John Dean
John Dean (singer)

John Dean was an England singer and actor, best known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
John Dean
John Dean (singer)

John Dean was an England singer and actor, best known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Sergeant Rutland Barrington
Rutland Barrington

Rutland Barrington was an English people singer, actor, comedian, and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his performing career spanned more than four decades....
Fred Billington
Fred Billington

Fred Billington, was an English people singer and actor, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Leo Sheffield
Leo Sheffield

Leo Sheffield was an England singer and actor best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Sydney Granville
Sydney Granville

Sydney Granville, was an England singer and actor, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Richard Walker
Richard Walker (singer)

Richard Walker, was an England opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in the baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Mabel Dorothy Court Elsie McDermid Elsie Griffin
Elsie Griffin

Elsie Griffin was an England opera singer, best known for her performances in the soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Kathleen Frances Helen Roberts
Helen Roberts

Helen Roberts is a retired England singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Edith Jessie Rose Nellie Briercliffe
Nellie Briercliffe

Nellie Briercliffe was an England singer and actress, best known for her performances in the mezzo-soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Eileen Sharp Marjorie Eyre
Marjorie Eyre

Marjorie Eyre was an England opera singer, best known for her performances in the soprano and mezzo-soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Marjorie Eyre
Marjorie Eyre

Marjorie Eyre was an England opera singer, best known for her performances in the soprano and mezzo-soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Kate Beatrice Boarer Betty Grylls Aileen Davies Maisie Baxter Ivy Sanders
Isabel Ethel Lewis Kitty Twinn Hilary Davies Elizabeth Nickell-Lean Rosalie Dyer
Ruth Louie Rene Bertha Lewis
Bertha Lewis

Bertha Lewis was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for her work as principal contralto in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Bertha Lewis
Bertha Lewis

Bertha Lewis was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for her work as principal contralto in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Dorothy Gill Ella Halman
Ella Halman

Ella Louise Halman was an England opera singer, best known for her performances in the contralto roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....

Role D'Oyly Carte
1950 Tour D'Oyly Carte
1958 Tour D'Oyly Carte
1968 Tour D'Oyly Carte
1975 Tour D'Oyly Carte
1981 Tour
Major-General Martyn Green
Martyn Green

William Martyn-Green , better known as Martyn Green, was an English people actor and singer. He is best known for his work as principal comedian in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas, which he performed and recorded with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and other troupes....
Peter Pratt
Peter Pratt

Peter Pratt was an United Kingdom actor and singer who started his career in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas, becoming the principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, and later moved to radio and television work....
John Reed
John Reed (actor)

John Reed, is a retired English people actor, dancer and singer, known for his nimble performances in the comic leads of the Savoy opera, particularly with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
James Conroy-Ward
James Conroy-Ward

James Conroy-Ward is a music publisher and retired English people actor and singer best known for performing the Gilbert and Sullivan principal comic roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Alistair Donkin
Pirate King Darrell Fancourt
Darrell Fancourt

Darrell Fancourt was an England bass-baritone, known for his performances of the Savoy opera with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Donald Adams
Donald Adams

Charles Donald Adams was an English people opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in bass-baritone roles of the Savoy opera with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his own company, Gilbert and Sullivan for All....
Donald Adams
Donald Adams

Charles Donald Adams was an English people opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in bass-baritone roles of the Savoy opera with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his own company, Gilbert and Sullivan for All....
John Ayldon
John Ayldon

John Ayldon is an England opera singer, best known for his performances in bass-baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
John Ayldon
John Ayldon

John Ayldon is an England opera singer, best known for his performances in bass-baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Samuel Donald Harris George Cook Alan Styler
Alan Styler

Alan Styler was an England opera singer, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Jon Ellison Michael Buchan
Frederic Leonard Osborn
Leonard Osborn

Leonard Osborn was an English people opera singer, best known for his masculine portrayal of the tenor roles in the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Thomas Round
Thomas Round

Thomas Round is a retired England opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy opera with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Sadler's Wells Opera , and Gilbert and Sullivan for All....
Philip Potter
Philip Potter

Philip Potter is an England singer and actor, best known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy opera with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Colin Wright Meston Reid
Meston Reid

Alexander Meston Reid , better known as Meston Reid, was a Scotland opera singer, best known for his performances in tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Sergeant Richard Watson
Richard Watson

Richard Watson was a United Kingdom Methodism theologian who was one of the most important figures in 19th century Methodism.Watson was born in Lincolnshire and entered the Methodist itinerancy in 1796, serving as President of Conference in Britain in 1826 and as secretary to the Wesleyan Missionary Society from 1821 to 1825....
Kenneth Sandford
Kenneth Sandford

Kenneth Sandford was an English people singer and actor, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy opera with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, including Pooh-Bah in The Mikado....
George Cook Michael Rayner Clive Harre
Mabel Muriel Harding Jean Hindmarsh
Jean Hindmarsh

Jean Hindmarsh is a retired singer and actress. She is best known as a principal soprano with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1950s and 1960s....
Valerie Masterson
Valerie Masterson

Valerie Masterson, born June 3 1937, is a retired English people opera singer, a lecturer and Vice-President of British Youth Opera....
Julia Goss Vivian Tierney
Edith Joan Gillingham Joyce Wright
Joyce Wright

Joyce Wright is an England singer and actress, best known for her performances in the mezzo-soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Peggy Ann Jones Patricia Leonard
Patricia Leonard

Patricia Leonard, is an English people opera singer, best known for her performances in mezzo-soprano and contralto roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Jill Pert
Kate Joyce Wright
Joyce Wright

Joyce Wright is an England singer and actress, best known for her performances in the mezzo-soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Marian Martin Pauline Wales
Pauline Wales

Pauline Wales is an English people singer and actress best known for her performances in the mezzo-soprano roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Caroline Baker Helene Witcombe
Isabel Enid Walsh Jane Fyffe Susan Maisey Rosalind Griffiths Alexandra Hann
Ruth Ella Halman
Ella Halman

Ella Louise Halman was an England opera singer, best known for her performances in the contralto roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Ann Drummond-Grant
Ann Drummond-Grant

Ann Drummond-Grant was a United Kingdom singer and actress, best known for her performances in contralto roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
Christene Palmer Lyndsie Holland Patricia Leonard
Patricia Leonard

Patricia Leonard, is an English people opera singer, best known for her performances in mezzo-soprano and contralto roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....

Joseph Papp's Pirates
In 1980, Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp

Joseph Papp was an United States theatrical producer and theatre director. He was a high school student of Harlem Renaissance playwright Eulalie Spence....
and the Public Theater
Public Theater

The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers....
of New York City brought a new production of Pirates, directed by Wilford Leach
Wilford Leach

Wilford Leach was an United States theatre director, set designer, film director, screenwriter, and college professor....
and choreographed by Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele

Graciela Daniele is an Argentina dancer, choreographer, and theatre director. Daniele began her dance training at the age of seven at Teatro Colon, Argentina's equivalent of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre....
, to the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park
Central Park

Central Park is a large public, urban park in New York City, with about twenty-five million visitors annually. Most of the areas immediately adjacent to the park are known for impressive buildings and valuable real estate....
, one of the series of Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park

Shakespeare in the Park is a concept used across the world, as a form of free public presentation of William Shakespeare works. Such performances exist in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America....
summer events. The show played for 10 previews and 35 performances. It then transferred to Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
, opening on 8 January 1981 for a run of 20 previews and 787 performances at the Uris
George Gershwin Theatre

The George Gershwin Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre theatre located at 222 West 51st Street in midtown-Manhattan in the Paramount Plaza building....
and Minskoff
Minskoff Theatre

The Minskoff Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre theatre located at 1515 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan.The 1621-seat venue, designed by architects Kahn and Jacobs, is on the third floor of One Astor Plaza, an office tower constructed on the site of the legendary Astor Hotel....
Theatres. This take on Pirates earned several Tony Award
Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
s, including a Tony Award for Best Revival
Tony Award for Best Revival

The Tony Award for Best Revival was presented from 1977 until 1994, when it was split up into the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical and the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play....
.

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
Ruddigore

Ruddigore, or The Witch's Curse, 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 and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan....
and "Sorry her lot" from H.M.S. Pinafore were interpolated into the show. 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
Linda Ronstadt

Maria Linda Ronstadt , known as Linda Ronstadt, is an United States popular music Singing and entertainer whose vocal styles in a variety of genres have resonated with the general public over the course of her four-decade career....
starred as Mabel, Rex Smith
Rex Smith

For the baseball player, see Rex Smith Rex Smith is an United States actor and singer....
as Frederic, Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline

Kevin Delaney Kline is an Academy Award winning American actor of theatre and film....
as the Pirate King, Patricia Routledge
Patricia Routledge

Katherine Patricia Routledge, Order of the British Empire is an English people actor and singer. In addition to her roles in British television, she has had a long and successful career in musical theatre, as well as in film....
as Ruth (replaced by Estelle Parsons
Estelle Parsons

Estelle Margaret Parsons is an Academy Awards-winning United States theatre, film and television actress. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame....
for the Broadway transfer), George Rose
George Rose (actor)

George Rose was a English people award-winning actor in theatre and film....
as the Major-General, and Tony Azito
Tony Azito

Tony Azito was an United States eccentric dancer and character actor. During his career, he was best known for comic and grotesque parts, which were accentuated by his lanky, hyperextended body....
as the Sergeant of Police. Notable replacements during the Broadway run included Pam Dawber
Pam Dawber

Pam Dawber is an United States actor, best known for her title role as Mindy McConnell in the 1978-1982 situation comedy Mork & Mindy....
, Karla DeVito
Karla DeVito

Karla Jayne DeVito is an United States singer, actress and voice artist.DeVito moved to Mokena, Illinois as a child after her father's death....
and Maureen McGovern
Maureen McGovern

Maureen Therese McGovern is an United States singer and Broadway theatre actor, widely known for her premier rendition of the 1973 hit, "The Morning After"....
as Mabel; Robby Benson
Robby Benson

Robby Benson is an United States film and television actor, television director, and educator....
, Patrick Cassidy
Patrick Cassidy (actor)

Patrick Cassidy is an United States actor best known for his roles in musical theatre and television....
and Peter Noone
Peter Noone

Peter Noone is an English people singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, best known as "Herman" of the successful 1960s rock group Herman's Hermits....
as Frederic; James Belushi
James Belushi

James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an United States actor, comedian and musician, best known for being the younger brother of late comedian John Belushi....
, Gary Sandy
Gary Sandy

Gary Sandy is an United States actor, best known for his starring role as program director Andy Travis on the classic TV sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati....
and Treat Williams
Treat Williams

Treat Williams is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage and television over the course of his prolific career. From 2002 to 2006, he was the star of the popular television series Everwood....
as the Pirate King; David Garrison
David Garrison

David Gene Garrison is an United States actor who played the character Steve Rhoades on the television show Married... with Children from 1987 to 1990....
as the Sergeant; George S. Irving
George S. Irving

George S. Irving is a United States actor, known primarily for his character actor roles on Broadway theatre.Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to find himself drafted days later to serve in World War II....
as the Major-General; and Kaye Ballard
Kaye Ballard

Actress Kaye Ballard, also credited as Kay Ballard was born as Catherine Gloria Balotta on November 20 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, to an Italy immigrant father....
as Ruth. The national tour of the production featured Barry Bostwick
Barry Bostwick

Barry Knapp Bostwick is an United States actor and singer. He is arguably best known for playing Brad Majors in the 1975 cult following classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, replacing Peter Scolari as Mr....
as the Pirate King, Jo Anne Worley
Jo Anne Worley

Jo Anne Worley is an United States actress. Her work covers television, movies, theater, game shows, talk shows, commercials, and cartoons. She is best known for her work on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In....
as Ruth, Clive Revill
Clive Revill

Clive Selsby Revill is a New Zealand character actor best known for his performance of Shakespeare and his voice acting as Palpatine in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back....
as the Major-General and Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb

Andy Gibb was an England singer and teen idol, and the youngest brother of Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb, also known as the Bee Gees....
as Frederic.

The production opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a London borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane....
, London, on 26 May 1982 for a run of 601 performances. Notable among the cast were George Cole
George Cole

George Edward Cole OBE is an England actor.In an interview included in the 2007 DVD release of A Christmas Carol he recounts that he was given up for adoption at the age of ten days, and adopted by Mr and Mrs George Cole....
and Ronald Fraser
Ronald Fraser

Ronald Fraser was an England character actor, who appeared in numerous British films of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s whilst also appearing in many popular TV shows....
as the Major-General; Michael Praed
Michael Praed

Michael Praed , a United Kingdom actor, is probably best known for his role as Robin of Loxley in the British television series Robin of Sherwood, which attained cult status worldwide in the 1980s....
and Peter Noone
Peter Noone

Peter Noone is an English people singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, best known as "Herman" of the successful 1960s rock group Herman's Hermits....
as Frederic; Tim Curry
Tim Curry

Timothy James "Tim" Curry is an England actor, singer, composer and voice artist, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions....
, Timothy Bentinck, Oliver Tobias
Oliver Tobias

Oliver Tobias is a United Kingdom film, stage, and television actor and Film director.Born Oliver Tobias Freitag in Zurich, Switzerland, he is the son of Swiss actor Robert Freitag and German actress Maria Becker....
and Paul Nicholas
Paul Nicholas

Paul Nicholas is an England actor and singer who has had considerable success on theatre, film and in the pop music music chart.Nicholas's father Oscar Beuselinck was a highly esteemed entertainment lawyer....
as the Pirate King; Chris Langham
Chris Langham

Christopher Langham is a BAFTA award-winning United Kingdom writer, actor and comedian. He is most famous for playing MP Hugh Abbot in BBC Four Situation comedy The Thick of It and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost entirely an u...
as the Sergeant of Police; Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Stephenson

Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a New Zealand actress, comedian and clinical psychologist, now a resident of New York City, USA....
as Mabel; Annie Ross
Annie Ross

Annie Ross is a jazz singer and actress, best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross....
as Ruth; Bonnie Langford
Bonnie Langford

'Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford' is an England actor and entertainer. She came to prominence as a child actor in the early 1970s then subsequently became a companion of Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy's Doctor Who and has appeared on stage in various musicals such as Peter Pan: The Musical, Cats and The Pirates of Penza...
as Kate; and Louise Gold
Louise Gold

Louise Gold is a United Kingdom singer-actress and Spitting Image puppeteer, formerly a puppeteer for The Muppet Show and Sesame Street....
as Isabel.

The Australian production opened in Melbourne
Melbourne

Melbourne is the more common name for the geographic region and Census in Australia of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area. It is the second List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million and serves as the List of Australian capital cities of Victoria ....
in January 1984 at the Victorian Arts Centre and was the first work staged in the new performing arts complex. It was directed by John Feraro and starred Jon English
Jon English

Jonathon James English is an Australian Rock music Vocalist, musician, actor and writer. Jon English emigrated to Australia with his parents in 1961....
as the Pirate King, Simon Gallaher as Frederic, June Bronhill as Ruth, David Atkins
David Atkins

David Atkins is an Australian actor, dancer, choreographer, and CEO of David Atkins Enterprises a professional major events production company....
as the Sergeant of Police, and Marina Prior
Marina Prior

Marina Prior is an Australian singer and actress.When she was a young child her parents returned to Australia and she grew up in Melbourne, attending Syndal South Primary School and Korowa Anglican Girls' School....
as Mabel. The six week limited season was followed by an Australian national tour throughout 1984, and return seasons in 1985 and 1986. In 1985, Pirates was the first production in the new Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane
Brisbane

Brisbane is the state List of Australian capital cities of Queensland and its most populous city. It is also the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, behind southern rivals Sydney and Melbourne....
and set attendance records that were not surpassed until many years later by The Phantom of The Opera.

The Papp production was turned into a film in 1983
The Pirates of Penzance (1983 film)

For the comic opera on which the film is based, see The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance is a 1983 musical film, based on Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance....
, with all of the original Broadway cast reprising their roles, except that Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury

Angela Brigid Lansbury, Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom actor and singer whose career has spanned six decades. She made her first film appearance in Gaslight , for which she received an Academy Award nomination, and expanded her repertoire to Broadway theatre and television in the 1950s....
replaced Estelle Parsons as Ruth. The minor roles used British actors mimeing to their Broadway counterparts. 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 Pictures
Universal Pictures

This is a partial listing of films produced and/or distributed by Universal Pictures, the main film production company/distribution company arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal.List of films...
' decision to release the film simultaneously to SelecTV
SelecTV USA

SelecTV was a subscription television service formed in 1976, and first broadcasting in 1978 The service focused entirely on televising movies, and ended in 1991....
(a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
subscription television service) 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." The film has been shown occasionally on television. Another film based loosely on the opera, The Pirate Movie
The Pirate Movie

The Pirate Movie is a 1982 in film musical film and comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Christopher Atkins and Kristy McNichol....
, was released during the Broadway run.

The Papp production design has been widely imitated in other modern productions of Pirates, even where traditional orchestration and standard score are used. Many modern productions are also influenced by the popular Disney film franchise Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar The Walt Disney Company franchise encompassing a theme park ride, a series of Pirates of the Caribbean and spinoff novels as well as numerous video games and other publications....
.

Recordings
This opera has been recorded many times. Of the recordings by the D'Oyly Carte Opera company, the 1968 recording (with complete dialogue) is generally regarded as the best, while the 1957 recording has also been well received. The 1993 Mackerras recording is admired for its musical values, and the 1981 Papp recording is excellent, although it has adapted orchestrations. Of the available commercial videos, the Brent Walker is considered better than the Papp version.

Selected recordings
1929 D'Oyly Carte – Conductor: Malcolm Sargent
Malcolm Sargent

Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English people conducting, organist and composer widely regarded as United Kingdom's leading conductor of choir works....
1957 D'Oyly Carte – New Symphony Orchestra of London; Conductor: Isidore Godfrey
Isidore Godfrey

Isidore Godfrey was musical director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company for 39 years, from 1929 to 1968. He conducted most of the company's performances during that period, except for a few London seasons when Malcolm Sargent was guest conductor and brief periods in the summers of 1947 and 1948 when Boyd Neel filled in as guest conductor....
1961 Sargent/Glyndebourne – Pro Arte Orchestra, Glyndebourne Festival Chorus; Conductor: Sir Malcolm Sargent
1968 D'Oyly Carte (with dialogue) – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Conductor: Isidore Godfrey
1981; 1983 Papp's Pirates (with dialogue) – Director: Wilford Leach
Wilford Leach

Wilford Leach was an United States theatre director, set designer, film director, screenwriter, and college professor....
; Musical Director: William Elliott
William Elliott

William Elliott may refer to:*William Elliott , senior RAF commander during WWII*William Yandell Elliott , American historian and presidential political advisor...
; Choreographer: Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele

Graciela Daniele is an Argentina dancer, choreographer, and theatre director. Daniele began her dance training at the age of seven at Teatro Colon, Argentina's equivalent of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre....
1982 Brent Walker Productions (with dialogue) – Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra; Conductor: Alexander Faris; Stage Director: Michael Geliot
1990 New D'Oyly Carte – Conductor: John Pryce-Jones
1993 Mackerras/Telarc – Orchestra and Chorus of the Welsh National Opera; Conductor: Sir Charles Mackerras
1994 Essgee Entertainment (video adaptation) – Director and Choreographer: Craig Schaefer; Orchestrator and Conductor: Kevin Hocking; Additional Lyrics: Melvyn Morrow

Cultural impact
Pirates is one of the most frequently referenced works of Gilbert and Sullivan. The Major-General's Song
Major-General's Song

The Major-General's Song is a patter song from Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. It is perhaps the most famous song in Gilbert and Sullivan's operas....
, in particular, is frequently parodied, pastiche
Pastiche

The word pastiche describes a literary or other artistic genre. The word has two competing meanings, meaning either a "wikt:hodgepodge" or an imitation....
d and used in advertising. Its challenging patter
Patter song

The patter song is a staple of comic opera, but it has also been used in musical theatre and other situations. It is characterized by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note ....
has proved interesting to comics, a notable example being Tom Lehrer
Tom Lehrer

Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an United States singer-songwriter, satire, pianist, and mathematics. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater....
's song "The Elements
The Elements (song)

"The Elements" is a song by musical humorist Tom Lehrer, which recites the names of all the chemical elements known at the time of writing, up to number 102, nobelium....
", and it is used in film and on television, unchanged in many instances, as a character's audition piece, or seen in a "school play" scene. Examples include:
In Animaniacs
Animaniacs

Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as Animaniacs, is an American list of animated television series, distributed by Warner Bros....
, Yakko Warner, in the episode "H.M.S. Yakko," sings the famous pastiche, "I am the very model of a cartoon individual";
The computer-animated series ReBoot
ReBoot

ReBoot is a Canada Computer-generated imagery-animated series action-adventure television series that originally aired from 1994 to 2001. It was produced by Vancouver-based production company Mainframe Entertainment, and created by Gavin Blair, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell and John Grace, with the visuals designed by Brendan McCarthy after...
ended its third season with a recap of the entire season, set to the song's tune;
In the Doctor Who
Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British Science fiction on television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien Time travel known as "Doctor " who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box....
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions

Big Finish Productions is a United Kingdom company that produces books and radio dramas based on British cult television science fiction properties....
audio, Doctor Who and the Pirates
Doctor Who and the Pirates

Doctor Who and the Pirates is a Big Finish Productions List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish based on the long-running United Kingdom science fiction television series Doctor Who....
, the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)

The Doctor is the central fictional character in the long-running BBC Science fiction on television series Doctor Who, and also features in a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
sings, "I am the very model of a Gallifrey
Gallifrey

Gallifrey is a List of Doctor Who planets in the long-running United Kingdom science fiction on television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of Doctor and the Time Lords....
an buccaneer" (and other songs, from Pirates, Pinafore and Ruddigore
Ruddigore

Ruddigore, or The Witch's Curse, 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 and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan....
, are parodied);
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show

The Muppet Show is a television program featuring a cast of The Muppets, which was produced by Jim Henson and his team from Sesame Street....
(season 3, episode 61) staged a duet of the song with guest host and commedienne Gilda Radner
Gilda Radner

Gilda Susan Radner was an American comedienne and actress, best known for her five years as part of the original cast of the National Broadcasting Company comedy series Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award....
and a six-foot tall talking carrot (The scene bore an ironic parody to another scene in Pirates, as Radner had requested a six-foot tall talking parrot, but was misheard);
David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce

David Hyde Pierce is an Emmy Award- and Tony Award-winning United States actor, best known for his role as psychiatrist Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier....
's monologue, as host of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live is a weekly late-night 90-minute American sketch comedy/variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975....
, was a parody of the song;
In the Frasier
Frasier

Frasier is an American situation comedy broadcast on National Broadcasting Company for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004....
episode Fathers and Sons
Fathers and Sons (Frasier episode)

"Fathers and Sons" is the twenty-second episode of United States situation comedy Frasier season 10....
, Frasier, Niles and Leland Barton sing the first verse of the song. Martin tries to join in but confuses the lyrics, singing about a "scary hippopotamus" (instead of "the square of a hypotenuse");
In the Mad About You
Mad About You

Mad About You is an United States sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 23, 1999. The show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a newly married couple in New York City....
episode "Moody Blues," Paul directs a charity production of Penzance starring his father, Burt, as the Major-General. Parts of rehearsal and performance of the song are shown. When the lyrics slip Burt's mind, he improvises a few lines about his son.
In The Wild Thornberrys
The Wild Thornberrys

The Wild Thornberrys is an United States animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon from 1998 to 2004. It was rerun in the USA on Nickelodeon and occasionally Nicktoons Network until 2007....
episode "Sir Nigel," Nigel Thornberry sings a song about the family to the tune of the song;
In a VeggieTales
VeggieTales

VeggieTales is a series of English language children's computer animation films featuring anthropomorphic vegetables. Developed by Big Idea Productions, the films convey moral themes based on Christianity, often compatible with Judaism, spliced with satirical references to pop culture and News....
episode entitled "The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment", Archibald Asparagus sings the first two verses of this song when asked to sing about "Military Intelligence";
In the Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is an American dramedy television television program created and written by Aaron Sorkin. It takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy show on the fictional television network NBS , whose format is similar to NBC's Saturday Night Live....
episode "The Cold Open" (2006), the cast performs a sketch including a parody of the song: "We'll be the very model of a modern network TV show"; and
In an episode of Pinky and The Brain
Pinky and the Brain

Pinky and the Brain are cartoon characters who have starred in the American animated television series Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain....
, The Brain sings a typically megalomaniacal parody of the song.
In The Simpsons
The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an Television in the United States animated cartoon Situation comedy created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company....
episode "Deep Space Homer
Deep Space Homer

"Deep Space Homer" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons The Simpsons and first aired on February 24, 1994. The episode was directed by Carlos Baeza and was the only episode of The Simpsons written by David Mirkin, who was also the executive producer at the time....
" (1F13), Barney Gumble
Barney Gumble

Barney Gumble is a character in the animated cartoon situation comedy The Simpsons. The character is voice acting by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"....
quotes the first lines while executing difficult gymnastic tumbles for astronaut training.
In an Assy McGee
Assy McGee

Assy McGee was an Animated television series Situation comedy featuring vigilante detective Assy McGee, a parody of tough-guy cops who is literally a walking pair of buttocks....
episode entitled "Pegfinger", Detective Sanchez's wife is a member of a community theater that performs the opera.
In an episode of Home Improvement
Home Improvement

Home Improvement is an situation comedy starring Tim Allen, which aired 1991 to 1999. The show was created by Matt Williams , Carmen Finestra and David MacFadzean....
, Al Borland sings half of the first verse when tricked into thinking he is in a soundproof booth.
Other songs from the show that have been used frequently include the chorus of With cat-like tread, which begins "Come, friends, who plough the sea," which was used in the popular American song, "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here
Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here

"Hail, hail, the gang's all here" is the popular refrain from the 1915 United States song, "Alabama Jubilee" made famous by Fred Astaire. The lyrics were written by D....
," popularized by Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire was an United States Academy Award-winning film and Broadway theatre dance, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of seventy-six years, during which he made thirty-one musical films....
. It is also part of the soundtrack, along with other Gilbert and Sullivan songs, in the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire

Chariots of Fire is a United Kingdom film released in 1981 in film. Written by Colin Welland and directed by Hugh Hudson, it is based on the true story of British athletes preparing for and competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics....
. The song was also pastiched in an episode of Animaniacs
Animaniacs

Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as Animaniacs, is an American list of animated television series, distributed by Warner Bros....
in a song about surfing a whale.

Other notable instances of references to Pirates include a New York Times article on 29 February 1940, memorializing that Frederic was finally out of his indentures. Six years previously, the arms granted to the municipal borough of Penzance
Penzance

Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, UK.Granted various Royal Charters from 1512 onwards and Incorporation in 1614, it has a population of 20,255 and is currently Penwith's principal town....
in 1934 contain a pirate dressed in Gilbert's original costuming, and Penzance had a rugby team called the Penzance Pirates, which is now called the Cornish Pirates
Cornish Pirates

The Cornish Pirates are a British professional rugby union team who play in National Division One of the England rugby union league, and are the premier Cornish rugby club....
. In 1980, Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov , was a Russian-born United States author and professor of biochemistry, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books....
wrote a short story called "The Year of the Action", concerning whether the action of Pirates took place on 1 March 1873, or 1 March 1877. That is, did Gilbert take into account the fact that 1900 was not a leap year?

Film references to Pirates include Kate and Leopold, where there are multiple references, including a scene where Leopold sings "I Am The Very Model of A Modern Major General" while accompanying himself on the piano; and in Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman is a 1990 in film romantic comedy film. The film centers on the titular character, down-on-her-luck prostitute Vivian Ward who is hired by a wealthy businessman and Corporate raid, Edward Lewis to be his escort for several business functions, and their developing relationship....
, Edward Lewis (Richard Gere
Richard Gere

Richard Tiffany Gere is an United States actor. He began acting in the 1970s, and came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol....
) covered a social gaffe by prostitute Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts

Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress and former fashion model. She became well known during the early 1990s after starring in the romantic comedy Pretty Woman opposite Richard Gere, which grossed $463 million worldwide....
), who said that the opera La Traviata
La traviata

La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on the novel The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, published in 1848....
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 Walt Disney's cartoon Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers

Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers is a direct-to-video animation film adaptation of the novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, p?re....
(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 TV series, The West Wing
The West Wing (TV series)

The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2006. It was produced/written by Sorkin and also produced by Thomas Schlamme....
, "The Pirates of Penzance" and other Gilbert & Sullivan operas are mentioned, in particular by Deputy Communications Director, Sam Seaborn
Sam Seaborn

Samuel Norman "Sam" Seaborn is a fictional character played by Rob Lowe on the television Serial drama The West Wing . He is best known for being Deputy White House Communications Director in the Josiah Bartlet administration....
, who was once recording secretary of the Gilbert and Sullivan society in school. In the pilot episode of the 2008 CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
series, Flashpoint
Flashpoint (TV series)

Flashpoint is a Canadian police drama television series that debuted on July 11, 2008, on CTV television network in Canada and CBS in the U.S....
, a police officer and his partner sing the policeman's song. In Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is an American dramedy television television program created and written by Aaron Sorkin. It takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy show on the fictional television network NBS , whose format is similar to NBC's Saturday Night Live....
, a poster from "The Pirates of Penzance" hangs on Matt Albie's (Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry (actor)

Matthew Langford Perry is a Golden Globe and Emmy nominated American Canadian film and television actor, best known for his work as Chandler Bing in the sitcom Friends....
) office wall.

The show is referred to in video games. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a Nonlinear gameplay action-adventure game computer game and video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the third 3D computer graphics game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and fifth original game overall....
, a casino is called "Pirates in Men's Pants", a crude play on "Pirates of Penzance". The opera has also lent itself to other cultural references, such as the unlikely slang used by Melburnian
Melbourne

Melbourne is the more common name for the geographic region and Census in Australia of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area. It is the second List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million and serves as the List of Australian capital cities of Victoria ....
youths, who refer to marijuana as "Pirates of Penzance" or the "Gilbert & Sullivan Special."

Adaptations

Di Yam Gazlonim, A Yiddish adaptation of Pirates by Al Grand that continues to be performed frequently in the United States. The 2006 production at the National Yiddish Theater - Folksbiene was nominated for a 2007 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award

The Drama Desk Award, created in 1955, is an award which recognizes theatres produced on Broadway theatre, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and for legitimate not-for-profit theaters....
for Outstanding Revival.
Parson's Pirates by Opera della Luna
Opera della Luna

Opera della Luna, founded in 1994, is a British touring theatre troupe of singers and comedians. Led by artistic director Jeff Clarke, it takes its name from Haydn?s operatic setting of Goldoni?s farce Il Mondo della Luna....
The Pirate Movie
The Pirate Movie

The Pirate Movie is a 1982 in film musical film and comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Christopher Atkins and Kristy McNichol....
Pirates! Or, Gilbert And Sullivan Plunder'd (2006), a musical comedy, adapted by Nell Benjamin, first presented 1 November 2006 at Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut
Connecticut

Connecticut is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The state borders New York to the west and south , Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east....
, then 9 June-8 July 2007 at the Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse

Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, New Jersey, less than 25 miles away from Manhattan....
in Millburn
Millburn

Millburn can refer to several locations:In the United Kingdom:*Millburn, InvernessIn the United States:*Millburn, New Jersey...
, New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
.
Pirates of Penzance - The Ballet!
Pirates of Penzance - The Ballet!

Pirates of Penzance – The Ballet! is a comic ballet adapted from Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy Opera The Pirates of Penzance. The plot remains the same as for the opera....
Essgee Entertainment produced an adapted version of Pirates in 1994 in Australia and New Zealand. Their producer, Simon Gallaher (Frederic in the Australian Papp production), produced another adaptation of Pirates that toured Australia from 2001 to 2003.
The Pirates of Penzance (1983 film)
The Pirates of Penzance (1983 film)

For the comic opera on which the film is based, see The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance is a 1983 musical film, based on Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance....

See also

Major General's Song
Our Island Home
Our Island Home

Our Island Home is a one-act German Reed Entertainment with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Thomas German Reed that premiered on June 20 1870 at the Royal Gallery of Illustration....
, one of the sources of the libretto for Pirates

External links

at IMDB
at The Internet Broadway Database
at The Internet Broadway Database

(PDF file)

The Pirates of Penzance

Background

Roles

Synopsis

Musical numbers

Versions

Production history

Historical casting

Joseph Papp's Pirates

Recordings

Cultural impact

Adaptations

See also

External links