Opera Guide– The Pirates of Penzance

English Comic Opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

Oct 16, 2009

Guide to the characters, plot, and history of The Pirates of Penzance, an operetta by the English comic opera writers Gilbert & Sullivan.

The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts by Arthur Sullivan, with a libretto by W.S. Gilbert. The opera premiered in New York on December 31, 1879, in an attempt to head off the American theater pirates who had taken advantage of loopholes in international copyright law to stage unauthorized performances of HMS Pinafore. Upon his arrival in the United States, Sullivan had only written the second act of the opera; while in New York, he composed the first act and completed the orchestration.

Act I

On their ship off the coast of Cornwall, the pirates celebrate the release of Frederic, their apprentice, from his indentures ("Pour, oh pour the pirate sherry"). Frederic explains, to the pirates' horror, that since he is no longer bound by duty to the pirates, he is duty-bound to destroy them. Ruth, his nurse, explains that she misheard his father's intentions and apprenticed him to a pirate instead of to a pilot ("When Frederic was a little lad").

The pirates, although sad to see Frederic go, support his need to follow his duty. However, since he is bound to them until noon and it is only eleven thirty, he explains that they can't make a living as pirates because they are "too tender-hearted": they refuse to attack orphans, being orphans themselves, and so everyone they capture claims to be an orphan.

Frederic leaves with Ruth. He asks the Pirate King to go with him, but he refuses, saying that he must live and die a Pirate King ("Oh better far to live and die" ["Hurrah for the Pirate King!"]).

Frederic, reluctant to marry a woman so old, asks Ruth if she is beautiful, and she answers that she has "been told so." He sees a chorus of young women, and rebukes Ruth for lying to him ("Oh false one, you have deceived me!").

The women enter ("Climbing over Rocky Mountain"), and Frederic hides to watch them. When they begin to undress, however, he reveals himself, and asks if there is any one of them willing to marry him ("Oh is there not one maiden breast"). Mabel accepts his offer ("Poor wandering one").

Frederic warns the women about pirates ("Stay; we must not lose our senses"). The pirates appear and capture the women, intending to marry them ("Now here's a first-rate opportunity"). The women warn the pirates that their father is a Major-General, and he appears to tell the pirates of his extensive education ("I am the very pattern of a modern major-general").

When he realizes that the pirates are none other than the famous Pirates of Penzance, the Major-General claims to be an orphan ("Oh, men of dark and dismal fate"), and they let his daughters go.

Act II

Outside a ruined chapel at night, Major-General Stanley's daughters comfort their crying father ("Oh dry the glistening tear"). Frederic enters and asks why the Major-General sits here night after night; the Major-General explains that he is fraught with guilt because he lied to save his daughter from the pirates.

Frederic reveals his plan to exterminate the pirates before midnight. The police enter, but the Major-General's daughters' encouragement to die bravely in battle only frightens them more ("When the foeman bares his steel").

All exit but Frederic, who is confronted by Ruth and the Pirate King. They reveal a catch in Frederic's contract ("When first you left our pirate fold" ["That paradox"]): he is bound to the pirates until his twenty-first birthday, and since he was born on February 29th he has only had five birthdays.

Since he is still bound to the pirates, Frederic's honor forces him to reveal the Major-General's deception. The Pirate King and Ruth swear revenge ("Away! away! my heart's on fire"). Frederic says farewell to Mabel, who promises to wait for him until his twenty-first birthday ("Stay, Frederic, stay!").

Frederic leaves, and Mabel explains to the police that Frederic has returned to the pirates. They resolve to capture the pirates alone ("When a felon's not engaged in his employment"). The pirates enter ("With cat-like tread"), and the police hide.

The Major-General comes outside to investigate a noise ("Tormented with the anguish dread"), and the police hide. His daughters awake and come outside. The pirates attempt to capture the Major-General, but the police defend him. The pirates surrender, however, when the police order them to "yield in Queen Victoria's name."

The Major-General wants the pirates arrested, but Ruth reveals that they are all noblemen gone wrong who should return to their previous rank in civilized society. The Major-General agrees, and allows them to marry his daughters.

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