The Penzance pirates
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Penzance pirates |
| Original title: | The Pirates of Penzance |
| Shape: | operetta |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Arthur Sullivan |
| Libretto : | WS Gilbert |
| Premiere: | December 29, 1879 |
| Place of premiere: |
Paignton ( Devon , England ) |
| Place and time of the action: | Cornwall coast, second half of the 19th century |
| people | |
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The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts. The music is by Arthur Sullivan and the libretto by WS Gilbert .
The operetta was to secure British copyright law in the United Kingdom on 30 December 1879 Royal Bijou Theater in Paignton (county Devon , England premiered), as a unique idea. The Broadway premiere took place a day later, on December 31, 1879, at the Fifth Avenue Theater. The London premiere was on April 3, 1880 at the Opera Comique. There the piece had 363 performances.
The Pirates of Penzance are still one of the most played pieces today and are often quoted musically. Of the many re-performances on Broadway, the 1981 production was the most successful, running 787 performances.
content
first act
On the coast of Cornwall, in the time of Queen Victoria, Frederic celebrates the completion of his 21st year in the midst of the pirates and thus the seemingly end of his apprenticeship. The pirate king takes Frederic into the team as a full-fledged pirate, but the latter declares that he now wants to leave the pirates and return to civilization. ( Pour, oh Pour the Pirate Sherry ) Ruth, girl for everything with the pirates, appears and tells that she once - as Frederic's nanny - made a (hearing) mistake when she took the boy to the pirates on his father's instructions (instead of a " pilot ") brought. ( When Frederic Was a Little Lad )
Frederic explains that if he leaves the pirates, he will be forced to take action against the pirates. He also points out that they are not particularly successful pirates because, because they are orphans themselves , they always spare orphans among their victims and have recently only encountered ships populated by alleged orphans. Frederic asks the pirates to give up piracy and come with him. The Pirate King rejects this and replies that, compared to the so-called “honorable life”, piracy is comparatively honest. ( Oh, Better Far to Live and Die )
Frederic and Ruth now leave the ship and enter the coast. Frederic notices an approaching group of young girls - the first girls he ever sees - and hides before the girls arrive. ( Oh, False One, You Have Deceived Me! By Frederic and Climbing Over Rocky Mountain by the girls)
When he finally shows himself, he asks the young women for their help. ( Stop, Ladies, Pray and Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast ) But these are scared. Only one of them, Mabel, is willing to help and blames her sisters for their lack of helpfulness. ( Poor Wandering One! ) Frederic and Mabel fall in love. The other girls wonder whether they should eavesdrop on them or leave them alone. ( What Ought We to Do ) Eventually they agree to leave the two of them alone but keep an eye on them. ( How Beautifully Blue the Sky )
Frederic warns the girls about the pirates nearby, but before they can escape the pirates are already there and grab everyone. ( Stay, We Must Not Lose Our Senses and Here's a First Rate Opportunity to get married with impunity ) Ex-pirate Frederic cannot mediate. Mabel warns the pirates that the girls' father is a general. ( Hold, Monsters! ) He comes immediately, introduces himself and appeals to the famous pirates from Penzance to let the girls go because he is old and otherwise all alone - besides, he is an orphan. ( I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General and Oh, Men of Dark and Dismal Fate ) The soft-hearted pirates give in and accept General Stanley and his daughters as honorary members.
Second act
The general sits in a ruined chapel on his Tremorden Castle estate, surrounded by his daughters. His conscience suffers from the lie he told the pirates and the girls try to comfort him. ( Oh, Dry the Glistening Tear ) A police sergeant and his corps come and declare their readiness to finally arrest the pirates. The girls are very enthusiastic and loudly express their admiration for the police officers, who are presumably now dying in the hands of tough and merciless enemies and thus becoming more or less immortal. ( Then Frederic, Let Your Escort Lion-hearted and When the Foeman Bares His Steel ) The policemen are very unsettled by this, but set off as ordered.
Left alone, Frederic is unsure what to do now. The Pirate King and Ruth arrive ( Now for the Pirate's Lair! ) And Frederic learns to his astonishment that his apprenticeship with the pirates will last until his 21st birthday. Now he has already reached the age of 21, but since he was born on February 29th, i.e. in a leap year, he is strictly speaking only 5¼ years old and so the end of his apprenticeship is far from in sight. ( When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold , also A Paradox ) Frederic accepts this bill with a heavy heart. As a re-enlisted pirate, it is now his pirate duty to admit that he knew that the general was by no means an orphan - and never was one. (Here a version of My eyes are fully open from the operetta Ruddigore is played in some productions .) The angry pirates decide to take revenge. ( Away, Away! My Heart's on Fire ! , sometimes supplemented by Duty, duty must be done )
Frederic meets Mabel again and tells her about his pirate duty. ( All Is Prepared ) She tries to get him to stay, but he explains that he has to do his duty and stay with the pirates until his 21st birthday (sometime in the 1940s!). He promises to return to her immediately and they swear allegiance to one another. ( Stay, Frederic, Stay! ) Then he turns around and goes to the pirates. Mabel encourages herself ( No, I Am Brave! ) And tells the arriving police that Frederic is back with the pirates and that they now have to do their duty, just as Frederic does his duty and she does too. ( Sergeant, Approach! ) As the pirates approach the house, the police set a trap and hide nearby. ( When a Felon's Not Engaged in His Employment )
The pirates and Frederic arrive and arm themselves for the battle for the general's house. ( A Rollicking Band of Pirates We and With Cat-like Tread, upon our prey we steal ) When the general appears, who couldn't sleep because of his bad conscience, the pirates hide too. His daughters look for and find the general and try to calm him down. ( Hush, Hush! Not a Word and Sighing Softly to the River ) The pirates attack - Frederic can do nothing - and the police rush to the defense. A fight breaks out. The pirates win and the pirate king tells the captured general to prepare for death. The defeated police sergeant plays his last trump card and demands that the pirates hand over their booty "in the name of Queen Victoria". The pirates - as loyal and loving subjects - obey. The police now want to take the pirates away, but Ruth appears and explains that the pirates are “all noblemen who have gone wrong” (“noblemen who have gone astray”). The general is deeply impressed and forgives them. Frederic and Mabel are reunited - and the general is happy to marry his daughter to the noblest of the pirates. ( Final )
Order of the pieces of music
Recording: D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and The New Symphony Orchestra of London conducted by Isidore Godfrey (1957)
first act
- overture
- 1. Pour, oh Pour the Pirate Sherry (Samuel and Pirates)
- 2. When Frederic Was a Little Lad (Ruth)
- 3. Oh, Better Far to Live and Die (Pirate King and Pirates)
- 4. Oh, False One, You Have Deceived Me! (Frederic and Ruth)
- 5. Climbing Over Rocky Mountain (Edith and Kathe, girls)
- 6.Stop, Ladies, Pray (Frederic, Edith, Kathe and Mädchen)
- 7. Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast (Frederic, Mabel and Mädchen)
- 8. Poor Wandering One! (Mabel and girl)
- 9. What Ought We to Do (Edith, Kathe and girls)
- 10. How Beautifully Blue the Sky (Mabel, Frederic and Maiden)
- 11.Stay, We Must Not Lose Our Senses (Frederic, Pirates and Girls)
- 11a. Here's a First Rate Opportunity to get married with impunity (pirates and girls)
- 12. Hold, monsters! (Mabel, Major-General Stanley, Samuel, Pirates and Girls)
- 13. I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General (Major-General, Pirates and Girls) ; ( Patter song )
- 14. Oh, Men of Dark and Dismal Fate (Major-General and Ensemble)
Second act
- 15.Oh, Dry the Glistening Tear (Mabel and Maiden)
- 16. Then Frederic, Let Your Escort Lion-hearted (Frederic and Major-General)
- 17. When the Foeman Bares His Steel (Mabel, Edith, Sergeant, Major-General, Policemen and Girls)
- 18. Now for the Pirate's Lair! (Frederic, Ruth and the Pirate King)
- 19. When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold (Ruth, Frederic and the Pirate King)
- 20. Away, Away! My Heart's on Fire! (Ruth, Frederic and the Pirate King)
- 21. All Is Prepared (Mabel and Frederic)
- 22. Stay, Frederic, Stay! (Mabel and Frederic)
- 23. No, I Am Brave! (Mabel, Sergeant and Policemen)
- 23a. Sergeant, approach! (Mabel, Sergeant and Policemen)
- 24. When a Felon's Not Engaged in His Employment (Sergeant and Policemen)
- 25. A Rollicking Band of Pirates We (Sergeant, Cops and Pirates)
- 26. With Cat-like Tread, upon our prey we steal (Samuel, cops and pirates)
- 27. Hush, hush! Not a Word (Frederic, Major-General Stanley, police officers and pirates)
- 28. Sighing Softly to the River (Major-General and Ensemble)
- 29th final
In current productions, songs from other Gilbert & Sullivan operettas are occasionally inserted in the second act , My Eyes Are Fully Open or Duty, duty must be done from Ruddigore and Sorry Her Lot from HMS Pinafore .
Film adaptations
In addition to recordings of various stage versions, there is also a film made in 1983 with Kevin Kline in the role of the pirate king and Angela Lansbury as Ruth.
Trivia
The model for the figure of Major-General Stanley was the British General Wolseley .
Further adaptations
No. 13 appears in the language of the Minions in the movie Despicable Me 3 as "Papa Mama Loca Pipa".
literature
- Arthur Sullivan, William Schwenck Gilbert, Carl Simpson, Ephraim Hammett Jones: The Pirates of Penzance - Vocal Score . Courier Dover Publications, 2001, ISBN 0-486-41893-6 .
