The Pirates of Penzance

Creation

Gilbert sailed to Cornwall, and hatched the idea of The Pirates of Penzance. Sullivan liked the idea.

The Pirates of Penzance was scheduled for December 31, 1879 at the 5th Avenue, New York. The idea was to abolish the American pirates, by opening it in America.

Sullivan completed Act one in London. When he arrived in New York, he realized that he had left the score for Act one in London. He had to compose all of Act two, and re-write Act one. He holed up in his hotel, sometimes composing throughout the night after rehearsing all day long. By December 31, he said he was feeling “utterly worn out” and “more dead than alive”, but he reportedly felt better after he started conducting.

A couple days before the premiere performance, Carte had realized that in order to protect British copyright, The Pirates of Penzance needed to be performed in England before the premiere in America. Carte sent a telegram to his company in London. A few hours before the premiere, a hasty performance was made, with the actors still in Pinafore costumes, bearing scripts instead of swords.

Plot Synopsis

The first act opens on a bunch of pirates drinking sherry on an otherwise deserted beach. They are celebrating the 21st birthday of their apprentice, Frederic. This very day at twelve, Frederic is released from his indentures, and is planning to leave them forever. It seems that his nurse, Ruth, whom he is in love with, accidentally apprenticed him to a pirate, instead of a pilot, because she was hard of hearing. Frederic reproaches his friends for being too tenderhearted. They release any prisoner that claims to be an orphan, because they are all orphans. It has got about, and they never capture anyone anymore. He invites them back to civilization, but they decline. As the Pirate King words it “No, Frederic, it cannot be. I don’t think much of our profession, but, contrasted with respectability, it is comparatively honest.”

The pirates depart, leaving Frederic alone with Ruth. He almost proposes to marry her, except he gets distracted. A bunch of pretty young maidens are heard in the distance. He than becomes angry with Ruth who told him she was beautiful, (he seems to have forgotten that “was” is the operative word there.) and sends her away.

When the beautiful maidens reach him, he asks if any will have pity on him, and marry him. One of the ladies, Mabel, accepts. After complimenting each other, with the chorus of sisters (yes, they’re sisters) singing loudly about the weather, Frederic remembers that this is the pirate’s base, and tries to get the young ladies to go away. But they are too late; the pirates appear. By some strange coincidence, there are exactly the same amounts of pirates as there are young ladies. The pirates are about to marry the young ladies, when the ladies’ father, a major general, stops them.

After giving a long pattersong about how he is a major general, he begs them all to tell him “what’s going on?” He realizes that they want to marry his daughters, and tells them that he is an orphan. “Oh, dash it all! Here we are again!” exclaim the pirates. They let the daughters go, and make the whole family honorary pirates.

Act two opens in a partially ruined chapel at night. Major General Stanley is mourning over that little lie he told to escape the pirates. Frederic tries to comfort him by summoning his policemen. The policemen, led by Frederic will destroy the pirates that very night. The policemen are rather like a bunch of Keystone cops, and go around singing “Tarantara tarantara” to make their faint hearts feel braver. After this display, the Major General goes to bed. His daughters also leave.

Frederic starts soliloquizing about how glad he’ll be when the pirates are finished, when what do you know, in walks Ruth and the Pirate King. Ruth says they found a paradox- Frederic was born in leap year, on the 29th of February, and so he is only five and a quarter years old. Therefore, since he was apprenticed until his 21st birthday, he is still apprenticed to them.

Frederic’s sense of duty compels him to tell them that General Stanley is no orphan. The Pirate King goes into a rage, and decides that they will take revenge on Stanley that same night. Frederic is forced to say good-bye to Mabel, but he promises to return and claim her in 63 years, if she’ll be true to him. She agrees, and they part.

Mabel then summons the policemen, and tells them to do their duty. After lamenting that “a policemen’s lot is not a happy one,” they prepare to attack the pirates. But, wait, what do they hear in the distance? It’s the pirates, and “with cat-like tread”, they are coming to take revenge on General Stanley.

The pirate’s noise awakens Stanley and his daughters, and they come out to learn what’s going on. The Pirate King is about to kill Stanley, when the policemen come in. After a brief fight (truncheons against swords and guns) the pirates are victorious-for the moment.

The Sergeant of police charges them to yield in Queen Victoria’s name.The pirates yield at once, because “with all their faults, they love their Queen.” Ruth reveals that they are all sons of dead noblemen, and Stanley allows them to marry his daughters.

Pubilc Reception

The Pirates of Penzance, although not as popular as H.M.S Pinafore or Trial by Jury, nevertheless was a big success. It ran for 363 performances. In the first six weeks alone, Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte made $24,000, and in 1879-80, that was a lot of money. Pirates also secured Gilbert and Sullivan’s great reputation.