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In the 19th century, Penzance was one of the most idyllic and peaceful little towns on the British isle. Pirates... here?! The kings of English operetta, the writing duo Gilbert & Sullivan, had a knack for humorously subverting their audience’s expectations. With this satirical and subversive “recipe,” they created one hit after another.
The rather absurd plot of The Pirates of Penzance would have done proud even to the British humor of Monty Python back in the 19th century: A young man is not trained in a private school, but instead apprenticed to the Pirates of Penzance because his Swiss governess confuses the words “private” and “pirate”. Upon turning 21, Frederic should have completed his apprenticeship—if only he hadn’t been born in a leap year! According to pirate logic, that makes him just five years old… From this existential dilemma unfolds a love story between the young pirate apprentice and Mabel, a young lady from the British military aristocracy...
The physical comedy duo Spymonkey scored a hit with Orpheus in the Underworld at the Volksoper, winning over both audience and critics. With The Pirates of Penzance, they turn their attention to the most British of all operettas!
To set the mood for the performance, we warmly recommend the following event to all visitors of The Pirates of Penzance:
Stage direction Spymonkey
Stage direction Toby Park
Stage direction Aitor Basauri
Dialogfassung Jennifer Weiss, Toby Park und Aitor Basauri
Set design Julian Crouch
Costume design Julian Crouch
Choreography Gail Skrela
Lighting design Phil Supple
Dramaturgy Magdalena Hoisbauer
Dramaturgy Lisa Kerlin
Dramaturgy Jennifer Gisela Weiss
Choir director Roger Díaz-Cajamarca
Innovation or tradition? Once again, the Vienna Volksoper is tackling the big questions of musical theatre. A certain Mr. Kitzler, interim director of the theatre, wants to return to the latter – back to operetta “as it should be” – and has invited the two great-granddaughters of British composer and librettist-duo Gilbert and Sullivan to stage their masterpiece The Pirates of Penzance. After all, if the descendants of the masters themselves faithfully put their hands on the task, it can only be a success. So: cast off, set sail and board the ship, ladies!
Act 1
A bright early summer’s day. The pirates of Penzance are celebrating the 21st birthday of their apprentice Frederic, who is now of age and has completed his pirate training. But how did such a well-mannered young man end up on a pirate ship? It all began with a crucial misunderstanding: Frederic’s Swiss nanny Ruth was instructed by his father to send the boy to a “private” school. But her Swiss sense of language led her astray, and before long Frederic was signed up in a small harbour in Cornwall and became ... a “pirate”.
On the threshold of adulthood and independence, Frederic is suddenly overcome by a strong sense of morality, and one thing seems clear: pirates are criminals, and as an honest citizen, it is only natural to fight them. Suddenly, the adventures and all the years with his companions, who are in truth (too) lovable and kind-hearted, are forgotten. They even accept the abrupt change of heart of their long-time protégé: “All right, if you say so. What must be done must be done.“
With Ruth in tow, Frederic rows towards the mainland and suddenly becomes interested in only one thing: women! An inner instinct tells him that from now on, they should be his only desire. How fortunate that he meets a group of upper-class girls on the beach – they are the children of Major General Stanley, a member of the British Army. One of them, Mabel, is immediately captivated by Frederic, who ardently courts the ladies. But the idyll of this blossoming love is abruptly interrupted ... screech! Because there they are again: the pirates! To save themselves from the buccaneers, the girls have no choice but to mention their father, who is decorated with countless medals and who immediately comes to their rescue: Stanley, “the very model of a modern Major-General”! Any potential conflict between the military aristocracy and piracy, as well as all the pirates’ spontaneously expressed intentions to marry, are immediately blown away when Stanley reveals that he is an orphan. For one thing is an unwritten law: the pirates of Penzance would never harm an orphan!
Act 2
In the glow of the moonlight, the Major General is tormented by his guilty conscience: his trick of pretending to be an orphan in front of the pirates was a lie – in fact, he has a distinguished family tree. Meanwhile, Frederic prepares to fight the pirates together with a police force and their sergeant, celebrated as heroes by Mabel and her sisters. Then the pirate king and Ruth appear and confront the young man with a remarkable paradox: Frederic was born on 29 February in a leap year. Although he is now de facto 21 years old, according to his apprenticeship contract he belongs to the pirates until his twenty-first birthday – and that will take decades ... Ruth and the pirate king appeal to Frederic’s sense of duty: pacta sunt servanda – contracts must be fulfilled. Although he actually wanted to fight them, the prodigal son returns to the pirates and immediately exposes Stanley’s lie. This is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, even for the most gentle-natured pirates: they swear revenge ...
Without Frederic at their forefront, the police officers pursue their mission to put an end to the pirates’ activities. In the midst of the night-time turmoil, a final confrontation ensues, and suddenly no one is quite sure who they really are: pirates or noblemen? Should they exchange the jolly roger for an aristocratic family coat of arms? Fortunately, Queen Victoria comes to the rescue.
For all those who use a screen reader, a description of the visual aspects of the performance (set design, costumes...) follows here instead of the photo gallery.
The operetta is set in opulent, exuberant, almost exaggerated décor. Painted, two-dimensional stage set elements, reminiscent of baroque theater, show the pirate world, such as a pirate ship with a sail mast, a steering wheel, painted waves that can also be moved and much more. The whole thing is framed by an opulent stage portal, which creates the impression of a painting. The costumes are colorful and imaginative, very individual for each character, the pirates, for example, in exaggerated pirate costumes, but there are also imaginative sea animal costumes from crabs to octopuses. The costumes are also as opulent and colorful as the stage design, creating witty visual effects.
“Rarely is there such hearty laughter in an opera house as there was on this evening,” read one review of the acclaimed premiere of The Pirates of Penzance.
Do you still remember the hilariously funny operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, directed by the British comedy troupe Spymonkey? Did you laugh your head off at the precisely choreographed nonsense and silliness? Then start looking forward now to The Pirates of Penzance. We’ve put together 5 good reasons why you definitely shouldn’t miss the performance!
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