© Craig Fuller
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is the fifth Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, and premiered in New York City on 31 December 1879. It made its London debut on 3 April 1880, and was warmly received with the critical consensus being that it represented a significant advance on the duo’s earlier works. The Herald in New York suggested that ‘the new work is in every respect superior to the Pinafore, the text more humorous, the music more elegant and more elaborate’.
On the coast of Cornwall, during the reign of Queen Victoria, one Frederic is celebrating the completion of his apprenticeship to the Pirates of Penzance as he turns twenty-one. He is very fond of the rather gentlemanly band, but feels that once he is released from his indentures and returns to civilisation it will be his duty to devote himself to the extermination of the outlaws. He has never seen a woman before other than his nursemaid Ruth, who joined him on the ship as a ‘piratical maid of all work’. Thus, when he sees a group of beautiful young girls on the shoreline, he is instantly taken with them.
Startled by his pirates’ clothes, they all reject his appeals to help him to reform, with the exception of one named Mabel. She believes the girls should be forgiving, although her stance is clearly influenced by the feelings she has for Frederic and he for her. The pirates then arrive and capture the girls, seeing this as an opportunity for them all to marry. The girls’ father Major-General Stanley arrives and claims he is an orphan, knowing that the Pirates of Penzance are all orphans and make a point of never attacking anyone who is one. His ploy works and the pirates release everyone.
While the Major-General wrestles with his conscience for lying about being an orphan, Frederic calls on the local policemen, under the Sergeant of Police, to arrest the pirates, even though they will likely die trying. Meanwhile, the Pirate King and Ruth find Frederic and tell him that he is still indentured to the pirates. The wording of the agreement committed him not until his twenty-first year but until his twenty-first birthday, and as he was, like Gioachino Rossini, born on 29 February that will not occur for over sixty years. Reluctant though he is to forsake Mabel and rejoin the pirates, he feels it is is duty to do so. He also feels obliged to take the pirates’ side and tell them that the Major-General lied to them.
The pirates move to exact their revenge, and things come to a head when they encounter the policemen who had decided they still needed to act, even without Frederic to lead them. Things are resolved, however, when the Sergeant of Police charges the pirates to yield in Queen Victoria’s name for, in spite of their rough edges, they love their Queen. They also escape punishment when it transpires they are all noblemen who simply went astray. A happy ending ensues in which Frederic and Mabel are united as all of the pirates plan to wed all of the girls, this time at Major-General Stanley’s invitation.
John Savournin, ENO’s The Pirates of Penzance 2024 © Craig Fuller
English National Opera has a long and proud tradition of presenting works by Gilbert and Sullivan, and some of its productions have been extremely successful. Jonathan Miller’s The Mikado has been running since 1986, and it has been joined more recently by Cal McCrystal’s Iolanthe (2018) and HMS Pinafore (2021), and Jo Davis’s The Yeomen of the Guard (2022). All of these stagings are highly dynamic as significant dance routines combine with a strong attention to detail as many new jokes and ‘asides’ are introduced. Director Mike Leigh, whose credits include the 1999 film Topsy-Turvy which explores the creation of The Mikado, takes a more ‘minimalist’ approach in his 2015 production of The Pirates of Penzance, which is revived now by Sarah Tipple as it was in 2017.
Alison Chitty’s brightly coloured set sports flat planes alongside bold shapes and diagonals. It does not, however, so much update or change the original setting (the performers wear traditional costume in any case) as make the drama feel devoid of any meaningful context. This places even more onus on the performers to entertain us, and fortunately that is exactly what the present cast succeeds in doing. The orchestra, superbly conducted by Natalie Murray Beale, principals and chorus all prove to be strong, and the result is that they bring a lot of flair to a production that on its own would not be noted for possessing it.
Isabelle Peters, William Morgan, ENO’s The Pirates of Penzance 2024 © Craig Fuller
In terms of the staging, there are some difficulties from the start as the first scene’s action occurs on a tiny section of the stage with the pirates’ ship nestled into a wall. ‘Pour, oh pour, the pirate sherry’ only features some general cheer when much sharper direction would seem called for, and Ruth sings ‘When Fred’ric was a little lad’ with virtually no visual support. Fortunately, the song is carried off extremely well by Gaynor Keeble who, with her persuasive mezzo-soprano, gives an astutely observed portrayal of Ruth, highlighting both the comedy and pathos that is inherent in the character. A similar point could be made regarding the Pirate King’s ‘Oh, better far to live and die’ which again does not feature strong direction, but is executed with aplomb by John Savournin. With his superb bass-baritone, he not only has the presence for the role, but also succeeds in making his hearty swagger feel beautifully honed as opposed to hyperbolic or hammed. The consequence is that ‘When you had left our pirate fold’ and ‘Away, away! My heart’s on fire!’, which both feature Keeble, Savournin and William Morgan’s Frederic, stand out as particularly accomplished.
With the exception of several solos and duets where the beautiful music can stand on its own, overall Pirates needs to be kept visually dynamic throughout, rather than having the final number of Act I sung with everyone simply staring out. Similarly, while ‘With cat-like tread’ starts humorously as we watch the policemen ‘pop up’ behind the pirates, the number ends up feeling quite static as it does not really go anywhere after that. Conversely, there are some moments when the humour is played up too much. For example, Mabel’s initial wooing of Frederic feels just a little too overt and comical to really convey the fact that she is genuinely enraptured with him. This is no reflection, however, on the performance of Isabelle Peters, whose soprano feels as glistening as it is undoubtedly nuanced.
If this production is either too sedate or too comical on some occasions, there are others when it gets the balance exactly right. Such moments include Frederic and Mabel’s ‘Stay Frederic, stay’ and ‘Oh here is love and here is truth’, which are performed with great beauty and tenderness, and where no excessive visual distractions are required. ‘I am the very model of a modern Major-General’ is also very successful for different reasons, as Richard Suart demonstrates great prowess in the role. He has played Ko-Ko in every revival of ENO’s The Mikado since 1988, and once again proves he is the absolute master of the patter song.
‘When the foeman bares his steel’ is an example of something that did not work particularly well in the original production in 2015, but does so a lot better now. Originally, it did not see the policemen’s chorus do much more than stand in a line and occasionally walk around in a circle. While Francesca Jaynes’s original choreography has not actually been altered, the entire routine feels quite different now. This is attributable in large part to the strength of the performance of James Creswell as the Sergeant of Police, who not only brings his brilliant Wagnerian bass to the role but also a winning combination of facial expressions and mannerisms. His lead enables the deadpan humour that was clearly striven for in presenting such a regimented chorus to actually come alight. Similarly, while ‘When a felon’s not engaged in his employment’ fell a little flat in 2015 as the chorus simply huddled around the Sergeant, with Creswell at the centre we really feel that the policemen are using a respite to reflect on their lives.
James Creswell, Isabelle Peters, ENO Chorus, ENO’s The Pirates of Penzance 2024 © Craig Fuller
William Morgan as Frederic reveals a clear, expansive and highly pleasing tenor. He also demonstrates sound understanding of the character, and while there is much comedy to be derived from him always feeling obliged to fulfil his duty, his cry of anguish when he realises he is still indentured to the pirates seems very real. There is also splendid support from Henry Neill, Bethan Langford, Anna Elizabeth Cooper and Ella Kirkpatrick as Samuel, Edith, Kate and Isabel respectively.
The production is also successful in highlighting, sometimes humorously, ideas that we find distasteful today: the poor treatment of women, assumed reverence for the House of Lords, and the notion that a nobleman can be excused crimes for which anyone else would be punished. It also, however, challenges the values that are inherent in the operetta in quite subtle ways. Act II begins in a ruined chapel, with the Major-General feeling he should honour ‘his’ ancestors, even though he does not know who they are as he only bought the estate a year ago! However, the tomb presented in this scene remains on stage for the remainder of the evening, and characters frequently stand or even dance on it. Therefore, while The Pirates of Penzance is ostensibly about duty and honour, it appears that in reality everyone is trampling on the grave of all that has been.
By Sam Smith
The Pirates of Penzance | 2 December 2024 - 21 February 2025 | London Coliseum
the 04 of December, 2024 | Print
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