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HMS Pinafore

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H.M.S Pinafore — with Timothy West as "Sir Joseph Porter"
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H.M.S Pinafore — with Timothy West as "Sir Joseph Porter"

H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass that Loved a Sailor, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas. It opened at the Opera Comique, London, on May 28 1878 for a run of 578 performances. This work was Gilbert and Sullivan's fourth operatic collaboration.

Drawing on several of his earlier "bab ballad" poems, Gilbert imbued H.M.S. Pinafore with mirth and silliness to spare. The opera's gentle satire reprises and builds on a theme introduced in The Sorcerer – love between members of different social classes. The opera also pokes good-natured fun at the Royal Navy and, in themes to be repeated in the later operas, parliamentary politics and the rise of unqualified people to positions of authority. The title of the work itself is humorous, as it juxtaposes the name of a little girl's garment, pinafore, with the symbol of a fearsome naval war ship.

The plot revolves around a middle-class naval captain's daughter who is in love with a lower-class foremast hand (a common sailor, well below officer rank), even though she is betrothed to the upper-class First Lord of the Admiralty, the government official in charge of the Royal Navy. As with most of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, a surprise twist changes everything dramatically near the end of the story.

Contents

Background

Pinafore initially looked as if it would be a failure. It received lukewarm reviews in the press, and ticket sales were poor. It was several months later, after Sullivan used some of the music during a successful Promenade Concert at Covent Garden, that Pinafore became a great success. It ran for 571 performances and became a source of popular quotations, such as the exchange:

What, never?
No, never!
What, never?
Well, hardly ever!
Also popular was the verse:

For in spite of all temptations
To belong to other nations
He remains an Englishman.
Popular songs include:

Pinafore was pirated so much in the United States that Gilbert and Sullivan made a special effort to claim American rights for their next work, The Pirates of Penzance, by giving the official premiere in New York.

Pinafore remains one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most popular works, perhaps because of its infectious tunes and generally well-constructed libretto.

Production history

From the beginning, H.M.S. Pinafore has been one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most popular comic operas. After its initial success in London became clear, Richard D'Oyly Carte dispatched touring companies into the British provinces. There was a company playing Pinafore under his aegis close to continuously between 1878–88. The opera was then given a rest, returning to the touring repertory again between 1894–1900, and then most of the time between 1903–1940.

In the winter of 1940–41, the scenery and costumes for Pinafore and three other operas were destroyed in enemy action. The opera spent seven years out of the repertory before a London revival in the summer of 1947. It was then included in the D'Oyly Carte repertory in every season from then on, until the company's closure in 1982.

In America, Pinafore was an instant success. The first American production was given at the Boston Museum on November 25 1878. According to Reginald Allen (1979, p. 2), some 150 companies played the opera (all without royalties to the authors) before Gilbert, Sullivan, and D'Oyly Carte arrived to present the "authorised" version, which opened in New York on December 1 1879.

The following table shows the history of the D'Oyly Carte productions in Gilbert's lifetime:

Theatre Opening Date Closing Date Perfs. Details
Opera Comique May 25 1878 December 24 1878 571 Original run in London. (The theatre was closed between December 25 1878 and January 31 1879.)
January 31 1879 February 20 1880
Crystal Palace July 6 1878 July 6 1878 1 Special performance at the Crystal Palace, conducted by Eugene Goosens.
Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York December 1 1879 December 27 1879 28 Official production in New York, prior to the opening of The Pirates of Penzance
Opera Comique December 16 1879 March 20 1880 78 Company of juvenile performers, matinees only. (This company went on a provincial tour between August 2 and December 11, 1880.)
Opera Comique December 22 1880 January 28 1881 28
Savoy Theatre November 12 1887 March 10 1888 120 First London revival.
Savoy Theatre June 6 1899 November 25 1899 174 Second London revival. Played with Trial by Jury as a forepiece.
Savoy Theatre July 14 1908 March 27 1909 61 Second Savoy repertory season; played with five other operas. (Closing date shown is of the entire season.)

Roles

Synopsis

Act I

H.M.S. Pinafore is in port at Portsmouth. It is noontime, and the sailors are on the quarterdeck, "cleaning brasswork, splicing rope, etc."

Little Buttercup, a Portsmouth "bumboat woman" (dockside vendor) — so-named because she is the "rosiest, roundest, and reddest beauty in all Spithead" — comes on board to sell her wares. She hints that she is hiding a dark secret. The Boatswain disbelieves her, but the villainous and ugly Dick Deadeye says he's often thought that.

Ralph Rackstraw, "the smartest lad in all the fleet," enters, declaring his love for the Captain's daughter, Josephine. His fellow sailors (excepting Dick) offer their sympathies, but can give Ralph little hope that his love will ever be returned.

The Captain greets his crew and compliments them on their politeness, saying that he returns the compliment by never (well, hardly ever) using bad language, such as "a big, big D." After the sailors have left, the Captain complains to Little Buttercup that Josephine has not taken kindly to a marriage proposal from Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty. Buttercup says that she knows how it feels to love vain. As she leaves, the Captain remarks that she is "a plump and pleasing person." Josephine enters and confesses to her father that she loves a common sailor, but she is a dutiful daughter and will marry Sir Joseph as her father wishes.

Sir Joseph comes on board, accompanied by his sisters, cousins, and aunts. After telling everyone how he came to be "ruler of the Queen's Navee," he delivers a lesson in etiquette. He tells the Captain that he must always say "if you please" after an order; for, as he says, "A British sailor is any man's equal – excepting mine." He has composed a song to illustrate that point, and he gives a copy of it to Ralph.

Elated by Sir Joseph's views on equality, Ralph decides that he will confess his love to Josephine. His shipmates approve heartily, except for Dick, who is forced to listen to Sir Joseph's song before the sailors exit, leaving Ralph alone. Josephine now enters, and Ralph confesses his love. Although she finds Sir Joseph's attentions nauseating, she knows she is obligated to marry him. Keeping her feelings to herself, she haughtily rejects Ralph's advances.

Ralph summons his shipmates, and tells them he is bent on suicide. He puts a pistol to his head, but as he is about to pull the trigger, Josephine enters, proclaiming she loves him after all. Ralph and Josephine plan to sneak ashore to get married that night. Dick Deadeye warns them that their actions will lead to trouble, but he is ignored by the joyous ensemble.

Act II

Later that night, under a full moon, Captain Corcoran confesses his concerns: all his friends are deserting him, and Sir Joseph has threatened a court-martial. Little Buttercup offers sympathy. He tells her that, if it were not for the difference in their social standing, he would have returned her affections. She prophecies that things are not all as they seem, and that a change is in store, but he does not understand her.

Sir Joseph enters, and complains that Josephine has not yet agreed to marry him. The Captain speculates that she is probably dazzled by his superior rank, and that if he can persuade her that "love levels all ranks," she will accept his proposal. When Sir Joseph makes this argument, a delighted Josephine says that she is convinced. The Captain and Sir Joseph rejoice, but Josephine, in an aside, admits that she is now more determined than ever to marry Ralph.

Dick Deadeye intercepts the Captain, and tells him of the lovers' plans to elope. The Captain confronts Ralph and Josephine as they try to leave the ship. The pair declare their love, adding that "I am (He is) an Englishman!" The furious Captain is unmoved, and says, "Why, damme, it's too bad!" Sir Joseph and his relatives, who have overheard, are shocked to hear swearing on board a ship, and Sir Joseph orders the Captain to his cabin.

When Sir Joseph asks what had provoked this outburst, Ralph replies that it was his declaration of love for Josephine. Furious in his turn at this revelation, Sir Joseph has Ralph put in chains and taken to the ship's dungeon. Little Buttercup now reveals her secret. Years before, when she was a nursemaid, she had cared for two babies, one "of low condition," the other "a regular patrician." She confesses that she "mixed those children up and not a creature knew it.... The wellborn babe was Ralph; your Captain was the other."

Sir Joseph now realizes that Ralph should have been the Captain, and the Captain should have been Ralph. He summons both, and they emerge wearing one another's uniforms: Ralph is now middle-class, and in command of the Pinafore, while the former Captain is now a common sailor. Sir Joseph's marriage with Josephine is now impossible. As he explains it, "love levels all ranks...to a considerable extent, but it does not level them as much as that." He gives her to now-Captain Rackstraw. The former Captain, with his rank reduced, is free to marry Buttercup. Sir Joseph settles for his cousin Hebe, and all ends in general rejoicing.

Musical numbers

Act I

Act II

(Entr'acte)

1See discussion, below.

2Includes reprises of several songs, concluding with "For he is an Englishman".

Cut music and dialogue

Ballad for Captain Corcoran, \"Reflect, my child\"

During rehearsals for the original production, Gilbert added a ballad for Captain Corcoran in which he urged his daughter to forget the common sailor she is in love with, who "at every step...would commit solecisms that society would never pardon." The ballad was meant to be sung between No. 5 and No. 6 of the current score, but was cut before opening night. The words survive in the libretto that was deposited with the Lord Chamberlain for licensing. Before 1999, all that was known to survive of Sullivan's setting was a copy of the leader violin part.

In April 1999, Sullivan scholars Bruce I. Miller and Helga J. Perry announced that they had discovered a nearly complete orchestration – lacking only the second violin part – in a private collection of early band parts. These materials, with a conjectural reconstruction of the lost vocal lines and second violin part, were later published and professionally recorded. [link] This piece has now been performed a number of times by amateur and professional companies, although it has not become a standard addition to the traditional scores.

Dialogue for Cousin Hebe

In the licensing copy of the libretto, Sir Joseph's cousin Hebe had lines of dialogue in several scenes in Act II. In the scene that follows No. 14 ("Things are seldom what they seem"), she accompanied Sir Joseph onstage and echoed the First Lord's dissatisfaction with Josephine. After several interruptions, Sir Joseph urged her to be quiet, eliciting the response "Crushed again!" Gilbert would later re-use this passage for Lady Jane in Patience. Hebe was also assigned several lines of dialogue after No. 18 ("Carefully on tiptoe stealing"), and again after No. 19 ("Farewell, my own.")

Late in rehearsals for the original production, Jessie Bond assumed the role of Hebe, replacing Mrs. Howard Paul (the original Lady Sangazure in The Sorcerer). Miss Bond, who at this point in her career was known primarily as a concert singer and had no experience as an actress, did not feel capable of performing dialogue, and these passages were revised to exclude her. Hebe's dialogue is occasionally restored in modern performances, particularly her lines in the scene following No. 14.

Recitative preceding the Act II finale

The dialogue preceding the Act II finale, starting with "Here, take her sir, and mind you treat her kindly," was originally recitative. The music for this passage was printed in the first edition of the vocal score as No. 20a. Shortly after opening night, the recitative was dropped, and the lines thereafter were performed as spoken dialogue. The recitative is rarely performed.

Pop culture references to Pinafore

  • In the "Cape Feare" episode of The Simpsons, Bart successfully stalls his would-be killer Sideshow Bob with a "final request" that Bob sing him the entire libretto of H.M.S. Pinafore.
  • The first story of episode #3 of Animaniacs ("HMS Yakko") parodies Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance in its story and songs. Also, a Pinky and the Brain song called Meticulous Analysis of History is set to the same tune as "When I was a lad".
  • In the film , Captain Picard and Lt. Commander Worf sing lines from "A British Tar" to distract a malfunctioning Lt. Commander Data.
  • The character Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark sings Pinafore tunes such as "A British tar" when he is excited or overjoyed.
  • ''Family Guys Stewie, in a cutaway during the episode "The Thin White Line", sings a parody of "My gallant crew", playing to frequent references that he's gay; and he sings the beginning lines to "Now give three cheers" in the movie '.
  • Allan Sherman did a parody of the song "When I was a lad" from the point of view of a young man going to an Ivy League school and then rising to prominence in an advertising agency. At the end he thanks old Yale, he thanks the Lord, and he also thanks his father "who is chairman of the board".
  • The song "For he is an Englishman" is referenced both in the title's name and throughout The West Wing episode "And It's Surely To Their Credit".
  • "For he is an Englishman" is also referenced in the 1984 miniseries The Jewel in the Crown.
  • There is a reference to H.M.S. Pinafore in the "Major-General's Song" (from The Pirates of Penzance), in which the Major-General asserts that he can "whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore."
  • In the 1978 comedy movie Foul Play, when the bad guy is shot at the end, he falls into the rigging of the stage version of the H.M.S. Pinafore.
  • In the film Chariots of Fire, the main protagonist, Harold Abrahams, and others from "Cambridge" are seen singing "For he is an Englishman." This scene is juxtaposed after a scene in which Abrahams is beng grilled by two of the Cambridge dons for being too individualistic.

Historical casting

The following tables show the casts of the principal original productions and D'Oyly Carte Opera Company touring repertory at various times through to the company's 1982 closure:

Role Opera Comique
1878 		New York
1879 		Savoy Theatre
1888 		Savoy Theatre
1899 		Savoy Theatre
1908
Sir Joseph George Grossmith J. H. Ryley George Grossmith Walter Passmore Charles H. Workman
Captain Corcoran Rutland Barrington J. Furneaux Cook Rutland Barrington Henry Lytton Rutland Barrington
Ralph Rackstraw George Power Hugh Talbot J. G. Robertson Robert Evett Henry Herbert
Dick Deadeye Richard Temple Sgr. Broccolini Richard Temple Richard Temple Henry Lytton
Boatswain Fred Clifton Fred Clifton Richard Cummings W. H. Leon Leicester Tunks
Carpenter Mr. Dymott Mr. Cuthbert Rudolph Lewis Powis Pinder Fred Hewett
Josephine Emma Howson Blanche Roosevelt Geraldine Ulmar Ruth Vincent Elsie Spain
Hebe Jessie Bond Jessie Bond Jessie Bond Emmie Owen Jessie Rose
Buttercup Harriet Everard Alice Barnett Rosina Brandram Rosina Brandram Louie Rene

Role D'Oyly Carte
1915 Tour 		D'Oyly Carte
1925 Tour 		D'Oyly Carte
1935 Tour 		D'Oyly Carte
1950 Tour
Sir Joseph Henry Lytton Henry Lytton Martyn Green Martyn Green
Captain Corcoran Leicester Tunks Leo Sheffield Leslie Rands Richard Watson
Ralph Rackstraw Walter Glynne Charles Goulding John Dean Herbert Newby
Dick Deadeye Leo Sheffield Darrell Fancourt Darrell Fancourt Darrell Fancourt
Boatswain Frederick Hobbs Henry Millidge Richard Walker Stanley Youngman
Carpenter George Sinclair Patrick Colbert L. Radley Flynn L. Radley Flynn
Josephine Phyllis Smith Elsie Griffin Ann Drummond-Grant Muriel Harding
Hebe Nellie Briercliffe Aileen Davies Marjorie Eyre Joan Gillingham
Buttercup Bertha Lewis Bertha Lewis Dorothy Gill Ella Halman

Role D'Oyly Carte
1958 Tour 		D'Oyly Carte
1965 Tour 		D'Oyly Carte
1975 Tour 		D'Oyly Carte
1982 Tour
Sir Joseph Peter Pratt John Reed John Reed James Conroy-Ward
Captain Corcoran Alan Styler Alan Styler Michael Rayner Clive Harre
Ralph Rackstraw Thomas Round David Palmer Meston Reid Meston Reid
Dick Deadeye Donald Adams Donald Adams John Ayldon John Ayldon
Boatswain George Cook George Cook Jon Ellison Michael Buchan
Carpenter Jack Habbick Anthony Raffell John Broad Michael Lessiter
Josephine Jean Hindmarsh Ann Hood Pamela Field Vivian Tierney
Hebe Joyce Wright Pauline Wales Patricia Leonard Roberta Morrell
Buttercup Ann Drummond-Grant Christene Palmer Lyndsie Holland Patricia Leonard

References

  • Also, five supplements, privately printed.

External links

Gilbert and Sullivan
The "Triumvirate":
W. S. Gilbert | Arthur Sullivan | Richard D'Oyly Carte
The Comic Operas:
Thespis • Trial by Jury • The Sorcerer • HMS Pinafore • The Pirates of Penzance • Patience • Iolanthe • Princess Ida
The Mikado • Ruddigore • The Yeomen of the Guard • The Gondoliers • Utopia, Limited • The Grand Duke

 

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