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''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 Opera s. The first performance was at the Opera Comique , London , on May 28 , 1878 . The libretto satirises the British class structure and the Royal Navy . 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 British Navy. A surprise twist changes everything dramatically near the end of the story. HISTORY ''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 the great success as which it is remembered today. 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. 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 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 without Title} 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, not 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''
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