Through June 27: Opera Theatre’s “Pirates” is the Very Model of a Modern Opera Revival
The company revives its hit 2013 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance”
The good news about Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s production of William S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and Arthur Sullivan’s (1842–1900) wildly popular operetta The Pirates of Penzance is, a few “quibbles quaint” notwithstanding, a musically irreproachable and entertaining way to while away a midsummer night. The better news, at least for those of you who saw OTLS’s last production of Pirates in 2013, is that this is effectively a revival of that earlier version, complete with the same director/choreographer and set and costume designer. So if you loved it then (as pretty much everyone did), you’ll love it now.
The story of The Pirates of Penzance; or, the Slave of Duty (to give the full title) is so well known that you don’t need me to summarize it here, especially since OTSL’s digital program does it so well. I’ll just note that it’s a typically Gilbertian mix of parody, paradox, and verbal wit that remains hilarious 147 years after its simultaneous New York and London premieres (an arrangement made necessary by the requirements of British and American copyright laws at the time). Some of the jokes, like the confusion caused by the similarity between the received British pronunciation of “orphan” and “often,” have achieved legendary status—at least among us G&S fanatics.
Equally legendary is Sullivan’s tuneful and memorable score. His operatic pastiches and affectionate parodies are both spot on and so engaging in their own right that it matters not a whit how much of the audience gets the references. Mabel’s coloratura “Poor wand’ring one” is a joy whether or not you recognize it as a pastiche of Gounod, just as “Come, friends, who plough the sea” is a toe-tapping rouser even if its very close resemblance to the “Anvil chorus” from Verdi’s Il Trovatore slips by unnoticed.
And pastiche aside, the score includes some of Sullivan’s most sublime and ingenious choral writing. The combination in Act II of the policemen’s stalwart “When the foeman bears his steel” with the soaring vocals of Mabel and her sisters’ “Go, ye heroes, go to glory” is both thrilling and—due to the contrast between the sentiments expressed by the two groups—hilarious at the same time. It’s on my all-time favorites list.
“The Pirates of Penzance,” observes director/choreographer Seán Curran, “is highly complex, requiring top vocal chops, impeccable comedic timing, and onstage agility to do it well.” I’m happy to report that OTSL has assembled a cast that does all of those things and does so consistently.
Pride of place must go to soprano Jana McIntyre (an exquisite Tytania [sic] in last season’s Midsummer Night’s Dream) as Mabel, youngest daughter of Major-General Stanley, and the beloved of Frederic, the titular “slave of duty.” Her flexible voice is equally effective in the coloratura flourishes “Poor wand’ring one” and the unaffected drama of her Act II duet with Frederic.
Speaking of whom, tenor Daniel Luis Espinal (in his OTSL debut) has a potent voice and a suitably baffled air of innocence as the reluctant apprentice pirate. He was quite effective in both the lyric and dramatic scenes while still cutting an amiably comic figure in numbers like “When you had left our pirate fold” (the famed “Paradox Trio”).
Joining him in that trio were bass-baritone William Socolof (also making his debut) as the Pirate King and contralto Meredith Arwady as Ruth, whose confusion of the words “pilot” and “pirate” led to Frederic’s unplanned apprenticeship in the first place. Although both have commanding voices and a history of dramatic roles (Arwady, for one, was last seen here as the tragic Madame de Crossey in Poulenc’s Dialogs of the Carmelites in 2014), they also proved to be dab hands at comedy.
Baritone Robert Mellon is a familiar figure on local stages and with good reason. He’s known primarily for his many brilliant comic roles—most recently as the befuddled policeman Frank in Die Fledermaus and Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in OTSL’s 2025 season. He scores another hit here in the “principal comedian” role of Major-General Stanley, delivering the celebrated patter song “I am the very model of a modern Major General” with a clarity which, given the brisk tempo, was truly impressive. Like all the comic baritone roles in the G&S operettas, the Major-General is a theatrical “License to Kill” and Mellon, happily, takes no prisoners
Bass-baritone Shyheim Selvan Hinnant (a Gaddes Festival Artist this season) makes a droll debut as the tender-hearted Sergeant of Police who mourns the necessity of arresting lawbreakers in “When the felon’s not engaged in his employment.” It’s the character’s only solo, but it’s a star turn and he makes the most of it. Mezzo Kim Stanish and soprano Saane Aziza Halaholo (both Gerdine Young Artists making their OTSL debuts) provide their own share of funny business as Mabel’s sisters Kate and Edith, respectively.
Rounding out the exemplary cast are soprano Shiyu Zhuo and baritone Joseph O’Shea (both Gerdine Young Artists) as Isabel (another sister) and pirate lieutenant Samuel. Samuel is a small role, but O’Shea, who had his own shining G&S moment in the 2024 Center Stage Concert, makes it a memorable cameo.
Filling in for the originally scheduled Darryl Archibald, OTSL veteran George Manahan leads members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a fast-paced account of Sullivan’s score which, as I noted earlier, bristles with memorable tunes and orchestral tours de force. I was especially pleased to see that, unlike in 2013, the delightful overture was performed without cuts and, better yet, without the on-stage “dumb show” that seems to have become de rigeur at OTSL lately.
Chorus Master Andrew Whitfield has done an outstanding job with his singers, who deliver even zippy patter numbers like “How beautifully blue the sky”(in which Mabel’s sisters chatter about the weather while Mabel and Frederic sing a love duet), with clarity. They also have power to spare, as they demonstrate in the Verdi pastiche “Hail poetry,” which incongruously interrupts the Act I finale.
James Schuette revives his colorful costumes and pop-up book set from 2013, including the gilt Victorian false proscenium and red velvet curtains. It adds a delightfully whimsical feel to the proceedings, as does lighting design by Cheyenne Sykes.
Seán Curran’s choreography neatly manages the difficult trick of making everyone look good without making unreasonable demands on performers who, for the most part, are not dancers. His direction, though, tends to gild the comic lily with excessive and occasionally distracting stage “busy-ness.” There’s so much of it, in fact, that Gilbert’s verbal wit is often drowned out by audience laughter at the accompanying sight gags.
There was already too much of that sort of thing in 2013 and the revival seems to have even more. Either that or my curmudgeon index has gone up since then. The audience loved all of it, in any case, so I won’t belabor the point. Besides, as Curran says in his program notes, “now, more than ever, we need humor to nourish our souls and lift our spirits.”
Even a curmudgeon can’t quibble with that sentiment.
The Opera Theatre of St. Louis production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance runs through June 27 at the Loretto-Hilton center on the Webster University campus, in rotating repertory with three other operas. Ticket information, pre-show boxed dinner menus, and other vital details are available at the OTSL web site.