HMS Pinafore

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Template:Wikisource 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. The first performance was at the Opera Comique, London, on May 28, 1878.

The title of the work itself is comic, in that it suggests "brave sailors serving aboard a man-of-war whose namesake [was] a lady's apron."Template:Citation needed The libretto satirises 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.

Contents

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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 "A British tar" (a glee describing the ideal sailor, composed by Sir Joseph, as he put it, "to encourage independent thought and action in the lower branches of the service, and to teach the principle that a British sailor is any man's equal, excepting mine"), "Never mind the why and wherefore" (a trio by the Captain, Josephine, and Sir Joseph), and Sir Joseph's patter song "When I was a lad" (a brazen satire on the career of William Henry Smith, the newsagent who had risen to the position of First Lord of the Admiralty in 1877). Pinafore was pirated so much in the United States that Gilbert and Sullivan made a special effort to claim American copyright early on their next work, The Pirates of Penzance. Pinafore remains one of the most popular Gilbert and Sullivan operettas today.

Given the operetta's mockery of the "Queen's Navee" and class structure in general, it is perhaps unsurprising that its reception among the nobility was cool. Legend has it that Queen Victoria summed up her reaction to the performance with the famous phrase "We are not amused". Gilbert was to insert a backhanded sort of apology in Pirates of the Penzance in which he mentions "that infernal nonsense Pinafore" and hinges the plot on overblown love for the Queen.

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Roles

  • The Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, KCB, First Lord of the Admiralty (comic baritone)
  • Captain Corcoran, Commander of the H.M.S. Pinafore (lyric baritone)
  • Ralph (pronounced "Raif") Rackstraw, popular Able Seaman and Foremast Hand (tenor)
  • Dick Deadeye, unpopular Able Seaman (bass-baritone)
  • Bill Bobstay, Boatswain's Mate (first mate) (baritone)
  • Bob Becket, Carpenter's Mate (bass)
  • Josephine, The Captain's Daughter (soprano)
  • Cousin Hebe, Sir Joseph's First Cousin (mezzo-soprano)
  • Mrs. Cripps (Little Buttercup), A Portsmouth Bumboat Woman (contralto)
  • Chorus of First Lord's Sisters, His Cousins, His Aunts, Sailors, Marines, Etc.
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Synopsis

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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 hopeless love for the Captain's daughter Josephine. The Captain enters and 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". All but the Captain leave. Buttercup enters, and the Captain complains that Josephine will not accept the suit of Sir Joseph Porter, KCB. Buttercup says that she knows how it feels to love vainly. As she exits, the captain remarks that she is "a plump and pleasing person." Josephine enters and confesses to her father that she loves a common sailor, although for the sake of her rank she will carry her love to the grave without letting him know of it. The sailors re-enter, and Sir Joseph comes on board (with a chorus of sisters, cousins, and aunts), and insists that the Captain be polite to his sailors and 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 for the men to illustrate that point, and after his exit they sing it to Deadeye, who is insistent that Josephine will reject Ralph's love due to their difference in class. Sir Joseph soon proposes to Josephine, who is nauseated. Shortly afterwards she meets Ralph, who declares his love for her, only to meet with a haughty rejection. Ralph calls for his shipmates and tells them that life is not worth living without Josephine's love and that after he is dead they should tell Josephine that he loved her well. As Ralph puts a pistol to his head, Josephine enters and declares that she loves him. Ralph and Josephine make plans to sneak ashore and get married that night. Dick Deadeye warns them not to as it will lead to trouble, but he is ignored by the joyous ensemble.

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Act II

Later, that night, Captain Corcoran sadly sings of his troubles to the moon. All his friends are deserting him, and Sir Joseph is threatening a court martial. Little Buttercup offers sympathy and moves to an offer of more affection, but he informs her that due to their situations, he can only be her friend, although if he were to ever love again, it would likely be "to one such as this!". 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 of his disappointment at his reception from Josephine. The Captain replies that she is probably dazzled by his rank, and that if he can convince her that "love levels all ranks," everything will be all right. When Sir Joseph makes this argument, however, he unwittingly pleads his rival's cause. Josephine tells him she was hesitating, but has now made up her mind. Sir Joseph and the Captain rejoice over this apparent change of heart, and Sir Joseph leaves happily. Dick Deadeye enters and reveals the truth to the Captain – Josephine and Ralph plan to elope that night.

The Captain confronts the lovers as they try to leave the ship, and insists upon knowing what Josephine plans to do. Ralph steps forward to announce his love, defending it on the basis that, "I AM an Englishmaaan!", but the furious Captain lets slip an obscenity: "Why, damme, it's too bad!" Sir Joseph and his female relatives overhear him, and Sir Joseph orders the Captain to his cabin. He then inquires of Ralph what he has done to make the Captain swear. Ralph replies that it was his declaration of love for Josephine. Furious in his turn at this revelation, Sir Joseph orders Ralph's imprisonment. When he starts to chide Josephine for the mismatch, however, Little Buttercup steps forward to reveal her secret. Years before, when she was practising baby-farming, she nursed two babies, one "of low condition," the other "a regular patrician," and she "mixed those children up and not a creature knew it... The wellborn babe was Ralph; your Captain was the other." Sir Joseph summons both, and they emerge wearing one another's uniforms - Ralph is now middle class and in command of the Pinafore. As Sir Joseph's marriage with Josephine is now impossible as she is lower class ("...love levels all ranks—" "It does to a considerable extent, but it does not level them as much as that."), he gives her to now-Captain Ralph. Corcoran, now a common seaman, marries Buttercup (even though she had nursed him as a baby), Sir Joseph marries his cousin Hebe, and all ends in general rejoicing.

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Musical numbers

  • Overture
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Act I

  • 1. "We sail the ocean blue" (Sailors)
  • 2. "I'm called Little Buttercup" (Buttercup)
  • 2a. "But tell me who's the youth" (Buttercup and Boatswain)
  • 3. "The nightingale" (Ralph and Chorus of Sailors)
  • 3a. "A maiden fair to see" (Ralph and Chorus of Sailors)
  • 4. "My gallant crew, good morning" (Captain Corcoran and Chorus of Sailors)
  • 4a. "Sir, you are sad" (Buttercup and Captain Corcoran)
  • 5. "Sorry her lot who loves too well" (Josephine)
  • 6. "Over the bright blue sea" (Chorus of Female Relatives)
  • 7. "Sir Joseph's barge is seen" (Chorus of Sailors and Female Relatives)
  • 8. "Now give three cheers" (Captain Corcoran, Sir Joseph, Cousin Hebe, and Chorus)
  • 9. "When I was a lad" (Sir Joseph and Chorus)
  • 9a. "For I hold that on the sea" (Sir Joseph, Cousin Hebe, and Chorus)
  • 10. "A British tar" (Ralph, Boatswain, Carpenter's Mate, and Chorus of Sailors)
  • 11. "Refrain, audacious tar" (Josephine and Ralph)
  • 12. Finale, Act I: "Can I survive this overbearing?"

(Entr'acte)

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Act II

  • 13. "Fair moon, to thee I sing" (Captain Corcoran)
  • 14. "Things are seldom what they seem" (Buttercup and Captain Corcoran)
  • 15. "The hours creep on apace" (Josephine)
  • 16. "Never mind the why and wherefore" (Josephine, Captain, and Sir Joseph)
  • 17. "Kind Captain, I've important information" (Captain and Dick Deadeye)
  • 18. "Carefully on tiptoe stealing" (Soli and Chorus)
  • 18a."Pretty daughter of mine" (Captain and Ensemble) and "He is an Englishman" (Boatswain and Ensemble)
  • 19. "Farewell, my own" (Ralph, Josephine, Sir Joseph Porter, Buttercup, and Chorus)
  • 20. "A many years ago" (Buttercup and Chorus)
  • 20a. "Here, take her, sir" (Sir Joseph, Josephine, Ralph, Cousin Hebe, and Chorus)1
  • 21. Finale: "Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen" (Ensemble) 2


1Jessie Bond, who originally portrayed Hebe at fairly short notice, did not feel capable of performing dialogue at this stage of her career, and so all of Hebe's dialogue was cut, except for a few necessary lines which Sullivan set as recitative. This is that recitative. It was restored to dialogue in all subsequent productions and is almost never performed today.

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

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Pop culture references to Pinafore

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External links

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