Pirates of Penzance

My second opera of the year was a Saturday matinee this past weekend.  I saw The Pirates of Penzance with my cousin A.  Grandpa ended up with three sets of tickets to Pirates, and decided that, while the show is entertaining, twice is quite enough, thank you very much.

And entertaining it is.  It's the story, in case you don't know, of a boy named Frederic just completing his accidental apprenticeship to the pirates.  He gives up the pirate life - which was never for him anyway - and heads for dry land, where he meets the lovely Mabel.  Turns out that, by cruel twist of fate, his apprenticeship isn't actually over, and Frederic must make some tough choices.

This is a Gilbert and Sullivan classic, and the genius is really there.  The music is upbeat, the libretto sharp.  The show as a whole is fun, sort of the operatic equivalent of Hello, Dolly!  But as usual, OTSL did a great job with the staging.  I am forever impressed by how well they make things work on their little stage!