During the 1870’s, when Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates
of Penzance was written, Penzance was a peaceful, popular resort town – a good
place for a sunny holiday. The operetta’s audience would have found it amusing
to imagine Penzance overrun with pirates, just as you or I would giggle at the
thought of Privateers of Palm Springs, Looters of Lake Placid, or Marauders of
Magic Kingdom. When Pirates premiered in New York City, members of the
orchestra demanded more money. They said the music was “too grand for light
opera.” When the Major-General boasts of knowing the croaking chorus of The
Frogs of Aristophanes, he’s bragging about having memorized these lyrics: “Brekekekex
Ko-ax Ko-ax” – the sound of croaking frogs. In 1967, Prince Charles played the
part of the Pirate King in a school production of Pirates. Donald McLachlan of
the Sunday Telegraph called him “the best actor in the school,” possibly
because he was destined to become King Charles III.
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