CU Opera's 'Pirates of Penzance' opens Oct. 24 at CU-Boulder
Gilbert & Sullivan鈥檚 comic light opera a crowd favorite听
CU Opera's 'Pirates of Penzance' opens Oct. 24 at CU-Boulder
CU Opera will open its 2014-15 season with Gilbert and Sullivan鈥檚 beloved comic operetta, 鈥淭he Pirates of Penzance,鈥� at Macky Auditorium Oct. 24-26.
鈥淭his is a delightful piece and audiences just go crazy for it,鈥� says Leigh Holman, director of CU Opera. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a comedy, the tunes are very accessible and hey 鈥� it鈥檚 pirates! There鈥檚 sword fighting, dancing pirates, hapless British Bobbies and lots of beautiful girls.鈥�
This is the first time the piece has been performed in Macky Auditorium for nearly a quarter of a century.听
The hero is the young buccaneer Frederic, raised on the high seas by the eponymous pirates. Now 21, he wants to escape that life, but due to a quirk of his birth he remains indentured. He鈥檚 known only one woman in his life and falls immediately in love when he sees Mabel, daughter of Major-General Stanley. But in order to marry her, he must find a way to defeat the swashbucklers 鈥� and friends 鈥� he鈥檚 known all his life.听
Gilbert and Sullivan made a point of including political commentary and satire when writing in the late 19th-century and it鈥檚 traditional to work in contemporary references.听
鈥淲e are embracing the full tradition of this piece, but there are lots of fun little surprises. In a crazy comedy like this there is always room for little inventions and flourishes,鈥� says Holman, who has adapted the work with Music Director Nicholas Carthy.
The College of Music hosted a summer musical festival for many years, including one or more works by Gilbert and Sullivan, but 鈥淧irates鈥� was last performed at Macky in 1990.
鈥淭here is a real legacy of Gilbert and Sullivan here at CU and we think this is the perfect opportunity to revisit that tradition,鈥� says Holman, who recalls singing along to an 8-track recording of the original 1981 Tony Award-winning Broadway cast recording, starring Linda Ronstadt, Kevin Kline and Rex Smith.
Gilbert and Sullivan鈥檚 鈥淭he Pirates of Penzance鈥�
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24-25; 2 p.m. Oct. 26
WHERE: Macky Auditorium, University of Colorado Boulder campus
TICKETS: $14 and up
INFO: 听or 303-492-8008
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