Ah, those staid Victorians…. H.M.S. Pinafore, now staged by the Union Avenue Opera Company puts the lie to many of the stereotypes we, uh, pin on them. It’s classic Gilbert and Sullivan, of course, and modern theatre-goers might be interested to know that their work bridged things into modern musical theatre as it began to bridge the gap between opera and the British music hall. For one thing, the prolific pair hired their own actors rather than taking what the owner of the theatre insisted they use. And for another, they wanted acting that was natural rather than stylized and histrionic, apparently fairly uncommon at the time.
The daughter of the captain of the Pinafore is in love with one of the sailors, an inappropriate match because of their unequal social status. The First Lord of the Admiralty, the equivalent of our Secretary of the Navy, is hot for the lovely young thing, but she’s having none of it.
All’s well in the end but not without two other marriages, one of which is two cousins marrying and the other a foster mother marrying one of her foster sons. Incest. Near-incest.
There are some very funny songs in the show, all brought to light by a fine cast. Josephine, the sweet young thing is Leann Schuering, who sounds marvelous. Her heartthrob, Ralph (please to note it’s pronounced “Rafe” in the British style) Rackstraw is Anthony Heinemann, clearly and tunefully entranced by her. The First Lord, the most broadly comedic of the characters and given some of the funniest songs, such as the one in which he explains just how he got to be “the ruler of the Queen’s navee”, is sung by Steven Condy He makes the most of it. Someone has thrown in another, quite contemporary verse in the song, too, and it works splendidly. The sailors are having a fine time despite the admiral’s visit and so are “his sisters and his cousins and his aunts”, who arrive with him to see the ship and enjoy the company of the sailors – despite what one presumes is more social inequality.
A simple set, but lots of work with the lights from designer Andy Vieluf, and some charming costumes from Kyra Bishop Sanford. Eric Gibson directed the stage work and Scott Schoonover, UAO’s artistic director, directs the fine pit orchestra.
All great fun, and a nice, easy introduction for someone who’s new to opera.
H.M.S. Pinafore
Union Avenue Opera Company
773 Union Boulevard, St. Louis
314-361-2881