“Let the air with joy be laden,
Rend with songs the air above,
For the union of a maiden
With the man who owns her love!”
H.M.S. Pinafore
H. M. S. Pinafore – Summer Concert 2019
July 2019
The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company and the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra will present a concert version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, at the Lake Harriet Bandshell, on Saturday July 13th and Sunday, July 14th.
The performances are free and open to the public. There are benches available directly in front of the stage and lots of lawn seating available in the surrounding area. Plan to arrive early to get a good spot as our concerts are one of the most popular events of the summer at the Lake Harriet Bandshell.
H.M.S. Pinafore is one of the most popular Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, due to Sullivan’s wonderfully infectious tunes and Gilbert’s very well-constructed libretto. The opera gently satirize one of Gilbert’s favorite themes: Love between members of different social classes. The gentlemanly Captain of the Pinafore, who claims that he would never swear at his crew (What, Never?), does not know that his daughter has fallen in love with a common sailor serving on her father’s ship. Meanwhile, the Captain has arranged for her to marry the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Joseph Porter. Sir Joseph himself has risen from humble beginnings to gain his office by political acumen, despite having never gone to sea! And the Captain himself fancies a poor bumboat woman. Fear not: it all works out in the end. Hip, hip, hoorah!
| When: | Saturday, July 13th, 7:30 PM, and Sunday, July 14th, 5:30 PM |
| Where: |
The Lake Harriet Bandshell Minneapolis, MN |
The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company has collaborated with Jere Lanz and the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra for many years in presenting a concert version of one of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.
Two excellent internet resources for information about H.M.S. Pinafore:
“Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen,
The clouded sky is now serene,
The god of day, the orb of love,
Has hung his ensign high above,
The sky is all ablaze.”
H.M.S. Pinafore