“Let us gaily tread the measure,
Make the most of fleeting leisure,
Hail it as a true ally,
Though it perish by-and-by.”

—Edith
The Pirates of Penzance

The Pirates of Penzance Summer Concert 2022

July 23 and July 24, 2022

The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company and the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra will present a concert version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, at the Lake Harriet Bandshell, on Saturday July 23rd and Sunday 24th.

The performance is 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.

The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty, is one of the best-known and loved shows by the Victorian duo.  Frederic, an apprentice pirate, wants to give up piracy and lead a blameless life.  As he follows Frederic’s star-crossed journey, Gilbert manages to lampoon the army, the police, and “respectability.”  Sullivan’s music is magnificent and innovative, including “Poor Wand’ring One,” “I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General,” and “A Policeman’s Lot is not a Happy One.”

When:      Saturday, July 23rd, 7:30, and
                  Sunday, July 24th, 5:30

Where:     The Lake Harriet Bandshell, Minneapolis, Minnesota

(Click Here for Directions)

The cast for this concert production of The Pirates of Penzance include:

Major-General Stanley Tom Berg
Samuel Jeff Erickson
Frederic Michael Burton
Sergeant of Police John Orbison
Mabel  Jennifer LeDoux
Edith Kaitlin Klemencic
Kate Maggie Burr
Ruth  Lara Trujillo
The Pirate King Alessio Tranchell

 

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.

“Oh, happy day, with joyous glee
They will away and married be!
Should it befall auspiciously,
Her sisters all will bridesmaids be!”

—The Full Company
The Pirates of Penzance