Today we begin a new series in which we will seek to discover that quintessential British institution, the so called Comic (comedy) Song. Our journey will begin with the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, throught the age of the Music Hall, via some the great comic song writers and performers and onto those songs that actually made it into the UK charts.
Gilbert and Sullivan were a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are among the best known. Gilbert, who wrote the libretti for these operas, created fanciful “topsy-turvy” worlds where each absurdity is taken to its logical conclusion; fairies rub elbows with British lords, flirting is a capital offence, gondoliers ascend to the monarchy, and pirates emerge as noblemen who have gone astray. Sullivan, six years Gilbert’s junior, composed the music, contributing memorable melodies that could convey both humour and pathos.
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, in May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical theatre piece up to that time. H.M.S. Pinafore was their fourth operatic collaboration and their first international sensation. The story takes place aboard the Royal Navy ship HMS Pinafore. The captain’s daughter, Josephine, is in love with a lower-class sailor, Ralph Rackstraw, although her father intends her to marry Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty. She abides by her father’s wishes at first, but Sir Joseph’s advocacy of the equality of humankind encourages Ralph and Josephine to overturn conventional social order. They declare their love for each other and eventually plan to elope. The Captain discovers this plan, but, as in many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, a surprise disclosure changes things dramatically near the end of the story. Our featured song takes place when Sir Joseph comes on board, accompanied by his “admiring crowd of sisters, cousins and aunts”. He recounts how he rose from humble beginnings to be “ruler of the Queen’s Navee” through persistence, although he has no naval qualifications.
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts. The opera’s official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue in New York City in December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences and critics. Its London debut was in April 1880, at the Opera Comique, where it ran for 363 performances.
The story concerns Frederic, who, having completed his 21st year, is released from his apprenticeship to a band of tender-hearted pirates. He meets the daughters of Major-General Stanley, including Mabel, and the two young people fall instantly in love. Frederic soon learns, however, that he was born on the 29th of February, and so, technically, he has a birthday only once each leap year. His indenture specifies that he remain apprenticed to the pirates until his “twenty-first birthday”, meaning that he must serve for another 63 years. Bound by his own sense of duty, Frederic’s only solace is that Mabel agrees to wait for him faithfully. Pirates was their fifth collaboration and introduced the much-parodied “Major General’s Song”.
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is one of the Savoy Operas and is the seventh collaborations by Gilbert and Sullivan. In the opera, the fairy Iolanthe has been banished from fairyland because she married a mortal; this is forbidden by fairy law. Her son, Strephon, is an Arcadian shepherd who wants to marry Phyllis, a Ward of Chancery. All the members of the House of Peers also want to marry Phyllis. When Phyllis sees Strephon hugging a young woman (not knowing that it is his mother – immortal fairies all appear young), she assumes the worst and sets off a climactic confrontation between the peers and the fairies. The opera satirises many aspects of British government, law and society. The confrontation between the fairies and the peers is a version of one of Gilbert’s favourite themes: a tranquil civilisation of women is disrupted by a male-dominated world through the discovery of mortal love. Iolanthe opened in London in November 1882, at the Savoy Theatre to a warm reception, and ran for 398 performances, t
