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Gilbert & Sullivan
The Pirates of Penzance
Sydney Opera House1 July–7 August 2027
Gilbert & Sullivan
The Pirates of Penzance
Sydney Opera House1 July–7 August 2027
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See All Events2027
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Availability: good medium low sold-out
Venue
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point, Sydney
Language
Performed in English with surtitles.
Running time
Approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including one interval.
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Originally produced by Opera Australia. This season is presented in association with Victorian Opera.
Oh it is a glorious thing, to be a pirate king!
Gilbert and Sullivan’s side-splitting, swashbuckling, sparkling operetta is sailing into the Sydney Opera House for the first time in almost two decades.
An uproarious romp of clever wordplay, rollicking rhythms and sensational tunes, this feel-good masterpiece is a treasure chest of delights. When earnest young Frederic falls head over keel in love with Mabel, he tries to help her father (a very modern Major General) defeat the band of pirates he once called shipmates.
This colourful, camp, classic production doesn’t miss a beat, with an all-star cast of comic talents wringing every last laugh out of the pretty, witty score.
Featuring the toe-tapping, tongue-twisting hit ‘I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General’ and the irresistible classic ‘I am a Pirate King!’, the music is jam-packed with Gilbert and Sullivan’s trademark wit and warmth.
Cast & Creative
Conductor
Director
Choreographer
Elizabeth Hill-Cooper
Set Designer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Slide 1 of 6
The Pirates of Penzance - Victorian Opera (2026)
Photographer: Jeff Busby
The Pirates of Penzance - Victorian Opera (2026)
Photographer: Jeff Busby
The Pirates of Penzance - Victorian Opera (2026)
Photographer: Jeff Busby
The Pirates of Penzance - Victorian Opera (2026)
Photographer: Jeff Busby
The Pirates of Penzance - Victorian Opera (2026)
Photographer: Jeff Busby
The Pirates of Penzance - Victorian Opera (2026)
Photographer: Jeff Busby
6 essential Gilbert & Sullivan operettas
A quick tour through their most beloved creations.
Their operettas are witty, tuneful and surprisingly modern in their humour, which is why they continue to pop up in places you’d never expect them.
Synopsis
ACT I
A rocky seashore.
A band of pirates offer a toast to Frederic, their apprentice, as he is 21 years old and his indentures are almost up. He loathed being a pirate and is looking forward to a more respectable career. The other pirates refuse to join him.
Meanwhile, Frederic’s nursemaid Ruth, who had also joined the band as a piratical maid-of-all-work, wants to leave with him and become his wife. Frederic, who has seen very few women, agrees.
That is, until he sees the young daughters of Major-General Stanley arrive. The girls all reject his advances except Mabel. Her sisters are then seized by the pirates and threatened with marriage. The Major-General arrives and plays on the pirates’ sympathy by telling them he is an orphan. The pirates release the General and his daughters.
ACT II
A ruined chapel.
The Major-General is troubled by the lie he has told. His daughters comfort him and Frederic reveals a plan to march against the pirates with a squad of police.
The Pirate King and Ruth arrive with news of a technicality concerning Frederic and recall him to service. Frederic’s sense of duty is so strong, he agrees to rejoin the pirates and bids farewell to Mabel. And being an obedient young man, he tells the pirates that the Major-General is not, in fact, an orphan.
Attempting to attack the General, the pirates find him defended by police. The pirates win the skirmish and the General is taken prisoner. But when the Sergeant of Police commands the pirates to surrender in the name of the Queen, Ruth reveals yet another secret. The General pardons them and grants his daughters’ hands in marriage.
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Originally produced by Opera Australia. This season is presented in association with Victorian Opera.