The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players Return to Columbus with HMS PINAFORE

Opera Columbus concludes their 2012-13 season with the presentation of The New YorK Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP) in HMS Pinafore. Ride a wave of music and laughter as romantic sailors, sisters, cousins, and aunts sing and dance their way across the deck of the fanciful British naval vessel with the improbable name. The very proper Captain Corcoran and ridiculously pompous Sir Joseph Porter preside, the villainous Dick Deadeye speaks the ugly truth, and Little Buttercup reveals the outrageous mistake that allows true love to overcome the problems of class distinction.

In this innovative production arrangement with Opera Columbus, NYGASP will employ the talents of local performers-area opera singers for the chorus and the Columbus Symphony for musical accompaniment.

Opera Columbus presents The New YorK Gilbert & Sullivan Players in HMS Pinafore at the Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.) on Friday, June 7, at 8pm; Saturday, June 8, at 8pm; and Sunday, June 9, at 3 pm. Tickets are $38-$98 at the CAPATicket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase by phone, please call(614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000. Young people aged 13-25 may purchase $5 PNC Arts Alive All Access tickets while available. For more information, visit www.GoFor5.com.

HMS Pinafore, or The Lass That Loved a Sailor, was first performed at the Opera Comique, London, on May 25, 1878, and has remained popular on both sides of the Atlantic ever since. The show's satirical jabs at the vaunted British Navy and rigid Victorian class distinctions remain as readily understandable in the new millennium as they were more than 100 years ago. Since the specific satire was meant to amuse and not provoke, the universal nature of human foibles shines through to any audience.

From the romantic hero Ralph Rackstraw and the pompous Sir Joseph Porter to KCB and the villainous Dick Deadeye, author Gilbert's characters are sharply drawn. Composer Sullivan provides indelible musical introductions that are among the most famous songs in the English language including "I'm Called Little Buttercup," "I Am the Captain of the Pinafore," and "I Am the Monarch of the Sea." The choruses also have their share of unforgettable numbers including the sailors' "We Sail the Ocean Blue," and the ladies' "And We Are His Sisters, and His Cousins, and His Aunts," and the rousing full ensemble anthem "For He is an Englishman."

The NYGASP production of HMS Pinafore features an elaborate setting of a ship's deck based on drawings by Gilbert himself, and beautiful Belle Epoch costumes.

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