This October Light Opera of Portland will bring H.M.S. Pinafore, one of the best known and most beloved of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas to the stage at Portland5’s Brunish Theatre. This sparkling comedy and social satire tells the story of Ralph Rackstraw, a common sailor, who is in love with his Captain’s daughter Josephine. While she secretly loves him as well, they both worry that their discrepancy in social rank would doom their relationship. Meanwhile, Josephine is being courted by Sir Joseph Porter K.C.B., a pompous political appointee who has been made the head of the Royal Navy despite never having been to sea in his life, her father Captain Corcoran harbours a secret affection of his own for someone outside of his social class, and Sir Joseph encourages the crew to think that a British sailor is any man’s equal – excepting his, leading to the entire social order on the ship to be turned upside down!

Gilbert takes aim at the social norms of Victorian society with a script that displays the absurdities of the rigid class structure, while Sullivan takes full advantage of the nautical setting to compose a series of rousing sailor songs, moving ballads, spectacular arias, and a mocking parody of the sort of tub thumping patriotic anthems that were so popular at the height of empire.