The Creation of the Pinafore
Of all the ships upon the blue
No ship contained a better crew
Than that of worthy Captain Reece,
Commanding of The Mantlepiece.
He was adored by all his men,
For worthy Captain Reece, R.N.,
Did all that lay within him to
Promote the comfort of his crew.
from Bab Ballad "Captain Reece" by W.S. Gilbert
H.M.S. Pinafore was the fourth operetta of the thirteen created by the
partnership of Gilbert and Sullivan. They had already had reasonable successes
with Thespis, Trial by Jury and The Sorcerer, but they were in need of a real
"hit". As a writer, Gilbert had contributed many items of comic verse
to the satirical magazine Fun. These are collectively known as the Bab
Ballads; and were a source of inspiration for several of Gilbert's greatest
libretti, not least H.M.S. Pinafore.
Sullivan, unfortunately, had been very ill and was still suffering from the
sporadic attacks of a kidney complaint that was to continue to plague him for
the rest of his life. He was later to write about the composition of Pinafore
that he 'would compose a few bars, and then be almost insensible from pain.
When the paroxysm was passed I would write a little more, until the pain
overwhelmed me again. Never was music written under such disturbing
conditions.' As well as the commitment to Pinafore, the organisers of the Leeds
Musical Festival were demanding a follow-up work to his recently composed
oratorio The Prodigal Son.
Just after Christmas 1877 Gilbert sent Sullivan a sketch of the proposed work.
It was Sullivan who suggested a title - Gilbert wanted something that rhymed
with 'and three cheers more' and was contemplating 'semaphore' - however
Sullivan suggested the name of a popular item of clothing. By April work was
proceeding apace. On the 13th April 1878 Gilbert dragged Sullivan down to
Portsmouth where he made drawings and copious notes. They had lunch on board
the Thunderer and also looked round the Victory and the St. Vincent.
Gilbert was very nervous about the production, and despite being frequently
troubled by gout, he frequently sat up rewriting until early morning. He was
also rehearsing the production during the day.
The opening night was the 25th May 1878 at the Opéra-Comique (just off
the Strand, demolished in 1904). Reaction was mainly good; however the
Telegraph declared that the work was "destined soon to subside into
nothingness." Within a week the reaction of the ruling class was becoming
apparent. The ex-Prime Minister Disraeli wrote that 'he had never seen anything
so bad as Pinafore'. Having said that, it was Disraeli who was responsible for
appointing the publisher W.H. Smith to the position of First Lord of the
Admiralty, characterised superbly in the opera as Sir Joseph Porter K.C.B.; for
whom a legal partnership, in his famous song, "was the only ship that I
ever had seen". London was in the middle of a heat wave in June, and
receipts dropped. On top of this, the theatre was still not considered to be a
proper place for respectable people. Notices were put up several times
dismissing the staff; and the withdrawal of the piece (and subsequent annulment
of the withdrawal) was announced once a fortnight.
Fortune turned, however, when Sullivan as conductor of the Royal Opera House
Promenade Concerts included an arrangement of some of the Pinafore music for
orchestra and brass band. Success came immediately - and Pinafore-mania ensued.
In fact, the reception from thenceforth was so great that pirate productions
multiplied, one even trying to violently steal the scenery from the
Opéra-Comique whilst the show was on! The positive effect of this was
that the struggles with the pirates may have provided the inspiration for the
duo's seafaring sequel The Pirates of Penzance - but that's another
story.
John Crocker