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>> VIRGINIA OPERA HAS A SONG FOR OUR ARTS AS THE SEASON OF GIVING BEGINS PUTTIN' ON THE HITS: PIZZAZZ AND 'PIRATES'
Some pizzazz with the "Pirates of Penzance"
Date published: 11/29/2007
By LUCIA ANDERSON FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR Looking to start the holiday season with some light, frothy entertainment the whole family can enjoy? Look no further than the Virginia Opera's production of "Pirates of Penzance," coming to George Mason University's Center for the Arts in Fairfax County this weekend. Gilbert and Sullivan's patented mix of silly spoofery and infectious music is nearly always enjoyable, no matter how it is performed, and the Virginia Opera production is no exception. This is the one about Frederic, whose nursemaid, mishearing her employer's instructions to apprentice the boy to a pilot, signed him up with a bunch of pirates instead. Once his apprenticeship is up, the young man is determined to turn his erstwhile comrades over to the law. He's big on duty. Those plans are skewered when a close reading of his indenture papers shows that his apprenticeship is not up until his 21st birthday. Frederic, you see, was born on Feb. 29, so, although he has lived 21 years, he has had only 5 birthdays. In the meantime, Maj. Gen. Stanley and his bevy of beautiful daughters have come on the scene. Frederic and Mabel, the youngest daughter, fall in love, but their hopes of a speedy wedding are put on hold by Frederic's continued duty to the pirate band (see birthday, above). After a great deal more foolishness, everybody gets to live happily ever after. This is one of the more operatic efforts by G&S and, indeed, part of the fun is seeing how they parody some of the sillier operatic traditions. Top performance rating has to go to William Ferguson in the role of Frederic. Ferguson has a sweet tenor voice that soared out over the footlights--something that some others in the cast had difficulty achieving. Very nearly upstaging Our Hero was Gary Briggle as Maj. Gen. Stanley. Briggle also has a big voice, and he is an accomplished comic actor. I'm not fond of the type of soprano voice possessed by Alicia Berneche (Mabel), but she plays the part very well. Myrna Paris also does a good job with Ruth, the hard-of-hearing nursemaid, and Dominic M. Aquilino was properly swashbuckling as the Pirate King. Stage director William Theisen has given more than a nod to "Pirates of the Caribbean" in this production. Aquilino's costumes and wig are highly reminiscent of Johnny Depp's in those popular movies, and the pirate band looks as if it had been transplanted from a soundstage as well. The program says the costumes have been provided by Malabar Limited and that they were designed by Howard Tsvi Kaplan. He's done a particularly good job with the girls' dresses--they look like a flock of butterflies as they cavort around the beach. Chris Clapp is given credit for the stage design. This "Pirates" is not an unalloyed delight, but sheer exuberance can cover many a minor quibble. Virginia Opera is providing its audiences with an enjoyable evening of light-hearted fun. Lucia Anderson is a freelance writer living in Woodbridge.
Date published: 11/29/2007
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