Opera Louisiane to stage ‘The Pirates of Penzance’—and this comedic show is not your grandmother’s opera production

Frederic is finally free of his accidental apprenticeship to a crew of gentlemanly pirates—or so he thinks. He’s ready to take on his own future with the love of his life, the daughter of a “modern major-general.” But then he learns that the contract keeping him with the pirates until his 21st birthday technically hasn’t yet expired, since his birthday only comes every four years—on Leap Day. He’s stuck, it seems, swabbing the deck for another 63 years.

This is the outlandish and comic story of The Pirates of Penzance, and Opera Louisiane will bring it to life May 14 and 15 for the spectacular conclusion of the opera company’s 2015-2016 season.

“The stage will be full,” Opera Louisiane general director Leanne Clement says, “full with a lot of excitement and color—colorful costumes, colorful characters. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

We caught up with Clement ahead of the big finale to find out more about what audiences can expect from the show.

What’s unique about Pirates of Penzance?

It’s very funny. It’s not your typical opera—in fact, it’s an operetta. It’s a Gilbert and Sullivan piece. A lot of people recognize those names, and they’re always associated with great comedy. The other thing I love is that we’re doing this at the Manship [Theatre], so it’s a very intimate space. We actually love performing there, because it means that the audience gets to see the opera singers up close and personal. I think that makes the comedy more real and fun to be a part of.

We’re not your grandmother’s opera company. We do really quality productions, but they’re accessible for everybody.

—Opera Louisiane general director Leanne Clement

Tell us about the cast leading this performance.

The cast is actually coming from all over the country. We hold auditions every year for professional singers across the United States, so they applied for us last year and they were cast last May for this production. We have people coming in from New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Colorado—they really are coming from all over.

But we also have people from right here in Louisiana, because, as with all of our productions, we try to use Louisiana artists whenever possible. So you’ll see people from Louisiana right alongside people from all over the country. It’s a big cast—we also have a community chorus here, with some really amazing Baton Rouge singers.

What about this performance would attract people who aren’t that familiar with opera?

First of all, this is in English. A lot of people fear going to the opera because they think it’s going to be in a foreign language. … The second thing is, being an operetta, this is more like a musical than it is like an opera. There’s some spoken dialogue, and it’s a great place to start to get your feet wet in opera, because it’s just not as intimidating as the big operas.

Is that surprising for attendees? That a night at the opera doesn’t have to be so stuffy and highbrow?

Part of our mission is to make opera fun for people, because if people will just give opera a chance, if they will come in and try it one time, their perception of it is going to be drastically changed. We always try to make opera fun. We always have people that greet them at the door, we have door prizes, [and] occasionally we even encourage people to dress up. So if you want to come dressed like pirates to this production, I would be more than happy with that.

Opera Louisiane will host two performances of The Pirates of Penzance, May 14 and 15, at the Manship Theatre. Find out more and purchase tickets at operalouisiane.com.