Editing H.M.S. Pinafore

{{Short description|1878 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}

[[File:H m s pinafore restoration.jpg|thumb|Theatre poster, 1879]]
'''''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor''''' is a [[comic opera]] in two acts, with music by [[Arthur Sullivan]] and a [[libretto]] by [[W. S. Gilbert]]. It opened at the [[Opera Comique]] in London on 25 May 1878, and ran for 571&nbsp;performances, which was the second-longest run of any [[musical theatre]] piece up to that time. ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' was [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s fourth operatic collaboration and their first international sensation.

The story takes place aboard the [[Royal Navy]] ship [[Her Majesty's Ship|HMS]] ''Pinafore''. The [[captain (naval)|captain]]'s daughter, Josephine, is in love with a lower-class [[Able seaman (rank)|sailor]], Ralph Rackstraw, although her father intends her to marry Sir Joseph Porter, the [[First Lord of the Admiralty]]. She abides by her father's wishes at first, but Sir Joseph's advocacy of the equality of humankind encourages Ralph and Josephine to overturn conventional social order. They declare their love for each other and eventually plan to elope. The Captain discovers this plan, but, as in many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, a surprise disclosure changes things dramatically near the end of the story.

Drawing on several of his earlier "[[Bab Ballads|Bab Ballad]]" poems, Gilbert imbued this plot with mirth and absurdity. The opera's humour focuses on love between members of different [[social class]]es and lampoons the British class system in general. ''Pinafore'' also pokes good-natured fun at [[patriotism]], party politics, the Royal Navy, and the rise of unqualified people to positions of authority. The title of the piece comically applies the name of a garment for girls and women, a [[pinafore]], to the fearsome symbol of a warship.

''Pinafore''{{'}}s extraordinary popularity in Britain, America and elsewhere was followed by the similar success of a series of Gilbert and Sullivan works, including ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'' and ''[[The Mikado]]''. Their works, later known as the [[Savoy opera]]s, dominated the musical stage on both sides of the Atlantic for more than a decade and continue to be performed today. The structure and style of these operas, particularly ''Pinafore'', were much copied and contributed significantly to the [[Development of musical theatre|development of modern musical theatre]].

==Background==
In 1875, [[Richard D'Oyly Carte]], who was then managing the [[Royalty Theatre]] for [[Selina Dolaro]], brought [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] together to write their second show, a one-act opera entitled ''[[Trial by Jury]]''.<ref>Ainger, pp. 107–108</ref> This proved a success, and in 1876 D'Oyly Carte assembled a group of [[Equity partner|financial backers]] to establish the Comedy Opera Company, which was devoted to the production and promotion of family-friendly English comic opera.<ref>Ainger, p. 130</ref> With this theatre company, Carte finally had the financial resources, after many failed attempts, to produce a new full-length Gilbert and Sullivan opera.<ref>Ainger, pp. 110, 119–120 and 130–131; Jacobs, p. 109</ref> This next opera was ''[[The Sorcerer]]'', which opened in November 1877. It too was successful, running for 178&nbsp;performances.<ref name=Ainger157>Ainger, p. 157</ref> Sheet music from the show sold well, and [[Organ grinder|street musicians]] played the melodies.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 113–114</ref>

Instead of writing a piece for production by a theatre proprietor, as was usual in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] theatres, Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte produced the show with their own financial support. They were therefore able to choose their own cast of performers, rather than being obliged to use the actors already engaged at the theatre. They chose talented actors, most of whom were not well-known stars and did not command high fees, and to whom they could teach a more [[Naturalism (theatre)|naturalistic]] style of performance than was commonly used at the time. They then tailored their work to the particular abilities of these performers.<ref>Jacobs, p. 111; Ainger, pp. 133–34</ref> The skill with which Gilbert and Sullivan used their performers had an effect on the audience; as critic [[Herman Klein]] wrote: "we secretly marvelled at the naturalness and ease with which [the Gilbertian quips and absurdities] were said and done. For until then no living soul had seen upon the stage such weird, eccentric, yet intensely human beings.&nbsp;... [They] conjured into existence a hitherto unknown comic world of sheer delight."<ref>Jacobs, p. 113</ref>

[[File:Our New First Lord at Sea.png|thumb|left|upright=1.1|''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' cartoon, 1877, portraying [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] [[William Henry Smith (1825–1891)|W. H. Smith]] as a [[Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)#land lubber|land-lubber]], saying: "I think I'll now go below." In ''Pinafore'', Sir Joseph similarly sings: "When the breezes blow / I generally go below".]]
The success of ''The Sorcerer'' paved the way for another collaboration by Gilbert and Sullivan. Carte agreed on terms for a new opera with the Comedy Opera Company, and Gilbert began work on ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' before the end of 1877.<ref>Ainger, p. 145</ref> Gilbert's father had been a [[naval surgeon]], and the nautical theme of the opera appealed to him.<ref name=Bradley115>Bradley (1996), p. 115</ref> He drew on several of his earlier "[[Bab Ballads|Bab Ballad]]" poems (many of which also have nautical themes), including "Captain Reece" (1868) and "General John" (1867).<ref>Fitz-Gerald, p. 35</ref> Some of the characters also have prototypes in the ballads: Dick Deadeye is based on a character in "Woman's Gratitude" (1869); an early version of Ralph Rackstraw can be seen in "Joe Go-Lightly" (1867), with its sailor madly in love with the daughter of someone who far outranks him; and Little Buttercup is taken almost wholesale from "The Bumboat Woman's Story" (1870).<ref name=Allenfn>Allen (1975), Introduction to chapter on ''Pinafore''</ref><ref name=Stedman161/> On 27 December 1877, while Sullivan was on holiday on the [[French Riviera]], Gilbert sent him a plot sketch accompanied by the following note:<ref name=Jacobs114>Jacobs, pp. 114–115</ref>
{{blockquote|I have very little doubt whatever but that you will be pleased with it.&nbsp;... there is a good deal of fun in it which I haven't set down on paper. Among other things a song (a kind of '[[Trial by Jury#Pattern for later Savoy operas|Judge's Song]]') for the First Lord – tracing his career as office-boy&nbsp;... clerk, traveller, junior partner and First Lord of Britain's Navy.&nbsp;... Of course there will be no ''personality'' in this – the fact that the First Lord in the Opera is a ''[[Radicals (UK)|Radical]]'' of the most pronounced type will do away with any suspicion that [[William Henry Smith (1825–1891)|W. H. Smith]] is intended.<ref name=Jacobs114/><ref>Gilbert's satire of politicians had led to censorship of Gilbert's plays before, for example ''[[The Happy Land]]'', Stedman, pp. 106–110</ref>}}

Despite Gilbert's disclaimer, audiences, critics and even the Prime Minister, [[Benjamin Disraeli]], identified Sir Joseph Porter with W. H. Smith, a politician who had recently been appointed [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] despite having neither military nor nautical experience.<ref>Jacobs, p. 115. The Prime Minister, [[Benjamin Disraeli]], began to refer to his appointee as "Pinafore Smith". See, e.g., Dark & Grey, p. 75; and Gary Dexter, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3561347/How-HMS-Pinafore-got-its-name.html "How ''HMS Pinafore'' got its name"], ''The Sunday Telegraph'', 1 October 2008</ref> Sullivan was delighted with the sketch, and Gilbert read a first draft of the plot to Carte in mid-January.<ref>Stedman, p. 108</ref>

Following the example of his mentor, [[T. W. Robertson]], Gilbert strove to ensure that the costumes and sets were as realistic as possible.<ref>Stedman, pp. 129 and 155</ref> When preparing the sets for ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', Gilbert and Sullivan visited [[Portsmouth]] in April 1878 to inspect ships. Gilbert made sketches of [[HMS Victory|H.M.S. ''Victory'']] and [[HMS St Vincent (1815)|H.M.S. ''St Vincent'']] and created a model set for the carpenters to work from.<ref>Stedman, pp. 157–158; Crowther, p. 90; Ainger, p. 154</ref> This was far from standard procedure in Victorian drama, in which naturalism was still a relatively new concept, and in which most authors had very little influence on how their plays and libretti were staged.<ref>Crowther, pp. 87–89</ref> This attention to detail was typical of Gilbert's [[Theatre director|stage management]] and would be repeated in all of his [[Savoy opera]]s.<ref>Crowther, p. 90</ref> Gilbert's focus on visual accuracy provided a "right-side-up for topsy-turvydom", that is, a realistic point of reference that serves to heighten the whimsicality and absurdity of the situations.<ref>Stedman, p. 155</ref> Sullivan was "in the full swing" of work on the piece by the middle of April 1878.<ref>Jacobs, p. 117</ref> The bright and cheerful music of ''Pinafore'' was composed during a time when Sullivan suffered from excruciating pain from a kidney stone.<ref>Ainger, p. 155</ref><ref>Bradley (1996), pp. 115–116</ref> The cast began music rehearsals on 24 April, and at the beginning of May 1878, the two collaborators worked closely together at Sullivan's flat to finalise the piece.<ref>Stedman, p. 159</ref><ref>Jacobs, p. 117–118</ref>

In ''Pinafore'', Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte used several of the principal cast members whom they had assembled for ''The Sorcerer''. As Gilbert had suggested to Sullivan in December 1877, "Mrs. Cripps [Little Buttercup] will be a capital part for [[Harriett Everard|Everard]]&nbsp;... [[Rutland Barrington|Barrington]] will be a capital captain, and [[George Grossmith|Grossmith]] a first-rate First Lord."<ref name=Jacobs114/> However, [[Mrs Howard Paul]],{{refn|Mrs Paul had left her husband around 1877, as he was having an affair with the actress-dancer [[Letty Lind]], with whom he sired two children. However, she continued performing under this name.<ref>Cruickshank, Graeme. "The Life and Loves of Letty Lind" in ''The Gaiety'', Issue 22, Summer 2007</ref>|group= n}} who had played Lady Sangazure in ''The Sorcerer'', was declining vocally. She was under contract to play the role of Cousin Hebe in ''Pinafore''. Gilbert made an effort to write an amusing part for her despite Sullivan's reluctance to use her, but by mid-May 1878, both Gilbert and Sullivan wanted her out of the cast; unhappy with the role, she left. With only a week to go before opening night, Carte hired a concert singer, [[Jessie Bond]], to play Cousin Hebe.<ref>Ainger, pp. 156–157</ref><ref name=Stedman160>Stedman, p. 160</ref> Since Bond had little experience as an actress, Gilbert and Sullivan cut the dialogue out of the role, except for a few lines in the last scene, which they turned into [[recitative]].{{refn|The dialogue that was cut was based on lines from Gilbert's 1877 farce ''On Bail''; it would be revised again and used as part of ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'' in 1881.<ref name=Stedman160/>|group= n}} Other new cast members were [[Emma Howson]] and [[Sir George Power, 7th Baronet|George Power]] in the romantic roles, who were improvements on the romantic [[soprano]] and [[tenor]] in ''The Sorcerer''.<ref name=Stedman161>Stedman, p. 161</ref>

Gilbert acted as stage director for his own plays and operas. He sought realism in acting, just as he strove for realistic visual elements. He deprecated self-conscious interaction with the audience and insisted on a style of portrayal in which the characters were never aware of their own absurdity but were coherent internal wholes.<ref>Cox-Ife, William. ''W. S. Gilbert: Stage Director''. Dobson, 1978 {{ISBN|0-234-77206-9}}. See also Gilbert, W. S., [http://gsarchive.net/gilbert/short_stories/stage_play.html "A Stage Play"], and Bond, Jessie, [http://gsarchive.net/books/bond/intro.html ''Reminiscences'', Introduction]</ref> Sullivan conducted the music rehearsals. As was to be his usual practice in his later operas, Sullivan left the [[overture]] for the last moment, sketching it out and entrusting it to the company's music director, in this case [[Alfred Cellier]], to complete.<ref name=Ainger157/> ''Pinafore'' opened on 25 May 1878 at the [[Opera Comique]].

==Roles==
* The Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, [[Order of the Bath|KCB]], [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] (comic [[baritone]])
* Captain Corcoran, Commander of H.M.S. ''Pinafore'' (lyric [[baritone]])
* Ralph{{refn|The traditional British pronunciation of this name is "rafe" ({{IPAc-en|r|eɪ|f}}).<ref name=Raif>Hanks, Patricia et al. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9nd05X_awIgC&q=rafe "Ralph"], Oxford Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press, 2006</ref> Gilbert rhymes it with "waif" in the lyrics of Little Buttercup's Act II song, "A many years ago".|group= n}} Rackstraw, [[Able seaman (rank)|Able Seaman]] ([[tenor]])
* Dick Deadeye, Able Seaman ([[bass-baritone]])
* Bill Bobstay, [[Boatswain]]'s Mate ([[baritone]])
* Bob Becket, Carpenter's Mate ([[bass (voice type)|bass]])
* Josephine, The Captain's Daughter ([[soprano]])
* Cousin Hebe, Sir Joseph's First Cousin ([[mezzo-soprano]])
* Mrs. Cripps (Little Buttercup), A Portsmouth [[Bumboat]] Woman ([[contralto]])
* Chorus of First Lord's Sisters, His Cousins, His Aunts, Sailors, Marines, etc.

==Synopsis==
<!-- Per [[MOS:PLOTSOURCE]] no citations are required for the synopsis. -->

===Act I===
The British warship H.M.S. ''Pinafore'' is at anchor off [[Portsmouth]]. The sailors are on the [[Deck (ship)|quarterdeck]], proudly "cleaning brasswork, splicing rope, etc."

Little Buttercup, a Portsmouth "[[bumboat]] woman" (dockside vendor) – who is the rosiest, roundest, and "reddest beauty in all [[Spithead]]" – comes on board to sell her wares to the crew. She hints that she may be hiding a dark secret under her "gay and frivolous exterior". Ralph Rackstraw,<ref name=Raif/> "the smartest lad in all the fleet", enters, declaring his love for the Captain's daughter, Josephine. His fellow sailors (excepting Dick Deadeye, the grim and ugly realist of the crew) offer their sympathies, but they can give Ralph little hope that his love will ever be returned.

[[File:Pinafore1899.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Scene from 1886 [[Savoy Theatre]] [[souvenir programme]]]]
The gentlemanly and popular Captain Corcoran greets his "gallant crew" and compliments them on their politeness, saying that he returns the favour by never ("well, hardly ever") using bad language, such as "a big, big D".{{refn|"Big D" meant "damn". See Bradley (1996), p. 128. In Act II, the Captain does use a big D, which shocks Sir Joseph and his female relatives.|group= n}} After the sailors leave, the Captain confesses to Little Buttercup that Josephine is reluctant to consider a marriage proposal from Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty. Buttercup says that she knows how it feels to love in vain. As she leaves, the Captain remarks that she is "a plump and pleasing person". Josephine enters and reveals to her father that she loves a [[Able seaman (rank)|humble sailor]] in his crew, but she assures him that she is a dutiful daughter and will never reveal her love to this sailor.

Sir Joseph comes on board, accompanied by his "admiring crowd of sisters, cousins, and aunts". He recounts how he rose from humble beginnings to be "ruler of the Queen's Navee" through persistence, although he has no naval qualifications. He then delivers a humiliating lesson in etiquette, telling the Captain that he must always say "if you please" after giving an order; for "A British sailor is any man's equal" – excepting Sir Joseph's. Sir Joseph has composed a song to illustrate that point, and he gives a copy of it to Ralph. Shortly afterwards, elated by Sir Joseph's views on equality, Ralph decides that he will declare his love to Josephine. This delights his shipmates, except Dick Deadeye, who contends that "when people have to obey other people's orders, equality's out of the question". Shocked by his words, the other sailors force Dick to listen to Sir Joseph's song before they exit, leaving Ralph alone on deck. Josephine now enters, and Ralph confesses his love in terms surprisingly eloquent for a "common sailor". Josephine is touched, but although she has found Sir Joseph's attentions nauseating, she knows that it is her duty to marry Sir Joseph instead of Ralph. Disguising her true feelings, she "haughtily rejects" Ralph's "proffered love".

Ralph summons his shipmates (Sir Joseph's female relatives also arrive) and tells them that he is bent on suicide. The crew expresses sympathy, except for Dick, who provides a stark counterpoint of dissent. Ralph puts a pistol to his head, but as he is about to pull the trigger, Josephine enters, admitting that she loves him after all. Ralph and Josephine plan to sneak ashore to elope that night. Dick Deadeye warns them to "forbear, nor carry out the scheme", but the joyous ship's company ignores him.

[[File:Pinafore engraving, ILN 1878.jpg|thumb|left|Illustration of the characters in Act II by [[D. H. Friston]], 1878]]

===Act II===
Later that night, under a full moon, Captain Corcoran reviews his concerns: his "kindly crew rebels", his "daughter to a [[Jack Tar|tar]] is partial", his friends seem to desert him, and Sir Joseph has threatened a [[court-martial]]. Little Buttercup offers sympathy. He tells her that, if it were not for the difference in their social standing, he would have returned her affection. She prophesies that things are not all as they seem and that "a change" is in store for him, but he does not understand her cryptic warning.

Sir Joseph enters and complains that Josephine has not yet agreed to marry him. The Captain speculates that she is probably dazzled by his "exalted rank" and that if Sir Joseph can persuade her that "love levels all ranks", she will accept his proposal. They withdraw, and Josephine enters, still feeling guilty about her planned elopement with Ralph and fearful of giving up a life of luxury. When Sir Joseph makes the argument that "love levels all ranks", a delighted Josephine says that she "will hesitate no longer". The Captain and Sir Joseph rejoice, but Josephine is now more determined than ever to marry Ralph.

Dick Deadeye intercepts the Captain and tells him of the lovers' plans to elope. The Captain confronts Ralph and Josephine as they try to leave the ship. The pair declare their love, justifying their actions because "He is an Englishman!" The furious Captain is unmoved and blurts out, "Why, damme, it's too bad!" Sir Joseph and his relatives, who have overheard this oath, are shocked to hear swearing on board a ship, and Sir Joseph orders the Captain confined to his cabin.

When Sir Joseph asks what had provoked the usually polite officer's outburst, Ralph replies that it was his declaration of love for Josephine. Furious in his turn at this revelation, and ignoring Josephine's plea to spare Ralph, Sir Joseph has the sailor "loaded with chains" and taken to the ship's brig. Little Buttercup now comes forward to reveal her long-held secret. Many years ago, when she "practised [[baby farming|baby-farming]]", she had cared for two babies, one "of low condition", the other "a regular [[Patrician (post-Roman Europe)|patrician]]". She confesses that she "mixed those children up.&nbsp;... The wellborn babe was Ralph; your Captain was the other."

Sir Joseph now realises that Ralph should have been the Captain, and the Captain should have been Ralph. He summons both, and they emerge wearing each other's uniforms: Ralph as Captain, in command of the ''Pinafore'', and Corcoran as a common sailor. Sir Joseph's marriage with Josephine is now "out of the question" in his eyes: "love levels all ranks&nbsp;... to a considerable extent, but it does not level them as much as that." He hands her to Captain Rackstraw. The former Captain's now-humble social rank leaves him free to marry Buttercup. Sir Joseph settles for his cousin Hebe, and all ends in general rejoicing.

==Musical numbers==
{{Listen|type=music
|filename=Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore (1907, Odeon) - 02 - I'm called Little Buttercup.mp3
|title=''Hail! men-o'-war's men ... I'm called Little Buttercup''
|filename2=Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore (1907, Odeon) - 07 - Now give three cheers - I am the Monarch of the Sea - When I was a lad.mp3
|title2=''Now give three cheers ... I am the Monarch of the Sea ... When I was a lad''
|filename3=Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore (1907, Odeon) - 14 - Never mind the why and wherefore.mp3
|title3=''Never mind the why and wherefore''
|header=Excerpts from the 1907 [[Odeon Records|Odeon]] recording of the opera
}}
* Overture
;Act I
* 1. "We sail the ocean blue" (Sailors)
* 2. "Hail! men-o'-war's men"&nbsp;... "I'm called Little Buttercup" (Buttercup)
* 2a. "But tell me who's the youth" (Buttercup and Boatswain)
* 3. "The nightingale" (Ralph and Chorus of Sailors)
* 3a. "A maiden fair to see" (Ralph and Chorus of Sailors)
* 4. "My gallant crew, good morning&nbsp;... I am the Captain of the Pinafore" (Captain and Chorus of Sailors)
* 4a. "Sir, you are sad" (Buttercup and Captain)
* 5. "Sorry her lot who loves too well" (Josephine)
* 5a. Cut song: "Reflect, my child" (Captain and Josephine)
* 6. "Over the bright blue sea" (Chorus of Female Relatives)
* 7. "Sir Joseph's barge is seen" (Chorus of Sailors and Female Relatives)
* 8. "Now give three cheers&nbsp;... I am the Monarch of the sea" (Captain, Sir Joseph, Cousin Hebe and Chorus)
* 9. "When I was a lad" (Sir Joseph and Chorus)
* 9a. "For I hold that on the sea" (Sir Joseph, Cousin Hebe and Chorus)
* 10. "A British [[Jack Tar|tar]]" (Ralph, Boatswain, Carpenter's Mate and Chorus of Sailors)
* 11. "Refrain, audacious tar" (Josephine and Ralph)
* 12. Finale, Act I (Ensemble)
** "Can I survive this overbearing?"
** "Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen"
** "Let's give three cheers for the sailor's bride"
** "A British tar" (reprise)
;Act II
[[File:Barrington as Corcoran.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Rutland Barrington]] as A.B.S. Corcoran at the end of ''Pinafore'']]
(Entr'acte)
* 13. "Fair moon, to thee I sing" (Captain)
* 14. "Things are seldom what they seem" (Buttercup and Captain)
* 15. "The hours creep on apace" (Josephine)
* 16. "Never mind the why and wherefore" (Josephine, Captain and Sir Joseph)
* 17. "Kind Captain, I've important information" (Captain and Dick Deadeye)
* 18. "Carefully on tiptoe stealing" (Soli and Chorus)
* 18a. "Pretty daughter of mine" (Captain and Ensemble) and "He is an Englishman" (Boatswain and Ensemble)
* 19. "Farewell, my own" (Ralph, Josephine, Sir Joseph, Buttercup and Chorus)
* 20. "A many years ago" (Buttercup and Chorus)
* 20a. "Here, take her, sir" (Sir Joseph, Josephine, Ralph, Cousin Hebe and Chorus){{efn|1=See [[#Recitative preceding the Act II finale|discussion]] of versions, below.}}
* 21. Finale: "Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen" (Ensemble){{efn|1=Includes reprises of several songs, concluding with "For he is an Englishman".}}
{{notelist}}

==Productions==
[[File:Pinaforeplaybill.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Poster illustration from original 1878 production]]
''Pinafore'' opened on 25 May 1878 at the [[Opera Comique]], before an enthusiastic audience, with Sullivan conducting.<ref>Ainger, pp. 157–158</ref>{{refn|After opening night, the company's musical director, Alfred Cellier, conducted most of the performances. [[Eugène Goossens, père|Eugène Goossens]] conducted the piece in late July and August 1878, while Cellier was assisting Sullivan at the promenade concerts at Covent Garden.<ref>"Theatres", ''The Era'', 21 July 1878, p. 8; 28 July 1878, p. 8; and 4 August 1878, p. 8</ref>|group= n}} Soon, however, the piece suffered from weak ticket sales, generally ascribed to a heat wave that made the Opera Comique particularly uncomfortable.<ref>Bond, Jessie. [http://gsarchive.net/books/bond/004.html "The Life and Reminiscences of Jessie Bond", Chapter 4], John Lane, 1930, accessed 10 March 2009</ref><ref name=Bradley116>Bradley (1996), p. 116</ref> The historian Michael Ainger questions this explanation, at least in part, stating that the heat waves in the summer of 1878 were short and transient.<ref>Ainger, p. 160</ref> By mid-August, Sullivan wrote to his mother that cooler weather had arrived, which was good for the show.<ref name=Jacobs122/> In the meantime, the four partners of the Comedy Opera Company lost confidence in the opera's viability and posted closing notices.<ref name=Jacobs122>Jacobs, p. 122</ref><ref>Joseph, p. 17</ref> Carte publicised the piece by presenting a matinee concert performance on 6 July 1878 at the enormous [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]].<ref>''The Times'', 6 July 1878, p. 1 announced that Eugène Goossens would conduct.</ref>

In late August 1878, Sullivan used some of the ''Pinafore'' music, arranged by his assistant [[Hamilton Clarke]], during several successful promenade concerts at [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]] that generated interest and stimulated ticket sales.<ref>Ainger, p. 162</ref> By September, ''Pinafore'' was playing to full houses at the Opera Comique. The piano score sold 10,000&nbsp;copies,<ref>Jones, p. 6</ref> and Carte soon sent two additional companies out to tour in the provinces.<ref>Stedman, p. 163</ref>

Carte, Gilbert and Sullivan now had the financial resources to produce shows themselves, without outside backers. Carte persuaded the author and composer that a business partnership among the three would be to their advantage, and they hatched a plan to separate themselves from the directors of the Comedy Opera Company. The contract between Gilbert and Sullivan and the Comedy Opera Company gave the latter the right to present ''Pinafore'' for the duration of the initial run. The Opera Comique was obliged to close for drain and sewer repairs, and it was renovated by E. W. Bradwell, from Christmas 1878 to the end of January 1879.<ref>[http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/reviews/op_com1878-80/era790209.html "Opera Comique"]. ''The Era'', 9 February 1879, reprinted at ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', accessed 8 July 2010</ref> Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte believed that this break ended the initial run, and, therefore, ended the company's rights. Carte put the matter beyond doubt by taking a six-month personal lease of the theatre beginning on 1 February 1879, the date of its re-opening, when ''Pinafore'' resumed. At the end of the six months, Carte planned to give notice to the Comedy Opera Company that its rights in the show and the theatre had ended.<ref name=Stedman170>Stedman, pp. 170–171</ref><ref>Ainger, pp. 165–167 and 194–195</ref>

Meanwhile, numerous versions of ''Pinafore'', unauthorised by its creators, began playing in America with great success, beginning with a production in [[Boston]] that opened on 25 November 1878.<ref name=Bradley116/> ''Pinafore'' became a source of popular quotations on both sides of the Atlantic, such as the exchange:

<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">"What, never?"
"No, never!"
"What, ''never?''"
"Well, hardly ever!"<ref>Lawrence, Arthur H. [http://gsarchive.net/sullivan/interviews/lawrence.html "An illustrated interview with Sir Arthur Sullivan"] Part 3, from ''The Strand Magazine'', Vol. xiv, No.84 (December 1897), accessed 10 March 2009</ref><ref>Ainger, p. 166</ref></poem>

[[File:PinFirstNightProg.jpg|right|thumb|Opening night programme cover]]
In February 1879, ''Pinafore'' resumed operations at the Opera Comique.<ref>Stedman, p. 165</ref> The opera also resumed touring in April, with two companies crisscrossing the British provinces by June, one starring [[Richard Mansfield]] as Sir Joseph, the other [[W. S. Penley]] in the role. Hoping to join in on the profits to be made in America from ''Pinafore'', Carte left in June for New York to make arrangements for an "authentic" production there to be rehearsed personally by the author and composer. He arranged to rent a theatre and auditioned chorus members for the American production of ''Pinafore'' and a new Gilbert and Sullivan opera to be premiered in New York, and for tours.<ref name="Ainger169"/>

Sullivan, as had been arranged with Carte and Gilbert, gave notice to the partners of the Comedy Opera Company in early July 1879 that he, Gilbert and Carte would not be renewing the contract to produce ''Pinafore'' with them and that he would be withdrawing his music from the Comedy Opera Company on 31 July.<ref name=Ainger169>Ainger, p. 169</ref><ref>Jacobs, p. 126</ref><ref>Rees, p. 89: Sullivan wrote to [[John Hollingshead]], saying: "You once settled a precedent for me which may just at present be of great importance to me. I asked you for the band parts of the ''Merry Wives of Windsor''&nbsp;... and [you] said, 'They are yours, as our run is over.&nbsp;...' Now will you please let me have them, and the parts of ''[[Thespis (opera)|Thespis]]'' also at once. I am detaining the parts of ''Pinafore'', so that the directors shall not take them away from the [[Opera Comique|Comique]] tomorrow, and I base my claim on the precedent ''you'' set."</ref> In return, the Comedy Opera Company gave notice that they intended to play ''Pinafore'' at another theatre and brought a legal action against Carte and company. They offered the London and touring casts of ''Pinafore'' more money to play in their production, and although some choristers accepted their offer, only one principal player, Aeneas Joseph Dymott, accepted.<ref name=Rollins6/> They engaged the [[Imperial Theatre, London|Imperial Theatre]] but had no scenery. On 31 July, they sent a group of thugs to seize the scenery and props during Act II of the evening performance at the Opera Comique.<ref>Ainger, p. 170</ref> Gilbert was away, and Sullivan was recovering from an operation for kidney stones.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 124–125</ref> Stagehands and cast members managed to ward off their backstage attackers and protect the scenery, although the stage manager, [[Richard Barker (stage manager)|Richard Barker]], and others, were injured. The cast went on with the show until someone shouted "Fire!" George Grossmith, playing Sir Joseph, went before the curtain to calm the panicked audience. The police arrived to restore order, and the show continued.<ref name=Stedman170/><ref>[http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-opcom.html "The Fracas at the Opera Comique"], ''The Theatre'', 1 September 1879, reprinted at the Stage Beauty website, accessed 6 May 2009. See also "The Fracas at the Opera Comique", ''The Era'', 10 August 1879, p. 5 and "The Fracas at the Opera Comique", ''The Leeds Mercury'', 13 August 1879, p. 8</ref><ref name=C&B/> Gilbert sued to stop the Comedy Opera Company from staging their rival production of ''H.M.S. Pinafore''.<ref>Ainger, p. 171</ref> The court permitted the production to go on at the Imperial, beginning on 1 August 1879, and it transferred to the [[Olympic Theatre (London)|Olympic Theatre]] in September. [[Pauline Rita]] was one of a series of Josephines.<ref>[http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/reviews/rival/times1879.html "The Theatres"]. ''The Times'', 22 September 1879, reprinted at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 8 July 2010</ref> The production received good notices and initially sold well but was withdrawn in October after 91&nbsp;performances.<ref name=Rollins6/> The matter was eventually settled in court, where a judge ruled in Carte's favour about two years later.<ref>Ainger, p. 175</ref>

After his return to London, Carte formed a new partnership with Gilbert and Sullivan to divide profits equally after the expenses of each of their shows.<ref>Stedman, p. 172</ref> Meanwhile, ''Pinafore'' continued to play strongly. On 20 February 1880, ''Pinafore'' completed its initial run of 571&nbsp;performances.<ref>Ainger, p. 184; Rollins and Witts, p. 6</ref> Only one other work of [[musical theatre]] in the world had ever run longer, [[Robert Planquette]]'s [[operetta]] ''[[Les cloches de Corneville]]''.<ref>Gillan, Don. [http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-frames.html?http&&&www.stagebeauty.net/th-longr.html "Longest Running Plays in London and New York"], StageBeauty.net (2007), accessed 10 March 2009</ref><ref>''Who's Who in the Theatre'', Fourteenth edition, ed. Freda Gaye, p. 1532, Pitman, London (1967) {{ISBN|0-273-43345-8}}</ref>

===Taking ''Pinafore'' to the United States===
[[File:HMSPinafore2.png|thumb|left|Advertisement for a (probably unlicensed) American production of ''H.M.S. Pinafore'']]
Approximately 150&nbsp;unauthorised productions of ''Pinafore'' sprang up in the United States in 1878 and 1879, and none of these paid royalties to the authors. Gilbert and Sullivan called them "pirated", although the creators did not have any international copyright protection.<ref name=Prestige>Prestige, Colin. "D'Oyly Carte and the Pirates: The Original New York Productions of Gilbert and Sullivan", pp. 113–148 at p. 118, ''Gilbert and Sullivan [http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/handle/1808/5875 Papers Presented at the International Conference] held at the [[University of Kansas]] in May 1970'', Edited by James Helyar. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Libraries, 1971</ref><ref name=Jones7/><ref>Allen (1979), p. 2</ref> The first of these productions, opening at the [[Boston Museum (theatre)|Boston Museum]] on 25 November 1878, made such a splash that the piece was quickly produced in major cities and on tour by dozens of companies throughout the country. Boston alone saw at least a dozen productions, including a juvenile version described by [[Louisa May Alcott]] in her 1879 story, "Jimmy's Cruise in the Pinafore".<ref name=Boston>Kanthor, Harold. "H.M.S. Pinafore and the Theater Season in Boston 1878–1879", ''[[Journal of Popular Culture]]'', Spring 1991, vol. 24, no. 4, Platinum Periodicals, p. 119</ref> In New York, different productions of the piece played simultaneously in eight theatres within five blocks of each other and in six theatres in Philadelphia.<ref>Goodman, Andrew.  ''Gilbert and Sullivan at Law'', pp. 204–205, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press (1982), {{ISBN|0-8386-3179-7}}</ref> A production by Gorman's Philadelphia Church Choir Company, orchestrated by [[John Philip Sousa]] and starring [[Louis De Lange]] as Sir Joseph, played on Broadway and toured in the U.S. throughout 1879; Sousa's orchestration was also used in Australasia.<ref>Kuykendall, James Brooks and Elyse Ridder. [http://jamesbrookskuykendall.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Pirating-Pinafore_-Sousas-1879-Orchestration.pdf "Pirating ''Pinafore'': Sousa's 1879 Orchestration"], ''Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association'', June 2022, pp. 501–517 doi: 10.1353/not.2022.0040</ref>

These unauthorised performances took many forms, including [[Victorian burlesque|burlesques]], productions with men playing women's roles and vice versa, spoofs, variety acts, [[Minstrel show]] versions,<ref name=Boston/> all-black and Catholic productions, German, [[Yiddish]] and other foreign-language versions,<ref name=Jones7>Jones, p. 7</ref> performances on boats or by church choirs,<ref name=Stedman169>Stedman, p. 169</ref> and productions starring casts of children.<ref name=Bradley116/><ref name=Boston/> Few purported to play the opera as written.{{refn|James C. Duff claimed falsely that his "faithful" January 1879 production in New York used performing materials that he had personally secured from the author and composer.<ref>[http://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/gilbert-and-sullivan/details?Print=31&image=00-6082b Theatre programme for ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' and ''My Uncle's Will''], Standard Theatre, 25 January 1879, reprinted at Rochester.edu, accessed 16 July 2014</ref>|group= n}} Sheet music arrangements were popular, there were ''Pinafore''-themed dolls and household items, and references to the opera were common in advertising, news and other media.<ref name=Jones7/> Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte brought lawsuits in the U.S. and tried for many years to control the American performance copyrights over their operas, or at least to claim some royalties, without success. They made a special effort to claim American rights for their next work after ''Pinafore'', ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'', by giving the official premiere in New York.<ref>Rosen, Zvi S. [https://ssrn.com/abstract=963540 "The Twilight of the Opera Pirates: A Prehistory of the Right of Public Performance for Musical Compositions"], ''Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal'', Vol. 24, 2007, pp. 1157–1218, 5 March 2007, accessed 6 May 2009</ref>

Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte met by 24 April 1879 to make plans for a production of ''Pinafore'' in America.<ref>Ainger, p. 168</ref> Carte travelled to New York in the summer of 1879 and made arrangements with theatre manager [[John T. Ford]]{{refn|Ford had been one of the few managers who had paid Gilbert and Sullivan any kind of fee for performing ''Pinafore'' in America, and his reward for a small gesture was great.<ref>Stedman, p. 169.</ref>|group= n}} to present, at the [[Fifth Avenue Theatre]], the first authorised American production of ''Pinafore''.<ref name=Ainger169/> In November, Carte returned to America with Gilbert, Sullivan and a company of strong singers, including [[J. H. Ryley]] as Sir Joseph, [[Blanche Roosevelt]] as Josephine, [[Alice Barnett]] as Little Buttercup, [[Furneaux Cook]] as Dick Deadeye, [[Hugh Talbot]] as Ralph Rackstraw and [[Jessie Bond]] as Cousin Hebe.<ref name=Jacobs129>Jacobs, p. 129</ref> To these, he added some American singers, including [[Signor Brocolini]] as Captain Corcoran.<ref name=Ainger182>Ainger, pp. 182–183</ref> [[Alfred Cellier]] came to assist Sullivan, while his brother [[François Cellier|François]] remained in London to conduct ''Pinafore'' there.<ref>Jacobs, p. 127</ref>

''Pinafore'' opened in New York on 1 December 1879 (with Gilbert onstage in the chorus) and ran for the rest of December.<ref name=Jacobs129/> After a reasonably strong first week, audiences quickly fell off, since most New Yorkers had already seen local productions of ''Pinafore''.<ref>Stedman, p. 174</ref><ref name=Jacobs129/> In the meantime, Gilbert and Sullivan raced to complete and rehearse their new opera, ''The Pirates of Penzance'', which premiered with much success on 31 December.<ref>Jacobs, p. 132</ref> Shortly thereafter, Carte sent three touring companies around the United States East Coast and Midwest, playing ''Pinafore'' alongside ''Pirates''.<ref name=Ainger182/><ref name=Stedman175>Stedman, p. 175</ref>

===Children's production===
[[File:Grattanpin.jpg|thumb|1880 programme for Carte's ''Children's Pinafore'']]
The unauthorised juvenile productions of ''Pinafore'' were so popular<ref>Wills, Matthew. [https://daily.jstor.org/topsy-turvy-children-in-adult-roles/ "Topsy-Turvy: Children in Adult Roles"], ''[[JSTOR|JSTOR Daily]]'', November 15, 2022</ref> that Carte mounted his own children's version, played at matinees at the Opera Comique beginning on 16 December 1879.<ref>Kanthor, Hal. [http://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/gilbert-and-sullivan/details?Print=29 Links to programme for Carte's "Children's Pinafore"] and [http://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/gilbert-and-sullivan/details?Print=37 link to poster for a Boston children's ''Pinafore''], both at ''Gilbert and Sullivan: From London to America'', online exhibition at University of Rochester Libraries, accessed 27 January 2017</ref> [[François Cellier]], who had taken over from his brother as Carte's music director in London, adapted the score for children's voices.<ref name=C&B>Cellier and Bridgeman, chapter entitled [http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/html/making_pinafore.html "The making of ''H.M.S. Pinafore''"], reproduced at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> Between its two Christmas seasons in London, the children's production went on a provincial tour from 2 August 1880 to 11 December 1880.<ref name=Rollins7/>

Carte's children's production earned enthusiastic reviews from the critic [[Clement Scott]]<ref>Scott, Clement. [http://savoyoperas.org.uk/pinafore/childpin.html "Our Play-Box. ''The Children's Pinafore''"], ''The Theatre'', 1 January 1880, new [3rd.] series 1: pp. 38–39, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> and the other London critics, as well as the audiences, including children.<ref name=Stedman175/><ref>[http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/reviews/childrens/801226era.html "The Children's ''Pinafore''"], ''The Era'', 26 December 1880, reprinted at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 6 October 2011</ref> However, Captain Corcoran's curse "Damme!" was uncensored, shocking such prominent audience members as [[Lewis Carroll]],{{refn|Carroll had unsuccessfully sought to collaborate with Sullivan on an adaptation of ''Alice in Wonderland''. This was not the first time that he had written a review expressing outraged indignation against Gilbert and Sullivan. He had objected to their treatment of the clergy in ''The Sorcerer''.<ref>Williams, p.84</ref>|group= n}} who later wrote: "a bevy of sweet innocent-looking girls sing, with bright and happy looks, the chorus 'He said, Damn me! He said, Damn me!' I cannot find words to convey to the reader the pain I felt in seeing those dear children taught to utter such words to amuse ears grown callous to their ghastly meaning&nbsp;... How Mr. Gilbert could have stooped to write, or Sir Arthur Sullivan could have prostituted his noble art to set to music, such vile trash, it passes my skill to understand".<ref>Carroll, Lewis. "The Stage and the Spirit of Reverence", ''Theatre'' magazine, 1 June 1888, reprinted in ''The Lewis Carroll Picture Book'', pp. 175–195, Stuart Dodgson Collingwood (ed.), London: T. Fisher Unwin (1899)</ref><ref>Jacobs, p. 123</ref>

===Subsequent productions===
After the opera became successful in London, Richard D'Oyly Carte quickly sent touring companies into the British provinces. At least one D'Oyly Carte company, and sometimes as many as three, played ''Pinafore'' under Carte's aegis every year between 1878 and 1888, including its first London revival in 1887. The opera was then given a rest, returning to the touring repertory between 1894 and 1900 and again for most of the time between 1903 and 1940.<ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. 7–164</ref> Gilbert directed all the revivals during his lifetime, and after his death, the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]] had exclusive performing rights to the Savoy operas until 1962. It continued to hew closely to Gilbert's directions throughout that period, as recorded in Gilbert's prompt books, and it also required its licensees to follow them closely.<ref>Bradley (2005), p. 27</ref>

[[File:Pin15 1.jpg|upright|left|thumb|[[Ruth Vincent]] as Josephine in 1899]]
Until 1908, revivals of the opera were given in contemporary dress, with ladies' costumes executed by couture houses such as [[Redfern (couture)|Redfern]].<ref name=rw>Rollins and Witts, Appendix, p. VII</ref> After that, designers such as [[Percy Anderson (designer)|Percy Anderson]], [[George Sheringham]] and [[Peter Goffin]] created Victorian costume designs.<ref name=rw/><ref>Mander, pp. 102–105</ref> The 1887 set was designed by [[Hawes Craven]].<ref name=rw/> In the winter of 1940–41, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's scenery and costumes for ''Pinafore'' and three other operas were destroyed by German bombs during [[World War II]].<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 165</ref> The opera was revived in London in the summer of 1947.<ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. 165–172</ref> It was then included in the D'Oyly Carte repertory in every season from then on, until the company's closure in 1982.<ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. 172–186, and supplements</ref> The D'Oyly Carte company performed ''Pinafore'' before [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and the royal family at [[Windsor Castle]] on 16 June 1977, during the queen's Silver Jubilee year, the first [[Royal Command Performance|royal command performance]] of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera since 1891.<ref name=Bradley116/>

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company did not allow any other professional company to present the Savoy operas in Britain and the Commonwealth until the copyrights expired at the end of 1961, although it licensed many amateur and school societies to do so, beginning in the 19th century.<ref name=copyright>[http://gsarchive.net/gondoliers/doc_67/67docprod.html l "The 1968 D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Production of ''The Gondoliers''"], reprinted from theatre programme of 29 January 1968, ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', Retrieved on 11 March 2009</ref> Other professional productions since the copyrights expired have included [[Tyrone Guthrie]]'s 1960 production from [[Stratford Shakespeare Festival|Stratford, Ontario]], seen on Broadway in 1960 and in London in 1962<ref>It played in London together with ''Pirates'' at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]]; Mander, p. 154 and "''H.M.S. Pinafore'' and ''The Pirates of Penzance''", ''Theatre World'' (UK magazine), March 1962, pp. 15–20</ref> and a New Sadler's Wells Opera Company production first seen on 4 June 1984 at [[Sadler's Wells Theatre]],<ref>[http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/nswo/nswo87.html Photos, cast and crew information for the New Sadler's Wells Opera] production in 1987, collected at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> which was seen also in New York.<ref>[[Richard Traubner|Traubner, Richard]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/15/theater/music-a-pinafore-sails-in-on-a-fresh-breeze.html?pagewanted=all "A ''Pinafore'' Sails In on a Fresh Breeze"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 15 January 1989, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> [[Scottish Opera]], [[Welsh National Opera]] and many of the other British opera companies have mounted productions, as did the reconstituted D'Oyly Carte Opera Company between 1990 and its closure in 2003.<ref name=Bradley3>Bradley (2005), chapters 3 and 4, ''passim''</ref> In recent decades, the [[Carl Rosa Opera Company]] has produced ''Pinafore'' several times, including in 2009,<ref>"Dido; Aeneas/ Acis; Galatea", ''The Times'', 28 March 2009</ref> [[Opera della Luna]] has toured it repeatedly,<ref name=OdL>"Fun on the high seas", ''The Press and Journal'', 22 April 2010</ref> [[English National Opera]] presented it in 2021,<ref>Maddocks, Fiona. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/nov/06/the-week-in-classical-hms-pinafore-english-national-opera-coliseum-12-ensemble-kings-place-review "The week in classical: ''H.M.S. Pinafore''; 12 Ensemble – review"], ''The Guardian'', 6 November 2021</ref> it is regularly given by the [[National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company]],<ref>Bratby, Richard. [http://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/hms-pinafore-national-gilbert-sullivan-opera-company "''HMS Pinafore'', National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company"], ''The Arts Desk'', 10 August 2015</ref> and other British companies continue to mount the piece.<ref name=Bradley3/>

The extraordinary initial success of ''Pinafore'' in America was seen first-hand by [[J. C. Williamson]].<ref name=Boston/> He soon made arrangements with D'Oyly Carte to present the opera's first authorised production in Australia, opening on 15 November 1879 at the Theatre Royal, [[Sydney]]. Thereafter, his opera company played frequent seasons of the work (and the subsequent Savoy operas) until at least 1963.<ref>Review of ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' in the ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 17 November 1879; and Morrison, Robert. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/williamson.htm "The J. C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 12 November 2001, accessed 10 June 2016</ref> In the U.S., the piece never lost popularity.<ref name=Boston/><ref name=Bradley117/> The [[Internet Broadway Database]] links to a non-exhaustive list of 29 productions on Broadway alone.<ref>[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-show/hms-pinafore-4143 IBDB links to Broadway productions of ''Pinafore''], Internet Broadway Database, accessed 9 March 2017</ref> Among the professional repertory companies continuing to present ''Pinafore'' regularly in the U.S. are [[Opera a la Carte (US)|Opera a la Carte]], based in California, [[Ohio Light Opera]] and the [[New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players]], which tours the opera annually and often includes it in its New York seasons.<ref>Smith, Steve. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/09/arts/music/09pina.html "All Hands on Deck for Absurd Relevance"], ''The New York Times'', 9 June 2008, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> ''Pinafore'' is still performed around the world by opera companies such as the Royal Theatre, [[Copenhagen]]; Australian Opera (and [[Essgee Entertainment]] and others in Australia); in [[Kassel]], Germany; and even [[Samarkand]], Uzbekistan.<ref>Bradley (2005), chapter 4</ref>

The following table shows the history of the D'Oyly Carte productions (excluding tours) in Gilbert's lifetime:

{|class="wikitable"
! Theatre !! Opening date !! Closing date !! Perfs. !! Details
|-
|rowspan=2|[[Opera Comique]]||25 May 1878||nowrap|24 December 1878||rowspan=2 align=center|571||rowspan=2|Original run in London. (The theatre was closed between 25 December 1878 and 31 January 1879.)<ref name=Rollins6/>
|-
|31 January 1879||20 February 1880
|-
|[[Fifth Avenue Theatre]], New York||1 December 1879||27 December 1879||align=center|28||Official American premiere in New York, prior to the opening of ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]''.<ref name=Ainger182/>
|-
|nowrap|Opera Comique||nowrap|16 December 1879||20 March 1880||align=center|78||rowspan=2|Company of juvenile performers, matinees only. (This company went on a provincial tour from 2 August to 11 December 1880.)<ref name=Rollins7>Rollins and Witts, p. 7</ref>
|-
|Opera Comique||22 December 1880||28 January 1881||align=center|28
|-
|[[Savoy Theatre]]||12 November 1887||10 March 1888||align=center|120||First London revival.<ref name=Rollins11>Rollins and Witts, p. 11</ref>
|-
|Savoy Theatre||6 June 1899||25 November 1899||align=center|174||Second London revival. Played with ''[[Trial by Jury]]'' as a forepiece.<ref name=Rollins18>Rollins and Witts, p.18</ref>
|-
|nowrap|Savoy Theatre||14 July 1908||27 March 1909||align=center|61||Second Savoy repertory season; played with five other operas. (Closing date shown is of the entire season.)<ref name=Rollins22>Rollins and Witts, p. 22</ref>
|}

==Reception==

===Initial critical reception===
The early reviews were mostly favourable.<ref name=Allenfn/><ref name=Stedman161/> ''[[The Era (newspaper)|The Era]]'' wrote:
{{blockquote|Seldom indeed have we been in the company of a more joyous audience.&nbsp;... [Gilbert and Sullivan] have on previous occasions been productive of such legitimate amusement, such novel forms of drollery, such original wit, and unexpected whimsicality, that nothing was more natural than for the audience to anticipate an evening of thorough enjoyment. The expectation was fulfilled completely. Those who believed in the power of Mr Gilbert to tickle the fancy with quaint suggestions and unexpected forms of humour were more than satisfied, and those who appreciate Mr Arthur Sullivan's inexhaustible gift of melody were equally gratified; while that large class of playgoers who are pleased with brilliant dresses and charming stage effects declared themselves delighted. The result, therefore, was "a hit, a palpable hit"&nbsp;... there were some slight drawbacks [such] as the severe cold that affected Mr. Rutland Barrington [the captain], and almost prevented his singing.}}

''The Era'' also lavishly praised Emma Howson as Josephine.<ref>"Opera Comique", ''The Era'', 2 June 1878, Country Edition, 40(2071): p. 5, cols. 1–2</ref> ''The Entr'acte and Limelight'' commented that the opera was reminiscent of ''Trial by Jury'' and ''Sorcerer'' but found it diverting and called the music "very charming. To hear so-called grand opera imitated through the medium of the most trifling lyrics, is funny".<ref name=Limelight>"London Theatres. Opera Comique", ''The Entr'acte and Limelight: Theatrical and Musical Critic and Advertiser'', 1 June 1878, 466: p. 12</ref><ref name=Trovatore>''Pinafore'' parodies the baby-switching plot device in ''[[Il trovatore]]''. See, e.g., Gurewitsch, Matthew. [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/24/arts/music-there-will-always-be-a-trovatore.html?pagewanted=all "There Will Always Be a ''Trovatore''"], ''The New York Times'', 24 December 2000, accessed 22 April 2009</ref> The paper praised Grossmith as Sir Joseph, noting with amusement that he was made up to look like portraits of [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson]], "and his good introductory song seems levelled at" [[William Henry Smith (1825–1891)|W. H. Smith]]. It opined, further, that "He Is an Englishman" is "an excellent satire on the proposition that a man must necessarily be virtuous to be English". It found the piece, as a whole, well presented and predicted that it would have a long run.<ref name=Limelight/>

[[File:Punch - Sullivan's knighthood.png|right|thumb|''Punch'' cartoon mocking Sullivan for his focus on comic opera]]
Similarly, ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'' concluded that the production was a success and that the plot, though slight, served as a good vehicle for Gilbert's "caustic humour and quaint satire". It found that there was "much to call forth hearty laughter in the occasional satirical hits.&nbsp;... Dr. Sullivan's music is as lively as the text to which it is set, with here and there a touch of sentimental expression&nbsp;... The piece is well performed throughout."<ref>"Opera Comique", ''The Illustrated London News'', 1 June 1878, 72(2031): 515</ref> The ''[[Daily News (UK)|Daily News]]'', ''[[The Globe (London newspaper)|The Globe]]'', ''[[The Times]]'' (which particularly praised Grossmith, Barrington and Everard) and ''[[Evening Standard|The Standard]]'' concurred, the last commenting favourably on the chorus acting, which, it said, "adds to the reality of the illusion".<ref name=Allenfn/> ''The Times'' also noted that the piece was an early attempt at the establishment of a "national musical stage" with a libretto free from risqué French "improprieties" and without the "aid" of Italian and German musical models.<ref name=Timesrev>''The Times'', 27 May 1878, p. 6</ref>

''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and the ''[[Athenaeum (British magazine)|Athenaeum]]'', however, greeted the opera with only mixed praise.<ref name=Stedman161/><ref name=Walbrook>Walbrook, chapter V</ref> ''[[The Musical Times]]'' complained that the ongoing collaboration between Gilbert and Sullivan was "detrimental to the art-progress of either" because, although it was popular with audiences, "something higher is demanded for what is understood as 'comic opera'". The paper commented that Sullivan had "the true elements of an artist, which would be successfully developed were a carefully framed libretto presented to him for composition". It concluded, however, by saying how much it enjoyed the opera: "Having thus conscientiously discharged our duties as art-critics, let us at once proceed to say that ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' is an amusing piece of extravagance, and that the music floats it on merrily to the end".<ref>"Opera-Comique", ''The Musical Times'', 1 June 1878, 19(424): 329</ref> ''The Times'' and several of the other papers agreed that, while the piece was entertaining, Sullivan was capable of higher art. Only ''[[London Figaro|The Figaro]]'' was actively hostile to the new piece.<ref name=Allenfn/> Upon the publication of the vocal score, a review by ''[[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy]]'' joined the chorus of regret that Sullivan had sunk so low as to compose music for ''Pinafore'' and hoped that he would turn to projects "more worthy of his great ability".<ref>''The Academy'', 13 July 1878, new series 14(323): p. 49, col. 3</ref> This criticism would follow Sullivan throughout his career.<ref>Baily, p. 250</ref>

The many unauthorised American productions of 1878–79 were of widely varying quality, and many of them were adaptations of the opera. One of the more "authentic" ones was the production by the [[Boston Ideal Opera Company]], which was first formed to produce ''Pinafore''.{{refn|The company first performed ''Pinafore'' in November 1878 on a boat in a lake in Boston's Oakland Park.<ref>Emerson, Brad. [https://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/the-pinafore-sails-down-east "The Pinafore Sails Down East"], ''[[New York Social Diary]]'', January 25, 2011</ref>|group= n}} It engaged well-regarded concert singers and opened on 14 April 1879 at the 3,000-seat [[The Boston Theatre|Boston Theatre]]. The critics agreed that the company fulfilled its goals of presenting an "ideal" production. The ''Boston Journal'' reported that the audience was "wrought up by the entertainment to a point of absolute approval". The paper observed that it is a mistake to consider ''Pinafore'' a burlesque, "for while irresistibly comical it is not ''bouffe'' and requires to be handled with great care lest its delicate proportions be marred and its subtle quality of humor be lost".<ref name=Boston/> The ''Journal'' described the opera as "classical" in method and wrote that its "most exquisite satire" lay in its "imitation of the absurdities" of grand opera. The company went on to become one of the most successful touring companies in America.<ref name=Boston/> The first children's version in Boston became a sensation with both children and adult audiences, extending its run through the summer of 1879. The ''[[Boston Herald]]'' wrote that "the large audience of children and their elders went fairly wild with delight&nbsp;... shrieks of laughter were repeatedly heard".<ref name=Boston/>

===Subsequent reception===
When ''Pinafore'' was first revived in London in 1887, it was already treated as a classic. ''The Illustrated London News'' observed that the opera had not been updated with new dialogue, jokes and songs, but concluded that this was for the best, as the public would have missed the "time-honoured jokes, such as 'Hardly Ever.' The Savoy has once more got a brilliant success."<ref>"The Playhouses", ''The Illustrated London News'', 19 November 1887, 91(2535): 580, col. 1</ref> ''The Theatre'' concurred, stating that since the opera "has been heard in almost every part of this habitable globe and been enjoyed everywhere, there is not much occasion to descant". It called the revival a "most brilliant" success and predicted another long run.<ref>"Our Omnibus-Box", ''The Theatre'', New Series, 1 December 1887, 10: 337</ref>

[[File:BarringtonCaptain.jpg|left|thumb|[[Rutland Barrington]] as Captain Corcoran in the first London revival, 1887]]
Reviewing the 1899 revival, ''[[Athenaeum (British magazine)|The Athenaeum]]'' managed to praise the piece while joining in the musical establishment's critique of Sullivan. On the one hand, "The ''Pinafore''&nbsp;... sounds fresher than ever. The musical world has become serious – very serious – and it is indeed refreshing to hear a merry, humorous piece, and music, unassuming in character&nbsp;... it is delicately scored, and in many ways displays ability of a high order". On the other hand, it wrote that if Sullivan had pursued the path of composing more serious music, like his [[Symphony in E, Irish|symphony]], "he would have produced still higher results; in like manner ''Pinafore'' set us wondering what the composer would have accomplished with a libretto of somewhat similar kind, but one giving him larger scope for the exercise of his gifts".<ref>''The Athenæum'', 10 June 1899, 3737: 730–731</ref>

In 1911, [[H. L. Mencken]] wrote: "No other comic opera ever written – no other stage play, indeed, of any sort – was ever so popular.&nbsp;... ''Pinafore''&nbsp;... has been given, and with great success, wherever there are theaters – from Moscow to [[Buenos Aires]], from [[Cape Town]] to [[Shanghai]]; in [[Madrid]], [[Ottawa]] and [[Melbourne]]; even in Paris, Rome, [[Vienna]] and [[Berlin]]."<ref>Mencken, H. L. [http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/html/pinafore_by_mencken.html "Pinafore at 33"], ''[[Baltimore Evening Sun]]'', 1911, reproduced at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> After the deaths of Gilbert and Sullivan, the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]] retained exclusive rights to perform their operas in Great Britain until 1962, touring throughout Britain for most of the year and, beginning in 1919, often performing in London for a season of about four months. ''The Times'' gave the company's 1920 London production an enthusiastic review, saying that the audience was "enraptured", and regretting that ''Pinafore'' would be played for only two weeks. It praised the cast, singling out [[Leo Sheffield]] as the Captain, [[Henry Lytton]] as Sir Joseph, [[Elsie Griffin]] as Josephine, James Hay as Ralph, [[Bertha Lewis]] as Little Buttercup and the "splendid" choral tone. It concluded that the opera made a "rollicking climax to the season".<ref>"''H.M.S. Pinafore''. Revival at [[Princes Theatre]]", ''The Times'', 21 January 1920, p. 10</ref> Two years later, it gave an even more glowing report of that season's performances, calling [[Derek Oldham]] an "ideal hero" as Ralph, noting that [[Sydney Granville]] "fairly brought down the house" with his song, that [[Darrell Fancourt]]'s Deadeye was "an admirably sustained piece of caricature" and that it was a "great pleasure" to hear the returning principals.<ref>"''H.M.S. Pinafore''. Sullivan Opera Season Nearing The End", ''The Times'', 3 January 1922, p. 8</ref> A 1961 review of the company's ''Pinafore'' is much the same.<ref>"Novelty and Tradition in Savoy Operettas", ''The Times'', 12 December 1961, p. 5</ref>

In 1879, [[J. C. Williamson]] acquired the exclusive performing rights to ''Pinafore'' in Australia and New Zealand. His first production earned public and critical acclaim. Williamson played Sir Joseph, and his wife, [[Maggie Moore]] played Josephine. Praising the production, Williamson, Moore and the other performers, the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' noted that the production, though "abounding in fun", was dignified and precise, especially compared with a previous "boisterous" unauthorized production, and that many numbers were encored and the laughter and applause from the "immense audience&nbsp;... was liberally bestowed".<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13440830 "Amusements: Theatre Royal"], ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 17 November 1879, p. 5</ref> Williamson's company continued to produce ''Pinafore'' in Australia, New Zealand and on tour into the 1960s with much success. Williamson said, "If you need money, then put on G&S".<ref>Bradley (2005), p. 73</ref> Meanwhile, ''Pinafore'' continued to garner praise outside Britain. The 1950s Danish version in Copenhagen, for example, was revived repeatedly, playing for well over 100&nbsp;performances to "packed houses".<ref>"H.M.S. Pinafore Again Delights the Danes", ''The Times'', 16 October 1959, p. 16</ref> Translations into German, Yiddish and many other languages, and professional productions in places as remote as [[Samarkand]] in Uzbekistan have been successful.<ref name=Brad4>Bradley (2005), Chapter 4, describing numerous productions beginning with 1962.</ref>

In the U.S., where Gilbert and Sullivan's performance copyright was never in force,<ref>"A New Approach to ''H.M.S. Pinafore''", ''The Times'', 9 March 1960, p. 13</ref> ''Pinafore'' continued to be produced continuously by both professional and amateur companies. ''The New York Times'', in a 1914 review, called a large-scale production at the 6,000-seat [[New York Hippodrome]] a "royal entertainment [that] comes up smiling". The opera had been turned into a "mammoth spectacle" with a chorus of hundreds and the famous Hippodrome tank providing a realistic harbour. Buttercup made her entrance by rowing over to the three-masted ''Pinafore'', and Dick Deadeye was later thrown overboard with a real splash. The critic praised the hearty singing but noted that some subtlety is lost when the dialogue needs to be "shouted". The production took some liberties, including interpolated music from other Sullivan works. The paper concluded, "the mild satire of ''Pinafore'' is entertaining because it is universal".<ref>"''H.M.S. Pinafore'' a la Hippodrome; They Sail the Ocean Tank and Their Saucy Ship's a Beauty", ''The New York Times'', 10 April 1914, p. 13</ref> The same newspaper deemed [[Winthrop Ames]]' popular Broadway productions of ''Pinafore'' in the 1920s and 1930s "spectacular".<ref>[[Brooks Atkinson|Atkinson, J. Brooks]], "G. & S., Incorporated", ''The New York Times'', 25 April 1926, p. X1</ref> Modern productions in America continue to be generally well received. ''The New York Times'' review of the [[New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players]]' 2008 season at [[New York City Center]] commented, "Gilbert's themes of class inequality, overbearing nationalism and incompetent authorities remain relevant, however absurdly treated. But the lasting appeal of ''Pinafore'' and its ilk is more a matter of his unmatched linguistic genius and Sullivan's generous supply of addictive melodies."<ref>Smith, Steve. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/09/arts/music/09pina.html?scp=1&sq=H.M.S.+Pinafore&st=nyt "All Hands on Deck for Absurd Relevance"], ''The New York Times'', 9 June 2008</ref>

With the expiry of the copyrights, companies around the world have been free to produce Gilbert and Sullivan works and to adapt them as they please for almost 50 years. Productions of ''Pinafore'', both amateur and professional, range from the traditional, in the D'Oyly Carte vein, to the broadly adapted, such as that of the very successful [[Essgee Entertainment]] (formed by [[Simon Gallaher]]) in Australia and [[Opera della Luna]] in Britain.<ref name=Brad4/> Since its original production, ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' has remained one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most popular comic operas.<ref name=Bradley117>Bradley (1996), p. 117</ref><ref>Sobelsohn, David. [http://culturevulture.net/music/h-m-s-pinafore-w-s-gilbertarthur-sullivan "''H.M.S. Pinafore'' – W.S. Gilbert/Arthur Sullivan"], CultureVulture.net, 11 June 2005, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> Productions continue in large numbers around the world.<ref name=OdL/><ref name=Brad4/> In 2003 alone, The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company rented 224 sets of orchestra parts, mostly for productions of ''Pinafore'', ''Pirates'' and ''Mikado''. This does not take into account other rental companies and the theatre companies that borrow scores or have their own, or that use only one or two pianos instead of an orchestra. Hundreds of productions of ''Pinafore'' are presented every year worldwide.<ref name=Brad4/>

==Analysis==
Theatre historian [[John Bush Jones]] wrote that ''Pinafore'' has "everything a musical theatregoer could ask for. An engaging and even relatively suspenseful story is populated with varied and well-drawn characters who speak and sing witty, literate, and often outrageously funny dialogue and lyrics [and] has a score that&nbsp;... has plenty of tunes for the audience to go away humming".<ref name=Jones8>Jones, p. 8</ref> George Power, the tenor who created the role of Ralph Rackstraw, opined in later life that the secret of the success of the Savoy operas is the way in which "Sullivan entered into the spirit of Gilbert's topsy-turvy humour, and was pompous when Gilbert was sprightly, or, when Gilbert's satire was keenest and most acid, consciously wallowed in sentiment."<ref>"The Original Rackstraw", ''The Era'', 18 July 1908, p. 15</ref> Another commentator has suggested that the opera's enduring success lies in its focus on "mirth and silliness".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150723174200/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/635159512/Pinafore-focuses-on-mirth-and-silliness.html?pg=all "''Pinafore'' focuses on mirth and silliness"], ''Deseret News'', 10 November 2005, accessed 9 March 2017</ref> Even the title of the piece is silly, applying the name of a little girl's garment, a [[pinafore]], to the fearsome symbol of a naval warship, which usually bore names like ''[[HMS Victory|Victory]]'', ''[[HMS Goliath|Goliath]]'', ''[[HMS Audacious|Audacious]]'' and ''[[HMS Minotaur|Minotaur]]''.<ref>Benford, Harry. ''The Gilbert & Sullivan Lexicon'', Third Edition, p. 39, Houston: Queensbury Press (1999) {{ISBN|0-9667916-1-4}}</ref>

===Satiric and comic themes===
Gilbert's biographer Jane Stedman wrote that ''Pinafore'' is "satirically far more complex" than ''The Sorcerer''. She commented that Gilbert uses several ideas and themes from his Bab Ballads, including the idea of gentlemanly behaviour of a captain towards his crew from "Captain Reece" (1868) and the exchange of ranks due to exchange at birth from "General John" (1867). Dick Deadeye, based on a character in "Woman's Gratitude" (1869), represents another of Gilbert's favorite (and semi-autobiographical) satiric themes: the misshapen misanthrope whose forbidding "face and form" makes him unpopular although he represents the voice of reason and common sense.<ref name=Stedman161/><ref>Crowther, Andrew. "Hunchbacks, Misanthropes and Outsiders: Gilbert's Self-Image", ''Gilbert and Sullivan Boys and Girls'' (GASBAG) no. 206 (Winter 1998)</ref> Gilbert also borrows from his 1870 opera, ''[[The Gentleman in Black]]'' which includes the device of baby-switching.<ref>Ainger, p. 83</ref>

[[File:PinaforeCups1.jpg|left|thumb|Souvenir programme cover from 1878 during the run of the original production]]
Historian H. M. Walbrook wrote in 1921 that ''Pinafore'' "satirizes the type of nautical drama of which [[Douglas Jerrold]]'s ''[[Black-Eyed Susan]]'' is a typical instance, and the 'God's Englishman' sort of patriotism which consists in shouting a platitude, striking an attitude, and doing little or nothing to help one's country".<ref name=Walbrook/> [[G. K. Chesterton]] agreed that the satire is pointed at the selfishness of "being proud of yourself for being a citizen" of one's country, which requires no virtuous effort of will to resist the "temptations to belong to other nations" but is merely an excuse for pride.<ref>[[G. K. Chesterton|Chesterton, G. K.]], introduction to Godwin, Augustine Henry. ''Gilbert & Sullivan: A Critical Appreciation of the Savoy Operas'', E. P. Dutton & Co (1926)</ref> In 2005, Australian opera director [[Stuart Maunder]] noted the juxtaposition of satire and nationalism in the opera, saying, "they all sing 'He is an Englishman', and you know damn well they're sending it up, but the music is so military&nbsp;... that you can't help but be swept up in that whole [[jingoism]] that is the British Empire."<ref name=MusicShow>[http://www.abc.net.au/rn/musicshow/stories/2005/1378819.htm Interview of Stuart Maunder],  ''The Music Show'', ABC [[Radio National]], Australia, 14 May 2005, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> In addition, he argued that the song ties this theme into the main satire of class distinctions in the opera: "''H.M.S. Pinafore'' is basically a satire on&nbsp;... the British love of the class system.&nbsp;... [O]f course [Ralph] can marry [the Captain's] daughter, because he's British, and therefore he's great'".<ref name=MusicShow /> Jacobs notes that Gilbert is lampooning the tradition of nautical melodrama in which the sailor's "patriotism guarantees his virtue".<ref name=Jacobs118/>{{refn|Crowther makes a point similar to Maunder's: "[T]hough Gilbert intended [the song] as a devastating parody of patriotic songs, the fervour of Sullivan's music often leads people to believe it a sincerely-meant patriotic song; and as the words and music pull the song in opposite directions the listener is left in a curiously ambiguous position, moved and amused simultaneously."<ref>Crowther, Andrew. "The Land Where Contradictions Meet", ''W. S. Gilbert Society Journal'', vol. 2, no. 11, p. 330, Autumn 2000</ref>|group= n}}

One of Gilbert's favourite comic themes is the elevation of an unqualified person to a position of high responsibility. In ''[[The Happy Land]]'' (1873), for example, Gilbert describes a world in which government offices are awarded to the person who has the least qualification to hold each position. In particular, the one who has never heard of a ship is appointed to the cabinet post of First Lord of the Admiralty.{{refn|Stedman, pp. 106–110; "My dear, it's one of the beautiful principles of our system of government never to appoint anybody to any post to which he is at all fitted.  Our government offices are as so many elementary schools for the instruction of ministers.  To take a minister who knows his duties, and to send him to an elementary school to learn them, is an obvious waste of educational power. Nature has pointed you out as eminently qualified for First Lord of the Admiralty, because you don't know anything about ships. You take office – you learn all about ships – and when you know all about ships, the opposition comes in, out you go, and somebody else who doesn't know anything about ships comes in and takes your place.  That's how we educate our ministers."|group= n}}<ref>Lawrence, pp. 166–167</ref> In ''Pinafore'', Gilbert revisits this theme in the character of Sir Joseph, who rises to the same position by "never go[ing] to sea".<ref name=Walbrook/><ref>Fischler, Alan. ''Modified Rapture: comedy in W. S. Gilbert's Savoy operas'', pp. 91–92, Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1991</ref> In later Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the characters Major-General Stanley in ''Pirates'', and Ko-Ko in ''[[The Mikado]]'', are similarly appointed to high office though lacking the necessary qualifications. Gilbert also pokes fun at party politics, implying that when Sir Joseph "always voted at [his] party's call", he sacrificed his personal integrity.<ref>Lawrence, p. 181</ref> The "commercial middle class" (which was Gilbert's main audience) is treated as satirically as are social climbers and the great unwashed.<ref name=T1929>"Savoy Theatre: The Sullivan Opera Season, ''H.M.S. Pinafore''", ''The Times'', 10 December 1929, p. 14</ref> In addition, the apparent age difference between Ralph and the Captain, even though they were babies nursed together, satirises the variable age of Thaddeus in ''[[The Bohemian Girl]]''.<ref name=Stedman160/> ''The Times'' wrote, in reviewing the 1929 production, that ''Pinafore'' was quintessentially Gilbertian in that the absurdities of a "paternal" Captain and the "ethics&nbsp;... of all romanticism" are accepted "unflinchingly" and taken to their logical conclusion: "It is the reference to actuality that is essential; without it, the absurdity will not stand starkly out".<ref name=T1929/>

[[File:Circa-1879-DOyly-Carte-HMS-Pinafore-from-Library-of-Congress2.jpg|thumb|right|Theatre poster for an American production, c.&nbsp;1879]]
A theme that pervades the opera is the treatment of love across different social ranks. In the previous Gilbert and Sullivan opera, ''The Sorcerer'', a love potion causes trouble by inducing the villagers and wedding guests to fall in love with people of different [[social class]]es.<ref>Lawrence, pp. 180–181</ref> In ''Pinafore'', the captain's daughter, Josephine, loves and is loved by a common sailor, but she dutifully tells him, "your proffered love I haughtily reject". He expresses his devotion to her in a poetic and moving speech that ends with "I am a British sailor, and I love you". It finally turns out that he is of a higher rank than she. This is a parody of the Victorian "equality" drama, such as [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton|Lord Lytton]]'s ''[[The Lady of Lyons]]'' (1838), where the heroine rejects a virtuous peasant who makes a similarly moving speech, ending with "I am a peasant!"<ref name=Stedman162>Stedman, p. 162</ref> It then turns out that he has become her social superior. Furthermore, in ''Pinafore'', Sir Joseph assures Josephine that "love levels all ranks". In [[Tom Taylor]]'s ''The Serf'', the heroine again loves a worthy peasant who turns out to be of high rank, and she declares happily at the end that "love levels all".<ref name=Stedman162/> In a satire of the libertarian traditions of nautical [[melodrama]], Sir Joseph tells the crew of the Pinafore that they are "any man's equal" (excepting his), and he writes a song for them that glorifies the British sailor. Conversely, he brings the proud captain down a notch by making him "dance a hornpipe on the cabin table".<ref name=Stedman162/> Jones notes that the union between Ralph and Josephine "becomes acceptable only through the absurd second-act revelation of Buttercup's inadvertent switching of the infants" and concludes that Gilbert is a "conservative satirist [who] ultimately advocated preserving the status quo&nbsp;... [and] set out to show [that] love definitely ''does not'' level all ranks".<ref name=Jones8/>

There is a divide among Gilbert and Sullivan scholars as to whether Gilbert is, as Jones argues, a supporter of the status quo whose focus is merely to entertain or, on the other hand, predominantly to satirise and protest "against the follies of his age".<ref name=Land>Crowther, Andrew. "The Land Where Contradictions Meet", ''W. S. Gilbert Society Journal'', vol. 2, no. 11, pp. 325–331, Autumn 2000 (discussing the views of various scholars)</ref> The Gilbert scholar Andrew Crowther posits that this disagreement arises from Gilbert's "techniques of inversion – with irony and topsyturvydom", which lead to "the surface meaning of his writings" being "the opposite of their underlying meaning". Crowther argues that Gilbert desires to "celebrate" society's norms while, at the same time, satirising these conventions. In ''Pinafore'', which established many patterns for the later Savoy operas, Gilbert found a way to express his own conflict that "also had tremendous appeal to the general public".<ref name=Land/> He creates "a highly intelligent parody of nautical melodrama&nbsp;... [though] controlled by the conventions it mocks".<ref name=Land/> While nautical melodrama exalts the common sailor, in ''Pinafore'' Gilbert makes the proponent of equality, Sir Joseph, a pompous and misguided member of the ruling class who, hypocritically, cannot apply the idea of equality to himself.{{refn|Crowther notes that Alexis in ''The Sorcerer'' is also such a "misguided superior". See also Stedman, p. 162.|group= n}} The hero, Ralph, is convinced of his equality by Sir Joseph's foolish pronouncements and declares his love for his Captain's daughter, throwing over the accepted "fabric of social order". At this point, Crowther suggests, the logic of Gilbert's satiric argument should result in Ralph's arrest. But to satisfy convention, Gilbert creates an obvious absurdity: the captain and Ralph were switched as babies. By an "accident of birth", Ralph is suddenly an appropriate husband for Josephine, and both the social order and the desire for a romantic happy ending are satisfied at once.<ref>See also Jones, p. 8</ref> Crowther concludes, "We have an opera which uses all the conventions of melodrama and ridicules them; but in the end it is difficult to see which has won out, the conventions or the ridicule." Thus, ''Pinafore'' found broadbased success by appealing to the intellectual theatregoer seeking satire, the middle-class theatre-goer looking for a comfortable confirmation of the "existing social order" and the working-class audience who saw a satisfying melodramatic victory for the common man.<ref name=Land/>

===Songs and musical analysis===
According to musicologist Arthur Jacobs, Gilbert's plot "admirably sparked off Sullivan's genius".<ref name=Jacobs118>Jacobs, p. 118</ref> Sullivan embraces the nautical setting; in "We Sail the Ocean Blue", for example, he "presents his twist on a traditional sea shanty".<ref name=BBCGuide/> In the Captain's opening song, "I am the Captain of the Pinafore", he admits that his gentlemanliness "never&nbsp;... well, hardly ever" gives way to swearing at his men, and although he has experience at sea, he "hardly ever" suffers from seasickness.<ref name=BBCGuide>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A620993 "'HMS Pinafore' – the Comic Opera"], Edited Guide Entry from ''The Lives and Works of Gilbert and Sullivan'', BBC h2g2, 24 August 2001, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> Sullivan "unerringly found the right musical setting for the key phrase 'What never?'&nbsp;... cunningly sharpened&nbsp;... through the chromatic touch on the bassoon."<ref name=Jacobs119>Jacobs, p. 119</ref> Audrey Williamson argued that the music of ''Pinafore'' is quintessentially English and free of European influences throughout most of the score, from the "glee" for Ralph, the Boatswain and the Carpenter, to "For He Is an Englishman".<ref>Williamson, p. 63</ref>

[[File:Gilbert - A British Tar.jpg|thumb|left|Gilbert's Illustration of "A British [[Jack Tar|tar]]" (1906)]]
The best-known songs from the opera<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/miscompd.htm "G&S Compilations from the D'Oyly Carte Sets"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 24 December 2003, accessed 10 June 2016</ref><ref>Shepherd Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/miscompo.htm "G&S Compilations: ''Miscellaneous''"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 7 November 2001, accessed 10 June 2016</ref> include "I'm called Little Buttercup", a [[waltz]] tune introducing the character, which Sullivan repeats in the entr'acte and in the Act II finale to imprint the melody on the mind of the audience;<ref>Jacobs, p. 119. Gilbert had introduced this character in his 1870 Bab Ballad "The Bumboat Woman's Story".</ref> and "A British tar" (a [[glee (music)|glee]] for three men describing the ideal sailor), composed by Sir Joseph "to encourage independent thought and action in the lower branches of the service, and to teach the principle that a British sailor is any man's equal, excepting mine".<ref name=Jacobs118/> Sullivan's voicing advances the satiric lyric, which mocks the "equality" plays while underlining the hypocrisy of Sir Joseph.<ref name=Land/> Another popular number is Sir Joseph's song "When I was a Lad", recounting the meteoric rise of his career, which bears similarities to that of [[William Henry Smith (1825–1891)|W. H. Smith]], the civilian news entrepreneur who had risen to the position of First Lord of the Admiralty in 1877.<ref name=Walbrook/>

In ''Pinafore'', Sullivan exploits minor keys for comic effect, for instance in "Kind Captain, I've important information".<ref>Hughes, p. 53</ref> Further, he achieves a musical surprise when he uses the subdominant minor in "Sorry her lot".<ref>Hughes, p. 55</ref> The musicologist Gervase Hughes was impressed with the introduction to the opening chorus which includes "a rousing nautical tune&nbsp;... in a key of no nonsense, C major&nbsp;... a modulation to the mediant minor, where to our surprise a plaintive oboe gives us the first verse of "Sorry her lot" in 2/4 [time]. After this closes on the local dominant B major the violins (still in 2/4) introduce us to Little Buttercup&nbsp;... meeting her under these conditions one would hardly expect her to blossom out later as a queen of the waltz." He continues, "the bassoon and basses&nbsp;... assert vigorously who is the Captain of the Pinafore&nbsp;... in the improbable key of A flat minor.&nbsp;... Buttercup makes a last despairing attempt to make herself heard in D flat minor, but the others have never known that such an outlandish key existed. So in a flash they all go back to C major on a [[Cadential six four|good old 6/4]]".<ref>Hughes, p. 133</ref>

According to Jacobs, "Ralph, Captain Corcoran, Sir Joseph and Josephine all live in their interactive music (particularly 'Never mind the why and wherefore'), and almost as much musical resource is lavished on two characters parodied from opera or melodrama, Little Buttercup with 'gypsy blood in her veins' and the heavy-treading Dick Deadeye."<ref>Jacobs, ''quoted'' in Holden, p. 1060</ref> Jacobs also opined that the [[Leading-tone|leading tone]] that begins "Never mind the why and wherefore" "serves to emphasize the phrase like a [[Johann Strauss II|Johann Strauss-ian]] grace-note".<ref name=Jacobs118/> The Sullivan scholar [[David Russell Hulme]] noted Sullivan's parody of operatic styles, "particularly the [[Handel]]ian recitatives and the elopement scene (evocative of so many nocturnal operatic conspiracies), but best of all is the travesty of the patriotic tune in 'For he is an Englishman!'"<ref>Hulme, ''quoted'' in Sadie, vol. 2, p. 727</ref> Buttercup's Act II song, in which she reveals the dark secret of the baby-switching is preceded by a quote from [[Franz Schubert]]'s "[[Erlkönig (Schubert)|Erlkönig]]" and also parodies the opera ''[[Il trovatore]]''.<ref name=Trovatore /> Jacobs notes that Sullivan also adds his own humorous touches to the music by setting commonplace expressions in "[[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizettian]] recitative". But on the serious side, he enhances the moments of true emotional climax, as in Josephine's Act II aria, and added musical interest to concerted numbers by "subtly shifting the rhythms and bar groupings."<ref name=Jacobs119/>

==Revisions and cut material==

===Ballad for Captain Corcoran, "Reflect, my child"===
During rehearsals for the original production, Gilbert added a ballad for Captain Corcoran in which he urged his daughter to forget the common sailor with whom she is in love, because "at every step, he would commit solecisms that society would never pardon." The ballad was meant to be sung between No. 5 and No. 6 of the current score, but it was cut before opening night. The words survive in the libretto that was deposited with the [[Lord Chamberlain]] for licensing. Before 1999, all that was known to survive of Sullivan's setting was a copy of the leader violin part.<ref name=Perry>Perry, Helga J. [http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/html/lost.html "Lost Pinafore Song Found"], "Reflect my Child" reconstruction, The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 15 April 1999, accessed 21 April 2009</ref>

In April 1999, Sullivan scholars Bruce I. Miller and Helga J. Perry announced that they had discovered a nearly complete orchestration – lacking only the second violin part – in a private collection of early band parts. These materials, with a conjectural reconstruction of the partially lost vocal lines and second violin part, were later published and professionally recorded.<ref name=Perry/><ref>Miller, Bruce. [http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/html/miller.html "Comments on the Lost Song Discovery"], at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 17 April 1999, accessed 21 April 2009</ref> This piece has now been performed a number of times by amateur and professional companies, although it has not become a standard addition to the traditional scores or recordings.<ref name=DeOrsey>DeOrsey, Stan. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/lost-songs.htm#Pinafore "Gilbert & Sullivan: Of Ballads, Songs and Snatches, Lost or Seldom Recorded – ''H.M.S. Pinafore''"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 2003, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>

===Dialogue for Cousin Hebe===
[[File:Jessiehebe.jpg|right|frame|[[Jessie Bond|Bond]] as Hebe with [[George Grossmith|Grossmith]] as Sir Joseph, 1887 revival]]
In the licensing copy of the libretto, Sir Joseph's cousin Hebe had lines of dialogue in several scenes in Act II. In the scene that follows No. 14 ("Things are seldom what they seem"), she accompanied Sir Joseph onstage and echoed the First Lord's dissatisfaction with Josephine. After several interruptions, Sir Joseph urged her to be quiet, eliciting the response "Crushed again!" Gilbert would later re-use this passage for Lady Jane in ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]''. Hebe was also assigned several lines of dialogue after No. 18 ("Carefully on tiptoe stealing") and again after No. 19 ("Farewell, my own").<ref>Shepherd and Walters, pp. 751–752 and 754; and [http://www.gsarchive.net/pinafore/html/hebe.htm Hebe's cut dialogue after Nos. 14 and 19], The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 21 April 2009</ref><ref name=critical>Young, Percy M. (ed.) "''H.M.S. Pinafore''", critical edition, 2003, 2 vols., Broude Brothers Limited {{ISBN|0-8450-3003-5}}</ref>

Late in rehearsals for the original production, Jessie Bond assumed the role of Hebe, replacing [[Mrs Howard Paul]]. Bond, who at this point in her career was known primarily as a concert singer and had little experience as an actress, did not feel capable of performing dialogue, and these passages were revised to cut Hebe's dialogue.<ref>Shepherd and Walters, pp. 596–599</ref> Hebe's cut dialogue is occasionally restored in modern performances.<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/html/marc_hebe.htm Hebe's Dialogue Introduction] at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 21 April 2009</ref><ref>Gilbert, Andrew. [http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_28511488/lamplighters-keeping-spotlight-gilbert-and-sullivan "Lamplighters: Keeping a Spotlight on Gilbert and Sullivan"], ''[[San Jose Mercury News|The Mercury News]]'', 20 July 2015, accessed 16 July 2016</ref>

===Recitative preceding the Act II finale===
The dialogue preceding the Act II finale, starting with "Here, take her sir, and mind you treat her kindly", was originally recitative. The music for this passage was printed in the first edition of the vocal score as No. 20a. Shortly after opening night, the recitative was dropped, and the lines thereafter were performed as spoken dialogue. In modern productions, the recitative is occasionally restored in place of the dialogue.<ref name=DeOrsey/><ref name=critical/>

==Recordings==
There have been numerous recordings of ''Pinafore'' since 1907.<ref name=Discography>Shepherd, Marc. [https://oakapplepress.net/gasdisc/pin.htm "Recordings of H.M.S. Pinafore"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 5 April 2003, accessed 10 June 2016</ref><ref>The first [[phonoscènes]] in the UK were presented at [[Buckingham Palace]] in 1907 and included the captain's song and chorus. See Schmitt, Thomas. ''The Genealogy of Clip Culture'', in Henry Keazor and Thorsten Wübbena (eds.) ''Rewind, Play, Fast Forward: The Past, Present and Future of the Music Video'', transcript Verlag (2010), pp. 45 et seq., {{ISBN|978-3-8376-1185-4}}</ref> [[Ian Bradley]] counted seventeen recordings of the opera available on CD in 2005.<ref>Bradley (2005), p. 16</ref>

{{Listen|type=music
|filename=Pinafore airs 1.ogg
|title="Pinafore airs", pt. 1
|description=Part 1 of a 4-part recording of ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' created by [[Edison Records]] in 1911. Includes "We sail the ocean blue" "Hail, men-o'-war's men", "I'm called Little Buttercup" and "A maiden fair to see"
|filename2=Pinafore airs 2.ogg
|title2="Pinafore airs", pt. 2
|description2=Part 2 of the 4-part recording. Includes "My gallant crew, good morning", "I am the Captain of the Pinafore", "Sorry her lot" (second verse, beginning "Sad is the hour"), "Over the bright blue sea" and "I am the monarch of the sea"
}}
The 1930 recording is notable for preserving the performances of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company stars of the era. The 1960 D'Oyly Carte recording, which contains all the dialogue, has been repeatedly praised by reviewers.<ref name=Reviews>Buckley, Jonathan (ed). ''The Rough Guide to Classical Music'' (1994 edition, {{ISBN|1-85828-113-X}}), p. 367; Chislett, W. A.,''The Gramophone'', February 1960, p. 70; March, Ivan (ed). ''The Great Records'', Long Playing Record Library, 1967, pp. 100–101; March, Ivan (ed). ''Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music, 2008'', {{ISBN|0-14-103336-3}}, p. 1136</ref> The 1994 Mackerras recording, featuring grand opera singers in the principal roles, is musically well regarded.<ref name=Discography/><ref name=Penguin>March, Ivan (ed). ''Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music, 2008''</ref> The 2000 D'Oyly Carte recording also contains complete dialogue and the first recording of the "lost" ballad for Captain Corcoran, "Reflect, my child", as a bonus track.<ref name=NDOC>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pinndoc.htm "The New D'Oyly Carte Pinafore (2000)"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 12 November 2001, accessed 10 June 2016</ref> A 1957 Danish-language recording of the opera is one of the few foreign-language professional recordings of Gilbert and Sullivan.<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pindanish.htm "Den Gode Fregat Pinafore (1957)"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 24 December 2003, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>

In 1939, ''Pinafore'' was chosen by NBC as one of the earliest operas ever broadcast on American television, but no recording is known to have been saved.<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pin1939tv.htm "The 1939 NBC Pinafore Broadcast"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 31 December 1999, accessed 10 June 2016</ref> The 1973 D'Oyly Carte video recording, directed by [[Michael Heyland]], features the company's staging of the period, but some reviewers find it dull.<ref name=Discography/> It is, however, one of only three video or film recordings of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.<ref name=DOC1973>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pin1973v.htm "The 1973 D'Oyly Carte ''Pinafore'' Video"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 24 December 2003, accessed 10 June 2016</ref> In 1982, Brent Walker Productions produced ''Pinafore'' as part of its series of Gilbert and Sullivan television films. According to discographer Marc Shepherd, the ''Pinafore'' video "is widely considered one of the worst" in the series.<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pinwalk.htm Brent Walker ''Pinafore'' video], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 5 April 2003, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>{{refn|Brent Walker Productions filmed a series of television productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas in 1982 and 1983. This is the most complete professional set of Gilbert and Sullivan videos.<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/narrvideo-walker.htm "The Brent Walker Videos"], ''A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography'', accessed 10 June 2016.</ref>|group= n}} More recent professional productions have been recorded on video by the [[International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival]].<ref>[http://www.gsfestivals.org/product-category/dvds/national-gs-opera-co "National G&S Opera Co."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814170855/https://www.gsfestivals.org/product-category/dvds/national-gs-opera-co/ |date=14 August 2021 }}, International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, accessed 20 April 2019</ref>

;Selected recordings
* 1930 D'Oyly Carte – [[London Symphony Orchestra]]; Conductor: [[Malcolm Sargent]]<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pin1930.htm "The 1930 D'Oyly Carte ''Pinafore''"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 1 September 2008, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>
* 1958 Sargent/Glyndebourne – [[Pro Arte Orchestra]], Glyndebourne Festival Chorus; Conductor: Sir Malcolm Sargent<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pinsarg.htm "The Sargent/Glyndebourne ''Pinafore'' (1958)"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 1 September 2008, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>
* [[c:H.M.S. Pinafore playlist|1960 D'Oyly Carte]] (with dialogue) – [[New Symphony Orchestra (London)#Post-war NSO|New Symphony Orchestra of London]]; Conductor: Isidore Godfrey<ref name=Reviews/><ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pin1960.htm "The 1960 D'Oyly ''Pinafore''"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 24 December 2003, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>
* 1972 [[Gilbert and Sullivan for All|G&S for All]] – G&S Festival Chorus & Orchestra; Conductor: Peter Murray<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pingsfa.htm "The G&S For All ''Pinafore'' (1972)"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 6 April 2009, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>
* 1973 D'Oyly Carte (video) – Conductor: [[Royston Nash]]<ref name=DOC1973/>
* 1981 Stratford Festival (video) – Conductor: Berthold Carrière; Director: [[Leon Major]]<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pinstrat.htm "The Stratford Festival ''Pinafore'' (1981)"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 24 October 2001, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>
* 1987 New Sadler's Wells Opera – Conductor: Simon Phipps<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pinnswo.htm "The New Sadler's Wells ''Pinafore'' (1987)"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 2 December 2001, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>
* 1994 Mackerras/Telarc – Orchestra and Chorus of the Welsh National Opera; Conductor: Sir [[Charles Mackerras]]<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pinmack.htm "The Mackerras/Telarc ''Pinafore'' (1994)"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 1 September 2008, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>
* 1997 Essgee Entertainment (video; adapted) – Conductor: Kevin Hocking<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pinessgee.htm "The Essgee ''Pinafore'' (1997)"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 7 November 2001, accessed 10 June 2016</ref>
* 2000 D'Oyly Carte (with dialogue) – Conductor: [[John Owen Edwards]]<ref name=NDOC/>

==Adaptations==
[[File:W. S. Gilbert - Alice B. Woodward - The Pinafore Picture Book - Frontispiece.jpg|left|thumb|Frontispiece by [[Alice B. Woodward]] to ''The Pinafore Picture Book'', 1908]]
''H.M.S. Pinafore'' has been adapted many times. W. S. Gilbert wrote a 1909 children's book called ''The Pinafore Picture Book'', illustrated by [[Alice B. Woodward|Alice Woodward]], which retells the story of ''Pinafore'', giving considerable backstory details not found in the libretto.<ref>Stedman, p. 331</ref><ref>Gilbert, W. S. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dFgCAAAAYAAJ&q=Gilbert+Sullivan+Pinafore ''The Pinafore Picture Book''], London: George Bell and Sons, 1908, a children's retelling of ''Pinafore''</ref> Many other children's books have since been written retelling the story of ''Pinafore'' or adapting characters or events from ''Pinafore''.<ref>Dillard, pp. 103–105 lists five.</ref>

Many musical theatre adaptations have been produced since the original opera. Notable examples include a 1945 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical adapted by [[George S. Kaufman]], called ''[[Hollywood Pinafore]]'', using Sullivan's music.<ref>Kaufman, George S. ''Hollywood Pinafore or the Lad Who Loved a Salary'', Dramatists Play Service (1998) {{ISBN|0-8222-1647-7}}</ref> This was revived several times, including in London in 1998.<ref name=Br170>Bradley (2005), p. 170</ref> Another 1945 Broadway musical adaptation, ''[[Memphis Bound]]'', was written by [[Don Walker (orchestrator)|Don Walker]] and starred [[Bill Robinson]] and an all-black cast.<ref>Shepard, Richard F. [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/13/obituaries/don-walker-81-an-orchestrator-of-broadway-musical-comedies.html "Don Walker, 81, an Orchestrator of Broadway Musical Comedies,"] ''The New York Times'', 13 September 1989, accessed 20 July 2009</ref> In 1940, the American Negro Light Opera Association produced the first of several productions set in the [[Caribbean Sea]], ''Tropical Pinafore''.<ref name=Br170/> An early [[Yiddish]] adaptation of ''Pinafore'', called ''Der Shirtz'' (Yiddish for "apron") was written by Miriam Walowit in 1949 for a Brooklyn [[Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America|Hadassah]] group; they toured the adaptation,<ref>Gale, Joseph. [https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=JPOST19520509-01.1.14 "Yiddish version of ''Penzance'' Takes Self Too Seriously"], ''Jewish Post'' (Marion County, Indiana), May 9, 1952, p. 14</ref> and they recorded 12 of the songs.<ref>Falkenstein, Michelle. "Yiddish Sails the Ocean Blue", ''Hadassah Magazine'', April 2000, Vol. 81, No. 8, pp. 40–42</ref> In the 1970s, Al Grand was inspired by this recording and urged the Gilbert and Sullivan Long Island Light Opera Company to perform these songs. He later translated the missing songs and dialogue, with Bob Tartell, and the show has been toured widely under the name ''Der Yiddisher Pinafore''. The group have continued to produce this adaptation for over two decades, in which "He is an Englishman" becomes "Er Iz a Guter Yid" ("He is a good Jew").<ref>Bradley (2005), p. 172</ref><ref>[http://www.nytheatre-wire.com/yidpin.htm "Think British, Sing Yiddish"], ''The New York Theatre Wire'', August 2000, accessed 14 November 2009</ref>

[[Essgee Entertainment]] produced an adapted version of ''Pinafore'' in 1997 in Australia and New Zealand<ref>[http://essgee.com/html/PINindex.html Essgee Entertainment ''Pinafore'' pages] Essgee Entertainment, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> that has been much revived.<ref>Bradley (2005), Chapter 4</ref> Another musical adaptation is ''Pinafore! (A Saucy, Sexy, Ship-Shape New Musical)'', adapted by [[Mark Savage (American playwright)|Mark Savage]]. It was first performed at the Celebration Theater in Los Angeles on 7 September 2001, directed by Savage, where it ran with great success for nine months. It then played in Chicago and New York in 2003.<ref>Bradley (2005), pp. 170–171</ref> In this adaptation, only one character is female, and all but one of the male characters are gay. An original cast recording was issued in 2002 by Belva Records.<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/pinbelva.htm "The Celebration Theater Pinafore! (2002)"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 1 September 2008, accessed 10 June 2016</ref><ref>''Pinafore!: a ship shape new musical'' – Original cast recording, Enchanted Cottage Studios; Los Angeles: Belva Records. {{OCLC|52753483}}</ref> ''Pinafore Swing'' is a musical with music arranged by [[Sarah Travis]]. It premiered at the [[Watermill Theatre]] in England in 2004 in a production directed by [[John Doyle (director)|John Doyle]]. The adaptation, set in 1944, changes the characters into members of a band entertaining the sailors on a [[World War II]] troop ship in the Atlantic. The reduced-size acting cast also serve as the orchestra for the singing roles, and the music is infused with swing rhythms.<ref>[http://www.newburytheatre.co.uk/archive/200407b.htm "Watermill – ''Pinafore Swing''"], Collected newspaper reviews of ''Pinafore Swing'', reprinted at the Newbury theatre guide archive, accessed 10 March 2009</ref> Numerous productions in recent decades have been set to parody ''[[Star Trek]]'' or ''[[Star Wars]]''.<ref name=Br170/><ref>Taylor, Pat. [http://tolucantimes.info/section/theatre_review/i-caught-two-light-n%e2%80%99-lively-very-funny-productions-last-week "I caught two light n' lively, very funny productions last week"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626112550/http://tolucantimes.info/section/theatre_review/i-caught-two-light-n%E2%80%99-lively-very-funny-productions-last-week |date=26 June 2014 }} ''The Tolucan Times'', 19 May 2010</ref> An adaptation titled ''H.M.S. Pinafore, or Dauntless Dick Deadeye'', was produced in 2005 at the [[Regent's Park Open Air Theatre]]; extensive additional Gilbert-style dialogue by Herbert Appleman makes "raconteur" Deadeye the central character. Ian Talbot directed, and [[Gary Wilmot]] starred as Deadeye, with [[Scarlett Strallen]] as Josephine, [[Desmond Barrit]] as Sir Joseph and [[Lesley Nicol (actress)|Leslie Nichol]] as Buttercup.<ref>Thaxter, John. [https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/OApinafore-rev "''HMS. Pinafore or Dauntless Dick Deadeye''"], British Theatre Guide, July 2005, accessed 20 September 2023</ref><ref>[[Michael Billington (critic)|Billington, Michael]]. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/jul/25/classicalmusicandopera "''HMS Pinafore''"], ''The Guardian'', 25 July 2005, accessed 20 September 2023; and Johns, Ian. [https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/hms-pinafore-kl705hwjvhs "''HMS Pinafore''"], ''The Times'', 25 July 2005, accessed 20 September 2023</ref> Both the production and Strallen were nominated for 2006 [[Olivier Awards]].<ref>[https://officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/winners/olivier-winners-2006 "Olivier Winners: 2006"], [[Society of London Theatre]], accessed 20 September 2023</ref>

==Cultural impact==
{{Main|Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan}}

===Development of the modern musical===
[[File:Elliott & Fry - photograph W. S. Gilbert.jpg|thumb|[[Cabinet card]] of [[W. S. Gilbert]] in about 1880 by [[Elliott & Fry]]]]
Among its other influences on popular culture, ''Pinafore'' had perhaps its most profound influence on the [[development of musical theatre]]. According to theatre historian [[John Kenrick (theatre writer)|John Kenrick]], ''Pinafore'' "became an international sensation, reshaping the commercial theater in both England and the United States."<ref>Kenrick, John. [http://www.musicals101.com/g&scanon.htm "Gilbert & Sullivan 101: The G&S Canon"], ''The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film'', accessed 10 March 2009. See also Gänzl (1995)</ref> The music writer [[Andrew Lamb (writer)|Andrew Lamb]] notes, "The success of ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' in 1879 established British comic opera alongside French opéra bouffe throughout the English-speaking world".<ref>Lamb, p. 35</ref> The historian John Bush Jones opines that ''Pinafore'' and the other Savoy operas demonstrate that musical theatre "can address contemporary social and political issues without sacrificing entertainment value" and that ''Pinafore'' created the model for a new kind of musical theatre, the "integrated" musical, where "book, lyrics, and music combined to form an integral whole".<ref>Jones, pp. 10–11</ref> He adds that its "unprecedented&nbsp;... popularity fostered an American audience for musical theatre, while the show itself became a model for form, content, and even intention of&nbsp;... musicals ever since, especially socially relevant musicals."<ref>Jones, pp. 4–5</ref> Its popularity also led to the musical theatre adaptations of ''Pinafore'' described above, musicals in which the story line involves a production of ''Pinafore''<ref>Bradley (2005), p. 8</ref> and other musicals that parody the opera or that use or adapt its music.{{refn|A 1938 Broadway show used six songs from ''Pinafore''.<ref>[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=11585 ''Knights of Song''], Internet Broadway database, accessed 20 April 2019</ref> Other examples include ''The Pirates of Pinafore'', ''The Pinafore Pirates'' (which Bradley calls "splendid" and describes in detail in Bradley (2005), pp.&nbsp;174–175), [http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/fraser.charlton/myshows/page24/mutiny.html ''Mutiny on the Pinafore''], and [https://archive.today/20040604134138/http://home.att.net/~coriolan/musical/hmsdumbledore.htm ''H.M.S. Dumbledore''] (2004) by Caius Marcius.|group=n}} The first such parody was a short-lived burlesque presented at the Opera Comique in 1882, called ''The Wreck of the Pinafore'' by [[William Lingard|William Horace Lingard]] and [[Luscombe Searelle]]; the opera's characters are shipwrecked on a desert island. It was described by ''The Era'' as "chiefly remarkable for its impudence".<ref>"The Opera Comique Theatre" – a valedictory summary in ''The Era'', 15 October 1898, p. 11</ref>

===Literary and political references===
[[File:Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan.jpg|right|thumb|Arthur Seymour Sullivan]]
The opera's popularity has led to the widespread parody and [[pastiche]] of its songs in comedy routines, literature and other media.<ref>Bradley (2005), chapter 8</ref> Many comedians have used ''Pinafore'' songs for comic and satiric effect. For example, in his comedy album ''[[My Son, the Celebrity]]'', [[Allan Sherman]] parodies "When I Was a Lad" from the point of view of a young man who goes to an [[Ivy League]] school and then rises to prominence in business. At the end of the song, he "thanks [[Yale University|old Yale]]", "thanks the Lord" and thanks his father, "who is chairman of the board".<ref>Sherman, Allan. ''[[My Son, the Celebrity]]'' (1963). On his [[Allan in Wonderland|next album]], Sherman sings a song called "Little Butterball" to the tune of "I'm Called Little Buttercup". See Sherman, Allan. [http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/sherman_allan/albums.jhtml?albumId=696185 Track listing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007091114/http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/sherman_allan/albums.jhtml?albumId=696185 |date=7 October 2008 }} from ''[[Allan in Wonderland]]'' (1964), accessed 10 March 2009</ref> Literary references to ''Pinafore'' songs include Harris's attempt to sing "When I Was a Lad" in [[Jerome K. Jerome]]'s ''[[Three Men in a Boat]]''.<ref>[http://www.online-literature.com/jerome/three-men-in-a-boat/8/ "Three Men in a Boat"], chapter 8, accessed 24 April 2009</ref> Another is found in the story "[[Runaround (story)|Runaround]]" from ''[[I, Robot]]'' by [[Isaac Asimov]], where a robot sings part of "I'm Called Little Buttercup".<ref>[[Isaac Asimov|Asimov, Isaac]]. ''[[I, Robot]]'', New York: Doubleday & Company, 1950. For examples of references to ''Pinafore'' in several novels, see Bradley (2005), pp. 10–11. Other literary references include Gilbert's own 1908 children's book, [https://books.google.com/books?id=dFgCAAAAYAAJ&q=Gilbert+Sullivan+Pinafore ''The Pinafore Picture Book''], London: George Bell and Sons, 1908, accessed 1 May 2009. In addition, Gilbert and Sullivan refer to ''Pinafore'' in two of their subsequent operas: in the "[[Major-General's Song]]" from their next opera, ''Pirates'', and with the appearance of an older "Captain Corcoran, KCB", in ''[[Utopia, Limited]]'', the only recurring character in the G&S canon.</ref> ''Pinafore'' and its songs have been performed by rock musicians such as [[Todd Rundgren]], [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]] and Michele Gray Rundgren, who performed "Never Mind the Why and Wherefore" on ''Night Music'' (''[[Sunday Night (American TV program)|Sunday Night]]'') in 1989.<ref>{{YouTube|5m33BXNHIHM|"Never mind the why and Wherefore"}}, sung by [[Todd Rundgren]], [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]] and Michele Rundgren, on 29 October 1989</ref>

Political references include a 1996 satiric pastiche of "When I Was a Lad" aimed at [[Tony Blair]] by [[Virginia Bottomley]], heritage secretary under [[John Major]].<ref>Bradley (2005), p. 166</ref> Sporting references include a racehorse named "H.M.S. Pinafore".<ref>Racing: York Meeting, ''The Times'', 21 May 1946, p. 2</ref> ''Pinafore'' songs and images have been used extensively in advertising. According to Jones, "''Pinafore'' launched the first media blitz in the United States" beginning in 1879,<ref name=Jones8/> and recent ads include a television campaign for [[Terry's Chocolate Orange]] featuring a pastiche of "When I Was a Lad".<ref>Bradley (2005), p. 167</ref> ''Pinafore''-themed merchandise includes trading cards that were created in the 1880s.<ref>[http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/sapolio/spolio.html ''Pinafore'' advertising cards] at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 10 March 2009</ref>

===Film and television references===
Songs from ''Pinafore'' have been used to give period flavor to such films as the 1981 historical film ''[[Chariots of Fire]]'', in which the protagonist, [[Harold Abrahams]], and others from [[Cambridge University]], sing "He Is an Englishman".<ref name=Vineberg>Vineberg, Steve. [http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/movies/98/02/19/ALAN_BENNETT.html "Beyond the mundane"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605193733/http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/movies/98/02/19/ALAN_BENNETT.html |date=5 June 2011}}, ''Boston Phoenix'', 19 February 1998, accessed 21 June 2016</ref> This song also features at the end of the 1983 BBC drama ''[[An Englishman Abroad]]''.<ref name=Vineberg/> In the 2003 movie ''[[Peter Pan (2003 film)|Peter Pan]]'', the Darling family sings "When I Was a Lad".<ref name=Bradley12>Bradley (2005), p. 12</ref> In ''[[Wyatt Earp (film)|Wyatt Earp]]'' (1994), the famed lawman meets his future wife when he sees her playing in an early production of ''Pinafore''.<ref name=Bradley12/> A 1953 biopic, ''[[The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan]]'', uses music from ''Pinafore''.

Characters also sing songs from ''Pinafore'' in such popular films as ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' (1981)<ref>Perry, Michelle P. [http://tech.mit.edu/V110/N41/hms.41a.html "Light-hearted, happy entertainment from ''HMS Pinafore''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928100720/http://tech.mit.edu/V110/N41/hms.41a.html |date=28 September 2021 }}, ''The Tech'', [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], 12 October 1990, accessed on 18 July 2008</ref> and ''[[Star Trek: Insurrection]]'' (1998), where [[Jean-Luc Picard|Captain Picard]] and [[Worf|Lt. Commander Worf]] sing part of "A British Tar" to distract a malfunctioning [[Data (Star Trek)|Lt. Commander Data]].<ref name=Bradley12/> ''[[The Good Shepherd (film)|The Good Shepherd]]'' (2006) depicts an all-male version of ''Pinafore'' at [[Yale University]] in 1939; [[Matt Damon]]'s character plays Little Buttercup, singing in [[falsetto]].<ref>"Reviews", ''[[The New Yorker]]'', 25 December 2006 & 1 January 2007, p. 152</ref> [[Judy Garland]] sings "I Am the Monarch of the Sea" in the 1963 film ''[[I Could Go On Singing]]''.<ref>Krafsur, Richard P., Kenneth White Munden and American Film Institute (eds.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=s1k1RsGvFwwC&pg=PA514 ''I Could Go On Singing'' in ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1961–1970''], p. 514, Berkeley: University of California Press (1997) {{ISBN|0-520-20970-2}}</ref> The soundtrack of the 1992 thriller ''[[The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992 film)|The Hand that Rocks the Cradle]]'' prominently features songs and music from ''Pinafore'', and the father and daughter characters sing "I Am the Captain of the Pinafore" together.<ref>Bradley (2005), pp. 11–12</ref> The 1976 animated film by [[Ronald Searle]] called ''[[Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done]]'' is based on the character and songs from ''Pinafore''.<ref>[https://www.timeout.com/london/film/dick-deadeye-or-duty-done "Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done (1975)"], Time Out Film Guide, accessed 9 March 2017</ref> In the 1988 drama ''[[Permanent Record (film)|Permanent Record]]'', a high school class performs ''Pinafore''.<ref>Tibbs, Kim. [http://cliqueclack.com/p/permanent-record-review "''Permanent Record'' explores the sad reality of teen suicide with a rockin’ soundtrack"], CliqueClack.com, 12 June 2014, accessed 12 June 2016</ref>

Television series that include substantial ''Pinafore'' references include ''[[The West Wing]]'', for example in the 2000 episode "[[And It's Surely to Their Credit]]", where "He Is an Englishman" is used throughout and quoted (or paraphrased) in the episode's title.<ref>[http://www.tv.com/the-west-wing/and-its-surely-to-their-credit/episode/4818/summary.html "''The West Wing'' episode summary – And It's Surely to Their Credit"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227072732/http://www.tv.com/the-west-wing/and-its-surely-to-their-credit/episode/4818/summary.html |date=27 December 2008 }}, TV.com, CNET Networks, Inc., accessed 10 March 2009</ref> Among other notable examples of the use of songs from ''Pinafore'' on television are several popular animated shows. In the "[[Cape Feare]]" episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] stalls his would-be killer [[Sideshow Bob]] with a "final request" that Bob sing him the entire score of ''Pinafore''.<ref>Arnold, p. 16</ref> Similarly, the 1993 "HMS Yakko" episode of ''[[Animaniacs]]'' consists of pastiches of songs from ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' and ''The Pirates of Penzance''.<ref>"H.M.S. Yakko", ''Animaniacs'' (FOX Kids), 15 September 1993, no. 3, season 1</ref> In a ''[[Family Guy]]'' episode, "[[The Thin White Line (Family Guy)|The Thin White Line]]" (2001), [[Stewie Griffin|Stewie]] sings a pastiche of "My Gallant Crew".<ref>Callaghan, Steve. "The Thin White Line", ''Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3'', pp. 128–131, New York: HarperCollins (2005) {{ISBN|0-06-083305-X}}</ref> Stewie also sings "I Am the Monarch of the Sea" (including the ladies' part, in falsetto) in ''[[Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story]]''.<ref>[http://www.planet-familyguy.com/pfg/episodes/83/StewieGriffinTheUntoldStory "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111083022/http://www.planet-familyguy.com/pfg/episodes/83/StewieGriffinTheUntoldStory/ |date=11 November 2006}}, Description of the film at planet-familyguy.com, accessed 19 October 2009</ref> A 1986 ''[[Mr. Belvedere]]'' episode, "The Play", concerns a production of ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', and several of the songs are performed.<ref>Ferro, Jeffrey, et al. "The Play", ''Mr. Belvedere'', 28 March 1986, Season 2, episode 22</ref> In 1955, NBC broadcast a variety special including a 20-minute compressed jazz version, "H.M.S. Pinafore in Jazz", produced and directed by [[Max Liebman]], starring [[Perry Como]], [[Buddy Hackett]], [[Kitty Kallen]], [[Bill Hayes (actor)|Bill Hayes]], [[Pat Carroll]] and [[Herb Shriner]].<ref>Terrace, Vincent. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BUvTYfLP624C&pg=PA381 ''Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936–2012''], McFarland (2013), p. 381 (2d ed.) {{ISBN|0786474440}}</ref>

==Historical casting==
The following tables show the most prominent cast members of significant D'Oyly Carte Opera Company productions and tours at various times through to the company's 1982 closure:<ref>Rollins and Witts (and supplements). An examination of Rollins and Witts and Gänzl (1986) shows that cast lists taken at ten-year intervals is sufficient to indicate the bulk of the notable performers who portrayed these roles in authorised productions during that period.</ref>

{|Class="wikitable"
! Role
! Opera Comique<br />1878<ref name=Rollins6>Rollins and Witts, p. 6</ref>
! New York<br />1879<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 32</ref>
! Savoy Theatre<br />1887<ref name=Rollins11 />
! Savoy Theatre<br />1899<ref name=Rollins18 />
! Savoy Theatre<br />1908<ref name=Rollins22 />
|-
|Sir Joseph||[[George Grossmith]]||[[J. H. Ryley]]||George Grossmith||[[Walter Passmore]]||[[Charles H. Workman]]
|-
|Captain Corcoran||[[Rutland Barrington]]||[[Signor Brocolini|Sgr. Brocolini]]||Rutland Barrington||[[Henry Lytton]]||Rutland Barrington
|-
|Ralph Rackstraw|| [[Sir George Power, 7th Baronet|George Power]]||[[Hugh Talbot]]||[[J. G. Robertson]]||[[Robert Evett]]||Henry Herbert
|-
|Dick Deadeye||[[Richard Temple (bass-baritone)|Richard Temple]]||[[J. Furneaux Cook]]||Richard Temple||Richard Temple||[[Henry Lytton]]
|-
|Boatswain/<br />Bill Bobstay||[[Fred Clifton]]||Fred Clifton||Richard Cummings||W. H. Leon||[[Leicester Tunks]]
|-
|Carpenter/<br />Bob Beckett||Aeneas J. Dymott ||Mr. Cuthbert||[[Rudolph Lewis (bass-baritone)|Rudolph Lewis]]||[[Powis Pinder]]||Fred Hewett
|-
|Midshipmite/<br />Tom Tucker||Master Fitzaltamont{{efn|1=The Midshipmite, Tom Tucker, is traditionally played by a child. "Fitzaltamont" was likely a pseudonym used to protect the child's identity, as the same name appears on programmes of several provincial touring companies.<ref name=Rollins6 /> No names are listed for his role in later productions.<!--See refs for each production-->}} || || || ||
|-
|Josephine||[[Emma Howson]]||[[Blanche Roosevelt]]||[[Geraldine Ulmar]]||[[Ruth Vincent]]||[[Elsie Spain]]
|-
|Hebe||[[Jessie Bond]]||Jessie Bond||Jessie Bond||[[Emmie Owen]]||[[Jessie Rose]]
|-
|Buttercup||[[Harriett Everard]]||[[Alice Barnett]]||[[Rosina Brandram]]||Rosina Brandram||[[Louie René]]
|}

{|Class="wikitable"
!Role
!D'Oyly Carte<br />1915 tour<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 132</ref>
!D'Oyly Carte<br />1925 tour<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 148</ref>
!D'Oyly Carte<br />1935 tour<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 160</ref>
!D'Oyly Carte<br />1950 tour<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 175</ref>
|-
|Sir Joseph||[[Henry Lytton]]||Henry Lytton||[[Martyn Green]]||Martyn Green
|-
|Captain Corcoran||[[Leicester Tunks]]||[[Leo Sheffield]]||[[Leslie Rands]]||[[Richard Watson (singer)|Richard Watson]]
|-
|Ralph Rackstraw||[[Walter Glynne]]||[[Charles Goulding]]||[[John Dean (tenor)|John Dean]]||Herbert Newby
|-
|Dick Deadeye||[[Leo Sheffield]]||[[Darrell Fancourt]]||Darrell Fancourt||Darrell Fancourt
|-
|Boatswain||[[Frederick Hobbs (singer)|Frederick Hobbs]]||Henry Millidge||[[Richard Walker (baritone)|Richard Walker]]||Stanley Youngman
|-
|Carpenter||George Sinclair||Patrick Colbert||[[L. Radley Flynn]]||L. Radley Flynn
|-
|Josephine||Phyllis Smith||[[Elsie Griffin]]||[[Ann Drummond-Grant]]||Muriel Harding
|-
|Hebe||[[Nellie Briercliffe]]||Aileen Davies||[[Marjorie Eyre]]||Joan Gillingham
|-
|Buttercup||[[Bertha Lewis]]||Bertha Lewis||[[Dorothy Gill]]||[[Ella Halman]]
|}

{|Class="wikitable"
!Role
!D'Oyly Carte<br />1958 tour<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 183</ref>
!D'Oyly Carte<br />1965 tour<ref>Rollins and Witts, 1st Supplement, p. 6</ref>
!D'Oyly Carte<br />1975 tour<ref>Rollins and Witts, 3rd Supplement, p. 28</ref>
!D'Oyly Carte<br />1982 tour<ref>Rollins and Witts, 4th Supplement, p. 42</ref>
|-
|Sir Joseph||[[Peter Pratt]]||[[John Reed (actor)|John Reed]]||John Reed||[[James Conroy-Ward]]<ref>John Reed played Sir Joseph at some performances during the final London season at the Adelphi Theatre. See Stone, David. [http://gsarchive.net/whowaswho/R/ReedJohn.htm htm John Reed profile] at ''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company'', 21 August 2006, accessed on 27 April 2009</ref>
|-
|Captain Corcoran||[[Jeffrey Skitch]]||[[Alan Styler]]||[[Michael Rayner]]||Clive Harre
|-
|Ralph Rackstraw||[[Thomas Round]]||David Palmer||[[Meston Reid]]||Meston Reid
|-
|Dick Deadeye||[[Donald Adams]]||Donald Adams||[[John Ayldon]]||John Ayldon
|-
|Boatswain||[[George Cook (opera singer)|George Cook]]||George Cook||Jon Ellison||Michael Buchan
|-
|Carpenter||Jack Habbick||Anthony Raffell||John Broad||Michael Lessiter
|-
|Josephine||[[Jean Hindmarsh]]||Ann Hood||[[Pamela Field]]||[[Vivian Tierney]]
|-
|Hebe||[[Joyce Wright]]||[[Pauline Wales]]||[[Patricia Leonard]]||Roberta Morrell
|-
|Buttercup||[[Ann Drummond-Grant]]||[[Christene Palmer]]||[[Lyndsie Holland]]||[[Patricia Leonard]]
|}
{{notelist}}

==Notes, references and sources==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=n}}

===References===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Ainger|first=Michael|year=2002|title=Gilbert and Sullivan – A Dual Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-514769-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Allen|first=Reginald|year=1975|edition=2nd|title=The First Night Gilbert and Sullivan|publisher=Chappell & Co. Ltd|isbn=0-903443-10-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Allen|first=Reginald|year=1979|title=Gilbert and Sullivan in America, The Story of the First D'Oyly Carte Opera Company American Tour|publisher=The Pierpont Morgan Library |isbn=0-686-70604-8}}
* {{cite book|editor=Alberti, John|last=Arnold|first=David L. G.|chapter=Use a pen, Sideshow Bob: ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the Threat of High Culture|year=2003|publisher=Wayne State University Press|title=Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture|isbn=0-8143-2849-0|title-link=Leaving Springfield}}
* {{cite book|last=Baily|first=Leslie|year=1966|title=The Gilbert and Sullivan Book|location=London|publisher=Spring Books|edition=new|isbn=0-500-13046-9|url=https://archive.org/details/gilbertsullivant0000bail}}
* {{cite book|last=Bordman|first=Gerald|year=1981|title=American Operetta: From H. M. S. Pinafore to Sweeney Todd|url=https://archive.org/details/americanoperetta00bord|url-access=registration|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn = 0-7351-0280-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Bradley|first=Ian|author-link=Ian Bradley|year=1996|title=The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-816503-X|url=https://archive.org/details/completeannotate00sull}}
* {{cite book|last=Bradley|first=Ian|year=2005|title=Oh Joy! Oh Rapture!: The Enduring Phenomenon of Gilbert and Sullivan|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-516700-7|url=https://archive.org/details/ohjoyohraptureen00brad}}
* {{cite book|last=Crowther|first=Andrew|year=2000|title=Contradiction Contradicted – The Plays of W. S. Gilbert|publisher=Associated University Presses|isbn=0-8386-3839-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Cellier|first=François|author-link=François Cellier|author2=Cunningham Bridgeman|title=Gilbert and Sullivan and Their Operas|url=https://archive.org/details/gilbertandsulli01bridgoog|publisher=Little, Brown and Company | year=1914}}
* {{cite book|last=Dark|first=Sidney|author-link = Sidney Dark|author2=Rowland Grey|year=1923|title=W. S. Gilbert: His Life and Letters|url=https://archive.org/details/wsgilberthislife0000dark|publisher=Methuen & Co. Ltd|isbn=0-405-08430-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Dillard|first=Philip H.|year=1991|title=How Quaint the Ways of Paradox!|publisher=The Scarecrow Press, Inc|isbn=0-8108-2445-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Fitz-Gerald|first=S. J. Adair |year=1924|title=The Story of the Savoy Opera|publisher=Stanley Paul & Co., Ltd|isbn=0-306-79543-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Gänzl|first=Kurt|author-link=Kurt Gänzl|year=1986|title=The British Musical Theatre – Volume I: 1865–1914|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-520509-X}}
* {{cite book|last=Gänzl|first=Kurt|year=1995|title=Gänzl's Book of the Broadway Musical: 75 Favorite Shows, from H.M.S. Pinafore to Sunset Boulevard|publisher=Schirmer|isbn=0-02-870832-6|url=https://archive.org/details/gnzlsbookofbro00gn}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last= Holden |editor1-first= Amanda |editor1-link= Amanda Holden (writer) |editor2= Kenyon, Nicholas |editor3= Walsh, Stephen |title= The Viking Opera Guide |publisher= Viking |isbn= 0-670-81292-7 |year= 1993 |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780670812929 }}
* {{cite book|last=Hughes|first=Gervase |year=1960|title=The Music of Arthur Sullivan|url=https://archive.org/details/musicofarthursul006476mbp|location=New York|publisher=St. Martin's Press}}
* {{cite book|last=Jacobs|first=Arthur|year=1986|title=Arthur Sullivan – A Victorian Musician|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-282033-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Jones|first=John Bush|year=2003|title=Our Musicals Ourselves|publisher=Brandeis University Press|isbn=1-58465-311-6|url=https://archive.org/details/ourmusicalsourse00jone}}
* {{cite book|last=Joseph|first=Tony|year=2004|title=The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company 1875–1982|publisher=Bunthorne Books|isbn=0-9507992-1-1}}
* {{cite journal|last=Lamb|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Lamb (writer)| title= From ''Pinafore'' to Porter: United States – United Kingdom Interactions in Musical Theater, 1879–1929| journal= American Music|volume= 4 |issue= 1 |pages= 34–49 | date= Spring 1986|doi= 10.2307/3052183|jstor=3052183}}
* {{cite journal|last= Lawrence |first= Elwood P. |title= ''The Happy Land'': W. S. Gilbert as Political Satirist |journal= Victorian Studies |volume= 15 |issue= 2 |pages= 161–183 |date= December 1971 | jstor = 3825977}}
* {{cite book|last=Mander|first=Raymond|author2=Joe Richardson|year=1962|title=A Picture history of Gilbert and Sullivan|publisher=Vista Books}}
* {{cite book|last=Rees|first=Terence|year=1964|title=Thespis – A Gilbert & Sullivan Enigma|location=London|publisher=Dillon's University Bookshop}}
* {{cite book|last=Rollins|first=Cyril|year=1962|author2=R. John Witts|title=The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: A Record of Productions, 1875–1961|publisher=Michael Joseph}} Also, five supplements, privately printed.
* {{cite book| editor-last= Sadie| editor-first= Stanley| editor-link =Stanley Sadie |year= 1992| title= The New Grove Dictionary of Opera| publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 0-19-522186-9| title-link= The New Grove Dictionary of Opera}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Shepherd|editor-first=Marc|editor2=Michael Walters |year=2015| title=The Variorum Gilbert & Sullivan|location=New York|publisher=Oakapple Press|volume=1}} 
* {{cite book|last=Stedman|first=Jane W.|year=1996|title=W. S. Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theatre|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-816174-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Walbrook|first=H. M.|year=1922|title=Gilbert & Sullivan Opera, A History and a Comment|url= http://gsarchive.net/books/walbrook/index.html |access-date=24 June 2009|publisher=F. V. White & Co. Ltd}}
* {{cite book|last=Williamson|first=Audrey|title=Gilbert and Sullivan Opera|publisher=Marion Boyars|location=London|year=1953|isbn=0-7145-2766-1|url=https://archive.org/details/gilbertsullivano00will}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|H.M.S. Pinafore|''H.M.S. Pinafore''}}
{{Commons category}}
'''Information'''
* [http://www.gsarchive.net/pinafore/html/index.html ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' at The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive]
* {{cite book|last=Gilbert|first=W. S.|year=1879|title=H.M.S. Pinafore – Libretto|url=https://archive.org/details/hmspinaforeorla00gilbgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/hmspinaforeorla00gilbgoog/page/n7 1]|publisher=Bacon & company |ref=none}}
* [http://vmirror.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/b/be/IMSLP248798-PMLP40968-hmspinaforeorlas1920sull_bw.pdf vocal score] at IMSLP
* [http://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/index.htm Biographies of the people listed in the historical casting chart]
*{{IBDB show|id=4143}}

'''Images'''
* [http://gsarchive.net/pinafore/bab/bab.html Bab illustrations of lyrics from ''H.M.S. Pinafore'']
* [https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=Pinafore Photos of ''Pinafore'' characters and scenes, NYPL]
* [http://www.gsarchive.net/pinafore/posters/index.html American Pinafore Poster Collection]
* [http://www.gsarchive.net/pinafore/sapolio/spolio.html Pinafore Sapolio advertising cards]
* [http://gsarchive.net/memorabilia/programmes/gands.html#pn Pinafore programmes]
'''Audio/visual'''
* {{librivox book | title=H.M.S. Pinafore | author=W. S. GILBERT}}
* {{FadedPage|id=20210447|name=The Pinafore Picture Book}}

{{Gilbert and Sullivan}}
{{Authority control}}

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