With The Pirates of Penzance, British operetta humor takes the stage at the Volksoper Wien. Gilbert & Sullivan's absurd comedy of mistaken identity meets anarchic humor, musical virtuosity, and a healthy dose of self-irony in the interpretation of physical comedy duo Spymonkey—an operetta classic that has retained its subversive freshness to this day.
In the 19th century, Penzance was one of the most idyllic and tranquil towns on the British Isles. Pirates... here?! The kings of English operetta, the writing duo Gilbert & Sullivan, were able to humorously subvert their audience's expectations. With this satirical and subversive "recipe," they created one hit after another.
The rather crude story ofThe Pirates of Penzancewould have done credit to British humor à la Monty Python even in the 19th century: a young man is not trained as a pilot, but sent to apprentice with the pirates of Penzance because his hard-of-hearing governess confused "pilot" and "pirate." Frederic would have completed his apprenticeship at the age of 21, had he not been born in a leap year! So, according to pirate logic, he is only five years old... Based on this existential dilemma, a love story unfolds between the pirate apprentice and Mabel, a young lady from the British military aristocracy. Without the Queen, nothing worked for Gilbert & Sullivan, and so Victoria, as regina ex machina, brings everything to a happy end.
The physical comedy duo Spymonkey scored a hit with audiences and critics alike withOrpheus in the Underworldat the Volksoper. WithThe Pirates of Penzance, they turn their attention to the most British of all operettas!
Premiere March 27,
Further performances: April 2, 6, 10, 14, 17, 20, and 26, May 2, 2026
