HMS Pinafore by Gilbert & Sullivan at Positively Wellington, Opera House

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2. HMS Pinafore by Gilbert & Sullivan

A satirical tale of forbidden love and shocking revelations of class and identity, HMS PINAFORE is one of the most enduringly popular of Gilbert and Sullivan’s great comic creations, with songs including ‘Little Buttercup’ and ‘He is an Englishman’.

Set aboard the ship HMS PINAFORE, the captain's daughter, Josephine, is in love with a lower-class sailor, Ralph Rackstraw, despite her father wanting 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.