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The Pirates of Penzance - Quiz
Contributed by: Halliday
  • 1. In what year was the first complete recording of the score of The Pirates of Penzance released?
A) 1981
B) 1968
C) 1921
D) 1929
  • 2. Who directed the first complete recording of The Pirates of Penzance?
A) Rupert D'Oyly Carte
B) John Pryce-Jones
C) Malcolm Sargent
D) Isidore Godfrey
  • 3. Which publication described the 1929 recording as the 'high-water mark' for Gilbert and Sullivan opera?
A) The Discography
B) New York Times
C) Penguin Guide to Opera
D) The Gramophone
  • 4. Which D'Oyly Carte recording from the 1960s is noted for including complete dialogue?
A) 1968
B) 1929
C) 1990
D) 1957
  • 5. Which conductor is associated with the 1993 Mackerras/Telarc recording?
A) Malcolm Sargent
B) John Pryce-Jones
C) Alexander Faris
D) Sir Charles Mackerras
  • 6. What criticism did the online Discography site have for the 1981 Papp recording?
A) It used inauthentic re-orchestrations
B) The recording quality was poor
C) The dialogue was missing
D) The cast was unprofessional
  • 7. Which recording did critic Alan Blyth describe as a performance 'full of the kind of life that can only come from the experience of stage performances'?
A) 1990 D'Oyly Carte
B) 1982 Brent Walker
C) 1929 D'Oyly Carte
D) 1968 D'Oyly Carte
  • 8. Who served as the choreographer for the 1981/1983 Papp's Pirates?
A) Graciela Daniele
B) Craig Schaefer
C) Michael Geliot
D) Wilford Leach
  • 9. Which artist used the tune of the Major-General's Song to list varieties of Campbell's Soup?
A) Ron Butler
B) Lin-Manuel Miranda
C) Martyn Green
D) Tom Lehrer
  • 10. What is the name of the scientist character who sings a version of the Major-General's Song in Mass Effect 2?
A) Dr. Stephen Franklin
B) Al Borland
C) Burt
D) Mordin Solus
  • 11. In the episode of The Muppet Show featuring Gilda Radner, what was the 7-foot-tall object she sang with?
A) A pirate
B) A major-general
C) A parrot
D) A carrot
  • 12. In the musical Hamilton, which character references the Major-General's Song?
A) King George
B) George Washington
C) Aaron Burr
D) Alexander Hamilton
  • 13. Which show featured a version of the song performed by a character named Al Borland?
A) Home Improvement
B) Frasier
C) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
D) The Simpsons
  • 14. In which TV show does a couple hire a roommate dressed as the Major-General in a 2011 commercial?
A) Frasier
B) Mad About You
C) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
D) Geico
  • 15. Who directed the 1994 Essgee Entertainment video adaptation?
A) Wilford Leach
B) Michael Geliot
C) Craig Schaefer
D) John Pryce-Jones
  • 16. What were the original opening words of the chorus in The Pirates of Penzance?
A) Pour, O King, the pirate sherry
B) Hail to the Pirate King
C) A pirate's life for me
D) We sail the ocean blue
  • 17. Who was the designer for the new costumes for the D'Oyly Carte production in 1919?
A) George Sheringham
B) Wilford Leach
C) Peter Goffin
D) Percy Anderson
  • 18. In what year did the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company restore a variation of 'I am the very model of a modern major-general' to the finale?
A) 1989
B) 1979
C) 1908
D) 1889
  • 19. Who composed the German translation of the opera titled 'Die Piraten'?
A) J. C. Williamson
B) Gilbert and Sullivan
C) Richard Genée and Camillo Walzel
D) Joseph Papp and Wilford Leach
  • 20. Which production of The Pirates of Penzance holds the record for the longest run in history?
A) The 1908 Savoy revival
B) The original 1879 New York production
C) Joseph Papp's production
D) The 1982 Drury Lane production
  • 21. What songs were interpolated into Joseph Papp's version of the opera?
A) The 'Matter Patter' trio and 'Sorry her lot'
B) The 'Mikado' chorus and 'Three Little Maids'
C) No songs were added to the original score
D) Songs from 'The Gondoliers'
  • 22. Who played the role of the Pirate King in the 1981 Broadway transfer of the Papp production?
A) Rex Smith
B) Tony Azito
C) George Rose
D) Kevin Kline
  • 23. What role did Angela Lansbury play in the 1983 film version of the Papp production?
A) Edith
B) Mabel
C) Ruth
D) Kate
  • 24. Did Gilbert ever prepare an authorised version of the libretti for the Savoy operas?
A) No, despite Helen Carte's repeated urging.
B) Yes, in 1879.
C) Yes, in 1908.
D) Yes, for the 1888 revival.
  • 25. Which song is performed by the Chorus of Girls in Act I?
A) When a felon's not engaged
B) Pour, oh pour, the pirate sherry
C) With cat-like tread
D) Climbing over rocky mountain
  • 26. Who sings 'Poor wand'ring one'?
A) Mabel
B) Edith
C) Ruth
D) Kate
  • 27. Which character sings 'I am the very model of a modern Major-General'?
A) Frederic
B) Major-General
C) Samuel
D) The Sergeant of Police
  • 28. In which act is 'When the foeman bares his steel' performed?
A) Act I
B) The Overture
C) The Finale
D) Act II
  • 29. Which song appears in the Overture?
A) When a felon's not engaged
B) How beautifully blue the sky
C) I am the very model of a modern Major-General
D) Poor wand'ring one
  • 30. Who sings 'When a felon's not engaged in his employment'?
A) Samuel
B) Pirate King
C) Frederic
D) Sergeant
  • 31. Which song is NOT listed in Act I?
A) Oh, is there not one maiden breast?
B) Pour, oh pour, the pirate sherry
C) Oh, dry the glist'ning tear
D) Hold, monsters
  • 32. What is the final song listed in Act II?
A) Finale, Act II
B) A rollicking band of pirates we
C) With cat-like tread
D) Sergeant, approach!
  • 33. Where is the Major-General sitting at the start of Act II?
A) A pirate ship
B) A ruined chapel
C) A police station
D) A royal palace
  • 34. What is torturing the Major-General's conscience?
A) His daughter's engagement
B) The death of his wife
C) The loss of his wealth
D) A lie he told the pirates
  • 35. Why are the police unnerved before leaving?
A) They are afraid of the dark
B) They lost their weapons
C) The girls express admiration for their likely slaughter
D) The Major-General yelled at them
  • 36. On what date is Frederic's birthday?
A) 29 February
B) 25 December
C) 30 April
D) 1 January
  • 37. How many birthdays has Frederic technically had?
A) Eighty
B) Ten
C) Five
D) Twenty-one
  • 38. What does Frederic decide to do after speaking with Ruth and the Pirate King?
A) Rejoin the pirates
B) Leave the country
C) Fight the Pirate King
D) Become a police officer
  • 39. What information does Frederic share with the Pirate King?
A) The location of the treasure
B) The police's strategy
C) The Major-General's deception
D) Mabel's whereabouts
  • 40. In what year does Frederic believe he will reach his 21st birthday?
A) 1940
B) 1920
C) 1900
D) 1885
  • 41. What reason do the police give for it being a shame to arrest the outlaws?
A) They have families to support
B) Outlaws have the same liberty as other men
C) They are poor and hungry
D) They are too fast to catch
  • 42. Why do the pirates steal onto the estate?
A) To kidnap the girls
B) To take revenge for the Major-General's lie
C) To surrender to the police
D) To find Frederic's contract
  • 43. What is the Major-General doing when he reappears in the night?
A) Listening to the breeze
B) Reading a book
C) Writing a letter
D) Looking for the pirates
  • 44. What does Ruth reveal about the pirates?
A) They are wealthy merchants
B) They are long-lost brothers
C) They are all former soldiers
D) They are all noblemen who have gone wrong
  • 45. What happens to the Major-General at the end of the act?
A) He leaves for London
B) He retires from the army
C) He marries his daughters to the noble ex-pirates
D) He arrests the Pirate King
  • 46. When did The Pirates of Penzance premiere in New York?
A) 31 December 1880
B) 31 December 1879
C) 3 April 1880
D) 2 January 1880
  • 47. Who designed the sets for the London production of Pirates?
A) John O'Connor
B) Arthur Sullivan
C) George Grossmith
D) W.S. Gilbert
  • 48. What is the vocal range of the Pirate King?
A) Bass-baritone
B) Tenor
C) Soprano
D) Contralto
  • 49. How did the pirates justify letting their captives go free?
A) If the captives had no money
B) If the captives were women
C) If the captives were orphans
D) If the captives begged for mercy
  • 50. How many performances did the London production of Pirates run for?
A) 100
B) 450
C) 363
D) 200
  • 51. Who did Michael Ainger suggest was the actual pattern for the Major-General?
A) Sir Garnet Wolseley
B) Arthur Sullivan
C) General Henry Turner
D) George Grossmith
  • 52. What is the vocal range of Frederic?
A) Baritone
B) Contralto
C) Tenor
D) Bass
  • 53. Which of General Stanley's daughters has a speaking role?
A) Isabel
B) Kate
C) Mabel
D) Edith
  • 54. How does Sullivan compare the music of Pirates to Pinafore in his letter?
A) Infinitely superior
B) Inferior but fun
C) Exactly the same
D) More complicated but less popular
  • 55. Who composed the music for The Pirates of Penzance?
A) Alfred Cellier
B) Richard D'Oyly Carte
C) Arthur Sullivan
D) W. S. Gilbert
  • 56. In which city did The Pirates of Penzance have its official premiere?
A) Torquay
B) Paignton
C) New York City
D) London
  • 57. Which Gilbert and Sullivan opera is often grouped with The Pirates of Penzance as one of their most frequently played?
A) Princess Toto
B) The Mikado
C) Les brigands
D) The Contrabandista
  • 58. Which character in Gilbert's Our Island Home was mistakenly apprenticed to a pirate band as a child?
A) Frederic
B) Captain Bang
C) Sir Joseph Porter
D) Major-General Stanley
  • 59. Who was responsible for completing the overture details for The Pirates of Penzance?
A) Arthur Sullivan
B) Alfred Cellier
C) François Cellier
D) W. S. Gilbert
  • 60. Where was the perfunctory copyright performance of The Pirates of Penzance held?
A) Paignton
B) London
C) New York City
D) Torquay
  • 61. How did Gilbert describe his desired style of acting?
A) Silent pantomime
B) Naturalism
C) Exaggerated comedy
D) Self-conscious interaction
  • 62. In what year were the reviews for The Pirates of Penzance published in New York and London?
A) 1890
B) 1875
C) 1885
D) 1880
  • 63. Which New York newspaper claimed the new work was superior to Pinafore in every respect?
A) The Manchester Guardian
B) The Tribune
C) The Herald
D) The New York Times
  • 64. According to the New York Tribune, how is the humor of The Pirates described?
A) Simple and straightforward
B) Crude and vulgar
C) Richer but more recondite
D) Lacking in wit
  • 65. Which publication called The Pirates of Penzance a 'brilliant and complete success'?
A) The Tribune
B) The Sporting Times
C) The Pall Mall Gazette
D) The Era
  • 66. What did The New York Times suggest a 'confirmed misanthrope' would do during the show?
A) Refrain from merriment
B) Leave the theater
C) Laugh uncontrollably
D) Fall asleep
  • 67. Which theatrical newspaper led the London critical consensus that the work was an advance on earlier efforts?
A) The Graphic
B) The Pall Mall Gazette
C) The Era
D) The Sporting Times
  • 68. Which publication described the score of The Pirates of Penzance as a 'cabinet miniature'?
A) The Graphic
B) The Times
C) The Herald
D) The Era
  • 69. The Manchester Guardian felt that Gilbert borrowed an idea from which playwright?
A) Pinafore
B) Sullivan
C) The German Reeds
D) Sheridan
  • 70. Which newspaper called Sullivan's score for The Sorcerer a masterpiece?
A) The Times
B) The Herald
C) The Manchester Guardian
D) The Graphic
  • 71. The Graphic stated that verse and music in the show seemed to be of what?
A) Contradictory styles
B) Varying quality
C) Simultaneous growth
D) Separate origins
  • 72. Which musical form is the concluding section of the overture written in?
A) Rondo form
B) Theme and variations
C) Ternary form
D) Compressed sonata form
  • 73. Which Verdi opera is considered to be parodied by "Come, friends, who plough the sea"?
A) Aida
B) Rigoletto
C) Il trovatore
D) La forza del destino
  • 74. According to Arthur Jacobs, "Hail Poetry" is a burlesque of a prayer scene from which opera?
A) La damnation de Faust
B) Il trovatore
C) Thespis
D) La forza del destino
  • 75. Who suggested that "Hail, Poetry" could be turned into a Mozart string quartet with little alteration?
A) Arthur Jacobs
B) George Bernard Shaw
C) Gervase Hughes
D) Nicholas Temperley
  • 76. The song "Poor wand'ring one" is widely thought to burlesque which composer?
A) Rossini
B) Gounod
C) Verdi
D) Mozart
  • 77. What did the music critic of The Times call "Poor wand'ring one"?
A) Verdian
B) Schubertian
C) Mendelssohnian
D) Mock-Donizetti
  • 78. Rodney Milnes describes the Major-General's song "Sighing softly to the river" as being inspired by which composer?
A) Verdi
B) Sullivan
C) Schubert
D) Mozart
  • 79. Which composer's work does Jacobs suggest influenced Sullivan's contrapuntal mingling of melodies?
A) Bizet
B) Gounod
C) Berlioz
D) Mendelssohn
  • 80. Which earlier work by Sullivan provided the four-part chorus "Climbing over rocky mountain"?
A) La damnation de Faust
B) Il trovatore
C) Patience
D) Thespis
  • 81. Which theater company produced the 2025 adaptation of The Pirates of Penzance?
A) D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
B) Public Theater
C) Roundabout Theatre Company
D) Broadway Musical Group
  • 82. Who directed the 2025 Broadway production of Pirates!?
A) Warren Carlyle
B) David Rockwell
C) Rupert Holmes
D) Scott Ellis
  • 83. Which actor played the dual role of Gilbert/Major General Stanley in the 2025 production?
A) Ramin Karimloo
B) Colton Ryan
C) Preston Truman Boyd
D) David Hyde Pierce
  • 84. How many regular performances did the 2025 Broadway production have?
A) 21
B) 82
C) 109
D) 130
  • 85. Who played the role of Mabel in the 2025 production?
A) Samantha Williams
B) Edith
C) Jinkx Monsoon
D) Kate
  • 86. In the 2025 version, what replaced the original revelation that the pirates are aristocrats?
A) That the pirates are lost relatives of the General
B) That America is a diverse nation of immigrants
C) That the pirates are actually police officers
D) That the pirates were merely acting in a play
  • 87. Which musical style was NOT mentioned as part of the 2025 orchestrations?
A) Calypso
B) Boogie-woogie
C) Opera buffa
D) Dixieland
  • 88. What was the total gross of the 2025 Broadway production?
A) $4,000,000
B) $8,058,516
C) $10,250,000
D) $7,500,000
  • 89. Who was the set designer for the 2025 production?
A) Donald Holder
B) Linda Cho
C) Mikaal Sulaiman
D) David Rockwell
  • 90. In the 2022 concert version of this concept, who played Frederic?
A) Colton Ryan
B) Ramin Karimloo
C) Nicholas Barasch
D) David Hyde Pierce
  • 91. Which film features Leopold singing 'I Am The Very Model of A Modern Major-General'?
A) Kate & Leopold
B) Pretty Woman
C) An American Tail
D) Despicable Me 3
  • 92. Which Disney cartoon features a climactic battle set during a performance of Pirates?
A) Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers
B) An American Tail
C) The Wind in the Willows
D) Despicable Me 3
  • 93. Which song was used in the movie An American Tail?
A) Oh Dry the Glistening Tear
B) With cat-like tread
C) Sighing Softly
D) Poor wand'ring one
  • 94. Which film features a nonsense pastiche of the Major-General's song sung by Minions?
A) Pretty Woman
B) Kate & Leopold
C) Despicable Me 3
D) The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
  • 95. Who created both The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip?
A) Aaron Sorkin
B) Captain Pete
C) Richard Gere
D) Julia Roberts
  • 96. In which TV series did Sam Seaborn mention Gilbert and Sullivan operas?
A) The West Wing
B) Assy McGee
C) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
D) Flashpoint
  • 97. Where does a Pirates poster hang in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip?
A) The stage of the theater
B) Matt Albie's office wall
C) Sam Seaborn's office
D) The police station
  • 98. Which song do the police officer and his partner sing in the pilot of Flashpoint?
A) Poor wand'ring one
B) With cat-like tread
C) The Major-General's song
D) The policeman's song
  • 99. In the Assy McGee episode 'Pegfinger', who is a member of a community theatre group?
A) Detective Sanchez's wife
B) Detective Sanchez
C) Assy McGee
D) The mayor
  • 100. Which character sings 'Sighing Softly' in the Family Guy episode 'Peter's Got Woods'?
A) Quagmire
B) Peter Griffin
C) Stewie Griffin
D) Brian Griffin
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