CARY'S JUVENILE OPERA COMPANY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3961, 8 February 1882, Page 2

CARY'S JUVENILE OPERA COMPANY.

The members of the company, consisting of. sixty performers, arrived by steamer this morning, and will make their debut this evening, in Courtney's Hall, in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera entitled " The Pirates of Penzance." As it is the first time this opera has been performed in Now Plymouth, we will give a brief resume of the " idea" that has been set'to music. At the opening are seen a number of pirates, celebrating, in their fashion, the termination of the apprenticeship^ Frederic • (the hero of the play). These pirates are absurdly and ridiculously kind hearted for pirates, and never molest anyone who claims to be an orphan. Hence, almost every ship they capture is entirely manned by orphans and acting upon their oath by letting them go, the piratos* profits are small. Ruth, Frederic's nurse, explains that she had bound liim to the pirates in mistake, having been instructed to apprentice him to a pilot, but the words being similar she mistook one for the 'other. This Ruth also is in love with Frederic. Presently there appear upon the scene a number of fair young maidens, General Stanley's daughters, with ono of whom he falls in love and plights bis troth. The rest of the' band of pirates rash in and Beizo the other girls with the intention of there and then marrying them, but General Stanley appears upon the scene. He is taken prisoner, but is let off with his daughters on the plea that he is, "an orphan," " often." The second scene opens in a ruined chapel by moonlight, where General Stanley is discovered sitting pensively, and deeply mourning because be bad told the pirates an untruth and so' escaped. Frederic, in accordance with his expressed determination, is setting off with a force of police to exterminate the band of which bo was formerly a member.' Lingering a while behind them, tho Pirate King and Ruth appear, explaining that he was bound apprentice to them till his twentyfirst birthday, which would not be reached till a very remote period, ns he was born on the 29th of February. As the slave of duty he then feels bound to return to the band, and he also tells them that the General had not spoken truthfully whe-i he represented himself to be an orphan, and thereupon the king vows vengeance on " unhappy General Stanley." The pirates appear for the purpose of despatching the General, when the police rush in and a struggle ensues, ending in the discomfiture of the latter. However, the pirates yield when called upon to do so in the Queen's name, "because, with all their faults, they loved their Queen." Immediately after it is further discovered that the pirates ore really all noblemen who have gone wrong, and they arc forgiven by General Stanley, and all ends happily. We trust tho company will be well patronised during its short stay in New Plymouth.