1899 Revival at the Savoy

From The Sketch 5 July 1899

Ruth Vincent as Josephine	Emmie Owen as Cousin Hebe	Eric Victor Gordon Reiners as the Midshipmite
Rosina Brandram as Buttercup	Josephine and Buttercup	Cousin Hebe and the Midshipmite

By far the best light music entertainment in town at this moment is undoubtedly "H.M.S. Pinafore," which was revived at the Savoy on June 6. The opera was produced at the Opera Comique on May 25, 1878, and is thus one and twenty years old. It was revived at the Savoy on Nov. 12, 1887, and now, after a lapse of twelve years, it is with us again. The "Pinafore" has always struck me as being amusing, but not until the present revival had I recognised what a little masterpiece it is — full of gaiety, brimful of character, and mirthful from first to last. The curious thing is that the opera is not in the least old-fashioned. As a matter of fact, some of its latest successors have on revival shown signs of having become a little more threadbare and dusty at the hem. But the "Pinafore" is as fresh as the paint on the good ship's bulwarks, possibly because it has not been burdened so much as its successors by the perplexing intricacies of Mr. Gilbert's inversions.

And it is beautifully acted, for, after all is said and done, the Savoy remains the one theatre in London which can be said to be a school of acting, distinctive and unique. Of the original cast only one figure remains, namely, Mr. Richard Temple, whose voice is as good as ever it was, while his acting has, of course, grown better with experience. He has appeared in all three productions of the opera. Miss Rosina Brandram is the only other member of the present cast who has acted in any other production of the "Pinafore," for she repeats her part (as only she can) of Sweet Little Buttercup, the bumboat woman. Mr. H. A. Lytton makes an excellent Captain Corcoran. I am a great admirer of Mr. Lytton, who seems to me the only artist in this country who could fill a part in a MOzart opera with any real adequateness, for he sings, he acts, he dances, he carries himself with such rare distinction. Mr. Walter Passmore as Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B. has happily whittled down his Cockneyisms.

The revival of the opera serves to remind us how many phrases Mr. Gilbert has added to the stock of the day. Indeed, no other dramatist, not even Mr. Pinero, has created so much of our current phraseology as Mr. Gilbert. Altogether it is one of the brightest and best entertainments that you can see, and is naturally drawing crowds to the Savoy.

Dick Deadeye (Richard Temple) and Captain Corcoran (Henry Lytton)	Dick Deadeye and Ralph Rackstraw (Robert Evett)
Captain Corcoran, Sir Joseph (Walter Passmore) and Ralph Rackstraw	Captain Corcoran, Hebe and Ralph Rackstraw

Page modified 14 April 2021