First Coast Opera to hold auditions for
the Gilbert & Sullivan favorite
The Pirates Of Penzance

Auditions for First Coast Opera's production of The Pirates Of Penzance -- directed by Jean Rahner -- will be held Thursday, December 27, 2007 from 7pm to 9pm and again Thursday, January 3, 2008 from 7pm to 9pm, at the St. Augustine Art Association at 22 Marine Street in St. Augustine. Please bring headshot and resume. Singers bring one song, preferably by Gilbert & Sullivan, to audition that would demonstrate similar abilities to those required of the desired role in the operetta. An accompanist will be provided. There will be cold readings from the script for those roles with dialogue.

In The Pirates of Penzance, Frederic was as a child apprenticed to a band of tenderhearted, orphaned pirates by his nurse who, being hard of hearing, had mistaken her master's instructions to apprentice the boy to a pilot. Frederic, upon completing his 21st year, rejoices that he has fulfilled his indentures and is now free to return to respectable society. But it turns out that he was born on February 29 in leap year, and he remains apprenticed to the pirates until his 21st birthday. By the end of the operetta, the pirates, a Major General who knows nothing of military strategy, his large family of beautiful but unwed daughters, and the timid constabulary all contribute to a cacophony that can be silenced only by Queen Victoria's name.

Roles:

Frederic — Frederic is the handsome, young man who had been mistakenly apprenticed to a band of pirates until his twenty-first birthday. He values duty as the supreme human trait. He is extremely naive and has never seen a woman besides his nursemaid, Ruth.
Role: Lead, Age: 16 – 30, Sex: M, Voice: Tenor, Dancing: Light

Mabel — Mabel is the beautiful and independent ward of Major-General Stanley who falls in love with Frederic.
Role: Lead, Age: 15 – 26, Sex: F, Voice: Soprano, Dancing: Light

Ruth — Ruth is the half-deaf nursemaid of Frederic. She joined the pirates after mistakenly apprenticing Frederic.
Role: Lead, Age: 40 – 70, Sex: F, Voice: Contralto, Dancing: Light

Edith — The leader of Major-General Stanley's daughters
Role: Supporting, Age: 15 – 25, Sex: F, Voice: Mezzo-Soprano, Dancing: Light

Major-General Stanley — A wealthy widower raising his daughters alone.
Role: Supporting, Age: 40 – 65, Sex: M, Voice: Comic Baritone, Dancing: Medium

The Pirate King — The Pirate King is the strong leader of the pirates. He is fully willing to rape and pillage, yet refuses to commit evil acts against orphans.
Role: Supporting, Age: 30 – 60, Sex: M, Voice: Bass-Baritone, Dancing: Light

Samuel — The confident and fearless lieutenant to the Pirate King.
Role: Supporting, Age: 21 – 40, Sex: M, Voice: Baritone, Dancing: Light

Sergeant of Police — The Sergeant is the bumbling leader of the police who is sent out to fight the pirates. He has a strong sense of duty, yet is a coward in the face of real danger.
Role: Supporting, Age: 25 – 50, Sex: M, Voice: Bass, Dancing: Light

Isabel — Ward of Major-General Stanley
Role: Cameo, Age: 15 – 25, Sex: F. Voice: N/A (Dialogue only), Dancing: Light

Kate — Ward of Major-General Stanley
Role: Cameo, Age: 15 – 25, Sex: F, Voice: Mezzo-Soprano, Dancing: Light

Chorus of Pirates, Police and Major-General Stanley’s Daughters

"The Pirates Of Penzance" is under the direction of Jean Rahner and will play March 28 – 30, 2008 and again April 4 – 6, 2008 in St. Augustine, FL.