Choreographer

In the 19th century, Penzance was one of the most idyllic and peaceful little towns on the British isle. Pirates... here?! The kings of English operetta, the writing duo Gilbert & Sullivan, had a knack for humorously subverting their audience’s expectations. With this satirical and subversive “recipe,” they created one hit after another.

The rather absurd plot of The Pirates of Penzance would have done proud even to the British humor of Monty Python back in the 19th century: A young man is not trained as a pilot, but instead apprenticed to the Pirates of Penzance because his hard-of-hearing governess confuses the words “pilot” and “pirate.” Upon turning 21, Frederic should have completed his apprenticeship—if only he hadn’t been born in a leap year! According to pirate logic, that makes him just five years old… From this existential dilemma unfolds a love story between the young pirate apprentice and Mabel, a young lady from the British military aristocracy..

The Pirates of Penzance

Volksoper Wien

“Love stays away, you wait and wait; when least expected, there it is!” 
She is said to seduce all the men with her free-spiritedness and her Spanish folklore, as she sings “Love is a rebellious bird”… Until she is killed by one of the men.

“Is Carmen really the free, independent woman we think she is, or is she rather the prisoner of the very myth of the free, independent woman? Isn’t it precisely the men who attribute this free-spiritedness to her, so that their conquest of her is all the more rewarding? Carmen tries to make decisions that go in an unexpected, unconventional direction. But is that the definition of freedom? Isn’t the consistent decision to go against convention also a kind of straitjacket?” (Lotte de Beer)

Choreographer

Gail Skrela

Events

Past events

Mar 27 - May 2, 2026

The Pirates of Penzance · Volksoper Wien

Oct 4, 2025

Carmen · Volksoper Wien

About

Gail Skrela hasn't added a bio