It could just be me, but I really feel like Rex and Kevin are stifling a laugh at the very top of this. It seems like an inside joke between the two, but I wish I knew!
Wow! This is what's known as a showstopper, in a fantastic new performing version by William F. (Bill) Elliott, who can be seen here conducting the show, as he did every night.
but... the 1983 movie has Angela Landsbury and well she is just awesomezors... I actually bought this version by accident cause they said it had her in it *tear* its good yes and a true rendition of the play.
The magic of musical theatre. the previous song is one of, if not the loudest in the opera, and all about how stealthy the pirates are. the joke is that they sing at the top of their lungs about how stealthy they are, and this is just a continuation of that.
You have to watch the last song or two to really understand why it's funny. The last song was called With Cat-like thread. It was about how steathy the pirates are, but the song is sung at the top of their lungs, making it funny. Then after the song ends is when the light turns on in the house, and when the Major-General comes out and starts talking about thinking he "heard a sound", but that it was only the windm, makes it even funny because the pirates were singing so loudly.
@tonywinner They just sang a song at the dynamic of forte (loud) about how quiet they are and the "modern major-general" thinks it came from the trees. Wouldn't you find that funny?
I had my first full contact with a G&S performance (Pirates) a couple of days ago in the amazing and Penzance-proximate surroundings of Cornwall's Minack Theatre (thanks "Ilyria" for your sterling efforts). Some individual songs were of course familiar, but the above was entirely new to me, and whilst "Ilyria" tried as hard as most to stress the almost-Python like humour of the operetta (reasonably enough given the ever-present satire), they basically played "Sighing Softly" straight, and it was indeed a tangibly and surprisingly beautiful experience. My eye was fresh here too, as I knew little of G&S. Given the presence of the ocean at Minack it is not so hard to have a spiritual moment there, and myself as Born Again (a term I would once never have anticipated for myself) now finds traces of the Holy Spirit in various places. Jesus Himself more or less noted that the Spirit was a wind that blew where it will, and one of His breaths reached me and I allowed it to change my life, grasping the chance (I would have been an unforgivable blind fool NOT to). But the song here has WS Gilbert noting the fickleness of the breeze, described as a rover. Jesus of course did not quite suggest the Spirit was fickle, but did suggest its unpredictability and even perhaps slightly eccentric nature. Anyone in the audience at Minack would have noted how the above song "does not fit in", and further reading shows how many Savoyards and W&S performers see it as a dead-end non-sequitur that adds nothing in terms of comedy and fails to fit emotionally. The ears of a Holy Spirit spotter such as myself prick up on hearing such things! It is quite typical... My instinctive feeling at the performance was that the Major-General was using the song as a calming lullaby for himself, possibly from childhood. The "Cat-like tread" has come before (the joke being it's very noisy), but the M-G convinces himself he has only heard the sighing of the breeze. This seems to transport the man out of his silly vacuousness into something much deeper. But the scene is heralded by Frederick referring to "a light inside" and that would be Jesus coming to the Old Soldier, who admits before the song starts that he cannot sleep because of the lie he has told. Since that was about his orphan status, it is not just a lie but also a failure to honour father and mother. So 2 sins. What the M-G describes then is the infamous "intolerable burden" of sin, which I myself felt as I called upon the Trinity for cleansing and forgiveness; and that is when the Holy Spirit/Paraclete came to me and did just what I asked! Very tangibly. The M-G gets his sighing breeze, which transfers love to the babbling (laughing) brook (flowing water also symbolises the Spirit) and to the famously rustling leaves of the poplars, which raise their arms skywards, according to the lyrics. Two pseudo-prayers are said for the brook and the trees, and one refers to love, while the other invokes heaven directly/literally (so this is not even too far between the lines); and Gilbert then concludes by having the M-G regret the fact that the action is short-term only. The song is thus deep, serious, and reflective of the Major-General's disappointment with divinity and spirituality. This echoes WS Gilbert's regular lampooning of clergy in the operettas, as well as a famous bit of poetry he wrote about sermons ensuring that any spirituality achieved in church was soon snuffed out! Gilbert was a good-ish man, kind to all living things, who actually died in the circumstance of female guests beginning to drown in a lake! Notwithstanding that noble circumstance, his local Church was not keen to bury him as he was a stranger to it! Gilbert was socially aware and could not accept how much sufferring there was in Victorian England, and in general the Savoy operettas chime with waning Christian faith in mid- and late Victorian times (not least science-inspired ... and remember how the Major-General is actually laughed at for being informed scientifically at the expense of his ability to fight). The song does matter therefore, even as it does not fit in the context; though it does herald a change of mood and attitude in the characters in "Pirates". The song "Sighing Breeze" is thus a gentle-ish condemnation of the Spirit's fickleness even as it actually does presages reform and peace within the play, apparently of a life-changing nature! In my experience this kind of paradox and double-level activity is TYPICAL for the Spirit, who does indeed blow where He will and is very keen on life imitating art, and vice versa. Often artists are inspired to transcendence without fully realising it, and that may be the case here, I feel...
It is both a comedy and a satire. In most musicals, the universe pauses when there is singing, and nobody sees or hears the musical participants or other participants in the musical when there are multiple participants in a non-choral song. (Such as romantic duets when neither one can see the other, and yet their lyrics rhyme or fit together.) In this world, the universe continues even while the musical is going on, but the characters only rarely seem to notice. The pirates provide the chorus to the "Terrible Story" song earlier on, and the General only "thought he heard a noise", to which the pirates provide backup. The whole play is hilarious, especially when one looks at the music. The sheet music for "With Catlike Tread" calls for fff sound level (forte fortissimo) when ff is "as loud as you can play". Hilarious given the intent of the song....
i agree that this version is great however i love the other just as much but i think its because its the same cast except for ruth i like landsbury better than this one
It could just be me, but I really feel like Rex and Kevin are stifling a laugh at the very top of this. It seems like an inside joke between the two, but I wish I knew!
The late George Rose, pitched the role of the Major General, to perfection. R.I.P Mr Rose
This is probably my favorite scene in the show. Just watching them "hide" from him is hilarious.
Wow! This is what's known as a showstopper, in a fantastic new performing version by William F. (Bill) Elliott, who can be seen here conducting the show, as he did every night.
This play looks hilarious
but... the 1983 movie has Angela Landsbury and well she is just awesomezors... I actually bought this version by accident cause they said it had her in it *tear* its good yes and a true rendition of the play.
Through the trees… 🌲 🌳
I love this song so much! I just wish that I had the violin part in the pit orchestra.
The magic of musical theatre. the previous song is one of, if not the loudest in the opera, and all about how stealthy the pirates are. the joke is that they sing at the top of their lungs about how stealthy they are, and this is just a continuation of that.
You have to watch the last song or two to really understand why it's funny. The last song was called With Cat-like thread. It was about how steathy the pirates are, but the song is sung at the top of their lungs, making it funny. Then after the song ends is when the light turns on in the house, and when the Major-General comes out and starts talking about thinking he "heard a sound", but that it was only the windm, makes it even funny because the pirates were singing so loudly.
I like how Rex says " i see a light in side" XD
I thought I heard a noise. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!
Can't wait for the Finale to be posted.
@tonywinner They just sang a song at the dynamic of forte (loud) about how quiet they are and the "modern major-general" thinks it came from the trees.
Wouldn't you find that funny?
Two?? I think not. :P We all remember that!
family guy
what r u doing way down here i almost lost hope looking
yeah me too! s4ep11
1:52
I had my first full contact with a G&S performance (Pirates) a couple of days ago in the amazing and Penzance-proximate surroundings of Cornwall's Minack Theatre (thanks "Ilyria" for your sterling efforts). Some individual songs were of course familiar, but the above was entirely new to me, and whilst "Ilyria" tried as hard as most to stress the almost-Python like humour of the operetta (reasonably enough given the ever-present satire), they basically played "Sighing Softly" straight, and it was indeed a tangibly and surprisingly beautiful experience. My eye was fresh here too, as I knew little of G&S. Given the presence of the ocean at Minack it is not so hard to have a spiritual moment there, and myself as Born Again (a term I would once never have anticipated for myself) now finds traces of the Holy Spirit in various places. Jesus Himself more or less noted that the Spirit was a wind that blew where it will, and one of His breaths reached me and I allowed it to change my life, grasping the chance (I would have been an unforgivable blind fool NOT to). But the song here has WS Gilbert noting the fickleness of the breeze, described as a rover. Jesus of course did not quite suggest the Spirit was fickle, but did suggest its unpredictability and even perhaps slightly eccentric nature. Anyone in the audience at Minack would have noted how the above song "does not fit in", and further reading shows how many Savoyards and W&S performers see it as a dead-end non-sequitur that adds nothing in terms of comedy and fails to fit emotionally. The ears of a Holy Spirit spotter such as myself prick up on hearing such things! It is quite typical... My instinctive feeling at the performance was that the Major-General was using the song as a calming lullaby for himself, possibly from childhood. The "Cat-like tread" has come before (the joke being it's very noisy), but the M-G convinces himself he has only heard the sighing of the breeze. This seems to transport the man out of his silly vacuousness into something much deeper. But the scene is heralded by Frederick referring to "a light inside" and that would be Jesus coming to the Old Soldier, who admits before the song starts that he cannot sleep because of the lie he has told. Since that was about his orphan status, it is not just a lie but also a failure to honour father and mother. So 2 sins. What the M-G describes then is the infamous "intolerable burden" of sin, which I myself felt as I called upon the Trinity for cleansing and forgiveness; and that is when the Holy Spirit/Paraclete came to me and did just what I asked! Very tangibly. The M-G gets his sighing breeze, which transfers love to the babbling (laughing) brook (flowing water also symbolises the Spirit) and to the famously rustling leaves of the poplars, which raise their arms skywards, according to the lyrics. Two pseudo-prayers are said for the brook and the trees, and one refers to love, while the other invokes heaven directly/literally (so this is not even too far between the lines); and Gilbert then concludes by having the M-G regret the fact that the action is short-term only. The song is thus deep, serious, and reflective of the Major-General's disappointment with divinity and spirituality. This echoes WS Gilbert's regular lampooning of clergy in the operettas, as well as a famous bit of poetry he wrote about sermons ensuring that any spirituality achieved in church was soon snuffed out! Gilbert was a good-ish man, kind to all living things, who actually died in the circumstance of female guests beginning to drown in a lake! Notwithstanding that noble circumstance, his local Church was not keen to bury him as he was a stranger to it! Gilbert was socially aware and could not accept how much sufferring there was in Victorian England, and in general the Savoy operettas chime with waning Christian faith in mid- and late Victorian times (not least science-inspired ... and remember how the Major-General is actually laughed at for being informed scientifically at the expense of his ability to fight). The song does matter therefore, even as it does not fit in the context; though it does herald a change of mood and attitude in the characters in "Pirates". The song "Sighing Breeze" is thus a gentle-ish condemnation of the Spirit's fickleness even as it actually does presages reform and peace within the play, apparently of a life-changing nature! In my experience this kind of paradox and double-level activity is TYPICAL for the Spirit, who does indeed blow where He will and is very keen on life imitating art, and vice versa. Often artists are inspired to transcendence without fully realising it, and that may be the case here, I feel...
Do you have the entire performance by any chance? I'm performing as the pirate king at the end of the month and could use some help.
☺Hope it was a good 'un! It's my turn over the coming week. Kevin Kline - the greatest Pirate King of them all. What an inspiration.
@RosesNightengales He was about to lose it at that point.
1:51 if you’re here after watching Family Guy
🎼THRU THE TREEEEEEEESSSS🎼
MR Rose amazing performance. Horrible death. Tender heart too trusting
@spanishsmartypants6 HUSH HUSH! XXDD
Family Guy brought me here and I am not disappointed
Family guy brought me here ha!
what am i watching
I'm not sure with the play, so can someone tell me why the guy singing can't see or hear them? Also of they are hiding from him why are they singing?
It is both a comedy and a satire. In most musicals, the universe pauses when there is singing, and nobody sees or hears the musical participants or other participants in the musical when there are multiple participants in a non-choral song. (Such as romantic duets when neither one can see the other, and yet their lyrics rhyme or fit together.)
In this world, the universe continues even while the musical is going on, but the characters only rarely seem to notice. The pirates provide the chorus to the "Terrible Story" song earlier on, and the General only "thought he heard a noise", to which the pirates provide backup.
The whole play is hilarious, especially when one looks at the music. The sheet music for "With Catlike Tread" calls for fff sound level (forte fortissimo) when ff is "as loud as you can play". Hilarious given the intent of the song....
Family Guy brought me here.
What do you mean, they are all fools.
i agree that this version is great however i love the other just as much but i think its because its the same cast except for ruth i like landsbury better than this one
does anyone else think the Major-General is lip-syncing?
Manfredatee
No, he is not, or he'd sound considerably better than this. It looks odd because the audio is not perfectly synched to the video.
in a good way though.
nothing wrong with being a fool.
hence the whole COMEDY and tradgety masks
in the theatrical arts department.
C:
ha.
I mean lip-synching.