I love how he added lyrics...especialy about Lloyd Webber...(especially knowing that this operetta was composed back in the late 19th century, and lloyd is a mid 20th century composer)this is great!
"...or I'll be singing this song till Australia's a repub-e-lic!" I remember wondering what made Gilbert come up with that line back in the 1870s. I'm still rather disappointed that he didn't actually write it.
The thing i love about his play is that you have to write most of the gags into it yourself. Gilbert and Sullivan don't write them for you. :) They did a fantastic job making the Major General quirky and fun.
My favorite thing about Penzance is that it feels totally different in every production because there are half a dozen characters that can steal the show. It's a brilliant move by G&S, keeps it fresh
I usually don't like it when actors in a musical add extra acting into the songs, but this was extremely well-done and worked amazingly well with the character.
I remember going and seeing this performance! Oh, the memories! Oh the hilarity! Oh the brain going a million k's an hour trying to translate the Major General for my young mind XD
I do love the G&S originals, HOWEVER! i thorougly enjoyed these versions when they toured, this part, was my favorite (apart from when jon opened his shirt a few times :P) Thanks for posting this, great memories!!!
It always amazes me that who ever it is playing the major general can keep up with that fast tempo (the segment of Family Guy no doubt represents the rehearsal of the song till the actor can keep up with the tempo)
Saw this live when I was 11 or 12. Even better live than on film!! I seriously thought that Jon English in his purple pants was David Bowie from Labyrinth!! lol
The new verse: I am the very model of a modern major-general. I've information seminal and cultural and federal, And regional and functional and fictional and textual, Abominable, scriptural, confessional, and sexual, Impeccable, improbable, deplorable, debatable, Unpleasant, undemanding, unimportant, untranslatable, Imponderable, mystical, ballistical, and germinal, In facts so bloody boring that it's positively terminal. So let's conclude this larricking commercial money grubber quick, Or I'll be singing this song 'til Australia's a republic, But still in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral, I am the very model of a modern major-general.
i think it was vry good, it wasn't supposed to be an equal grounds to G&S's original masterpiece, it's like a skit, i liked the part about him being the drink... really ahead of his time!
I have watched a few versions of this song, but I think I prefer this one. The whole show was very entertaining, RIR Jon English. He was excellent as the pirate king.
The theatre production that I'm with, we recently did Pirates Of Penzance .. I played a Pirate in the 1st half of the show, then played a Policeman in the 2nd half ... and I absolutely LOVED performing in it! :D
This is hilarious, no wonder Animaniacs spoofed this song! XD The Animaniacs version is called "I Am the Very Model of a Cartoon Individual". It isn't as verbally funny as this, but it is more physically funny.
I saw her in the megamix she in the Mikado and get the chance to sing alongside her co stars in Pirates including Derek the General in Pirates nice to see reunited with her Co stars from Pirates.
We can definitely tell that I am a Mass Effect Fan, because as soon as I heard this, I started hearing Mordin Solus singing his parody of this in my head. I like this better though. :)
"Caravanseri" and "wards in chancery" are supposed to rhyme, Mabel. Doesn't matter which one is "correct." Don't assume Gilbert didn't know what he was doing, please.
Well in order to be invisible, they must create huge amounts of power, which means incredibly big generators installed to them, so mass must be rather great.
It could be called an ancestor. The "patter song" has been around for hundreds of years. As far as the Tom Lehrer thing, he's right, but it's the other way around. I take it that the sigh implies that there's no arguing with someone whose mind is made up, despite the facts being wrong....
Who cares if it's supposed to be a patter song? He's rocking this song. I prefer him over George Rose. And of course it's over the top; the whole musical is supposed to be.
So let's conclude this Larry King commercial monograbic quick or I'll be singing this song til Australia's a republic, but with a dash of bitters or some tonic in your general I am the very bottle of a Perrier that's mineral.
@NinjaxPrime It is an operetta - it was composed specifically for two choruses - a male chorus and a female chorus. Musically it requires both choruses. There is always an element of the suspension of disbelief in musical theater - afterall people don't normally sing to each other. And besides - one of the great innovations of G & S is making the choruses into their own characters. But the musical considerations I think dominate and the trio does not render Sullivan's choral writing well.
@@craigmcfly he's comparing the verse to a mix between a rambling talk show and a wild party. He's essentially saying. "Lets get through this nonsense before im here all night."
