Buy Tickets

H.M.S. Pinafore

February 19 at 7:30 pm & 21 at 2:00 pm

Buy Tickets

Image of H.M.S. Pinafore

H.M.S. Pinafore

February 19 at 7:30 pm & 21 at 2:00 pm

All Aboard for Love & Laughter.

After more than four decades, H.M.S. Pinafore returns to Toledo Opera, bringing Gilbert & Sullivan’s signature wit, music, and high-seas hijinks to life. Onboard, the captain’s daughter Josephine hopes for love with the humble sailor Ralph Rackstraw, despite her father’s plans to marry her to the pompous Sir Joseph Porter. Mischievous sailors, scheming relatives, and the bumbling Little Buttercup, whose long-held secret turns everything upside down, ensure laughter, surprises, and joyous music throughout. This original production combines rousing choruses, clever wordplay, and unforgettable characters for an evening of nautical fun the whole family will enjoy.

Starring Mike Schwitter (South Pacific) as Ralph Rackstraw, Emily Casey (company debut) as Josephine, Keith Phares (South Pacific, Cinderella, The Merry Widow) as Captain Corcoran, and Nicholas Wuehrmann as Sir Joseph Porter, KCB.

Sung in English with English Captions

READ ABOUT THE STORY

Learn more with our Audience Guide

Sample the Music

Buy Tickets

Artist Bios
J. Ernest Green

Conductor

Read Bio ►
×

J. Ernest Green

J. Ernest Green is the Artistic Director of Live Arts Maryland and the Music Director of the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and Annapolis Chorale. He served as a Cover Conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra, where he worked with Denyce Graves, Sir James Galway, Pinchas Zuckerman, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Osmo Vanska, among others. As a Pops Conductor, he conducted for the late Marvin Hamlisch, where he worked with artists such as: Idina Menzel, Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz, Maria Friedman, Brian D’Arcy James and Klea Blackhurst, Mike Nichols, Liza Minnelli, Aretha Franklin, Chris Botti, Kevin Cole, Maria Friedman, Lang Lang, and Barbra Streisand. Mr. Green is the conductor for “Late Night” Music Director Paul Shaffer and Valerie Simpson for his symphony show, appearing with the Vancouver Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony, and the Long Beach Symphony. Mr. Green has appeared with many orchestras including: The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, The Tuscia Festival Orchestra (Italy), Annapolis Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Lincoln Symphony, Orquestra Sinfonica Nacional (Santo Domingo), and the Trinity Chamber Orchestra. J. Ernest Green is a graduate of the University of Toledo and the Peabody Conservatory of Music where he studied with Frederik Prausnitz. An avid advocate for the arts, he has served as a music panelist for the Maryland State Arts Council and an advisor on its Strategic Planning Committee. Maestro Green conducted the very successful The Merry Widow, Ragtime, South Pacific, and The Elixir of Love for Toledo Opera.

Nicholas Wuehrmann

Stage Director/Sir Joseph Porter, KCB

Read Bio ►
×

Nicholas Wuehrmann

Nicholas Wuerhmann’s career has taken him to many fascinating places theatrically, performing in about 400 productions ranging from musical theatre to film and TV to opera, from Shakespeare to singing with the London Symphony Orchestra, to performing as a whirling dervish at LaMama, ETC, to directing opera tours in Europe.  He earned a BA in Theater from James Madison University and an MM in vocal performance from Kent State University (magna cum laude).  He has performed with Salt Lake Acting Company, Sharon Playhouse, Mad Cow Theatre, Cleveland Opera, Opera Carolina, Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Ohio Light Opera (70 productions!), Emerging Artists Theatre, TOSOS, Texas Opera Theater, Delaware Valley Opera, Nevada Opera and Virginia Opera. Mr. Wuerhmann performed extensively with Seaside Music Theater in Daytona Beach (more than 40 productions) and was honored with the Marvin Samuels Award for Best Supporting Actor three times, as Herbie (Gypsy), Gus/Growltiger/Bustopher Jones (Cats), and as Oscar (Sweet Charity). Other favorite roles at SMT include Fredrik (A Little Night Music) and The Chairman (The Mystery of Edwin Drood). He has been directing (and often choreographing his own productions) for 20 years (The Pirates of Penzance, The Gondoliers, Street Scene, The Dialogues of the Carmelites, Iolanthe, Patience, Utopia Limited, Romance/Romance, Baby, Countess Maritza, The Merry Widow, Cox and Box, Trial By Jury, You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow, The World Goes ‘Round, etc.). He has traveled across the pond to direct European tours of Hänsel und Gretel and Die Zauberflöte (currently in its 15th year!) for Melinda Thompson’s Great Performances and directed Tri-Cities Opera’s H.M.S. Pinafore in April, 2019. When not performing or directing, Mr. Wuehrmann also teaches voice lessons and coaches acting and is proficient on the piano. He is a proud member of AEA and SAGAFTRA.

Mike Schwitter

Ralph Rackstraw

Read Bio ►
×

Mike Schwitter

ike Schwitter was thrilled to make his Toledo Opera debut with South Pacific in February 2025, and to revisit the role of Cable, which he last performed at Opera de Toulon in France. He is currently on Broadway in The Great Gatsby understudying the roles of Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and swing. Broadway: Pippin (Lewis, u/s Pippin). National Tours: The Book of Mormon (u/s Elder Price), Les Misérables (u/s Marius and Enjolras). Off-Broadway:  Stardust Road (Wallace). Regional: West Side Story (Tony), South Pacific (Lt. Cable), Next to Normal (Gabe), A Little Night Music, Beautiful, Unsinkable Molly Brown, Jesus Christ Superstar. Film/TV: BROS, Holly Jolly. Mr. Schwitter has also performed with dozens of symphonies both domestically and internationally, including Cirque Musica and West Side Story at the Hollywood Bowl and Opera du Rhin in Strasbourg. For more information, visit www.MikeSchwitter.com.

Emily Casey

Josephine

Read Bio ►
×

Emily Casey

Celebrated for her “radiance and vocal consistency throughout her range” (Opera Today) and described by Opera Canada as “a red-haired vixen with a sparkling voice,” soprano Emily Casey is gaining recognition as a compelling dramatic coloratura and bel canto soprano on the international opera stage. Praised for her vocal power, expressive lyricism, and commanding stage presence, she is known for performances that balance technical brilliance with emotional depth and dramatic conviction. Ms. Casey has collaborated with numerous opera companies and symphony orchestras throughout the United States and abroad in both operatic and concert repertoire. A versatile singing actress, she has appeared in leading operatic roles including Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Juliette (Roméo et Juliette), Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Gulnara (Il Corsaro), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Musetta (La Bohème), Micaëla (Carmen), and Elsie Maynard (The Yeomen of the Guard). Her performances have been praised for their emotional range, with reviewers highlighting her ability to convey “humor and longing and sadness,” and noting that her singing “resounds with each emotional peak.” Orchestral highlights include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Trinity Chamber Orchestra, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Maryland Lyric Opera, and solo performances with His Majesty’s Royal Marine Band Plymouth. Critics have noted her ability to “stand her own against the weight of the orchestra,” delivering “poignancy and power” in both intimate and large-scale works. Ms. Casey looks forward to making her debut with Toledo Opera and continuing to expand her work across operatic, symphonic, and crossover repertoire. Her full schedule, media, and updates can be found at emilycaseysoprano.com and on Instagram @emilycaseysoprano.

Keith Phares

Captain Corcoran

Read Bio ►
×

Keith Phares

For over 20 years, in repertoire from Baroque through present day, Keith Phares has appeared in leading roles with Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, the New York City Opera, Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, São Paolo Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and elsewhere; in collaboration with Hal Prince, Francesca Zambello, Frank Corsaro, Richard Hickox, Marin Alsop, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Thomas Allen, among others. His 2024-2025 season was highlighted by a duet concert with mezzo-soprano Katherine Pracht for Charlottesville and Tulsa Operas, critical reviews as Emile de Becque (South Pacific) at Toledo Opera, and Live In Concert's production of Gardens of Martyrs and The Scarlet Professor. In 2026, he reprises the role of Charlie (Three Decembers) with Sacramento Opera. Highlights from the 2023-2024 season include Paterson’s and Cote’s In Real Life with Mostly Modern Festival – The Netherlands, the premiere of Hilliard & Boresi’s monodrama Inbox Zero in a staged reading with UrbanArias, Sky Masterson (Guys and Dolls) with Charlottesville Opera, and a return to Toledo Opera as Dandini (La Cenerentola). In the summer of 2024, he reprised the role of Sky Masterson at Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre. In recent seasons he sang Danilo (The Merry Widow) with Toledo Opera, Ty in the premiere of Kuster’s and Campbell’s A Thousand Acres with Des Moines Metro Opera marking the company’s 50th Anniversary season, Fredrik Egerman opposite Patricia Racette in Arizona Opera’s A Little Night Music, Robert Cohen’s Alzheimer’s Stories at Carnegie Hall, the premiere of Herschel Garfein’s King of the River with the American Modern Ensemble, and Daddy Lowell/Mr. Floyd in Borzoni’s and de los Santos’s The Copper Queen film (premiere) with Arizona Opera. Mr. Phares is an Associate Professor of Voice at BGSU.

Beth Mitchell

Little Buttercup

Read Bio ►
×

Beth Mitchell

lEizabeth Mitchell, mezzo-soprano, is thrilled to be back with Toledo Opera after her triumphant TO debut as Emma Goldman in Ragtime. A versatile performer, Ms. Mitchell has sung nationally with opera companies including Ohio Light Opera, University of Michigan Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Detroit Opera, Toledo Opera, Opera Western Reserve, and as a concert soloist with organizations including the Firelands Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Choral Society, Orchestra Sono, and the Michigan Philharmonic. Internationally, she has sung with Opera on Tap in Berlin, Germany and Oper Im Park in St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria. Favorite past operatic roles include Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Dorabella (Cosí fan tutte), Ruth (The Pirates of Penzance), and Die Knusperhexe and Die Mutter (Hänsel und Gretel).  She has portrayed many of the classic G&S ladies (Ruth [Pirates of Penzance], Fairy Queen [Iolanthe], Little Buttercup [H.M.S. Pinafore], Duchess of Plaza Toro [Princess Ida], and Lady Jane [Patience]). Ms. Mitchell received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Utah and her Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan, both in Vocal Performance and with scholarship. Honors & Awards: 2025 Best Performer in a Musical Nomination, BroadwayWorld Detroit Regional Awards, Miss Hannigan (Annie), Croswell Opera House; Best Lead Actress in a Play Award, 2021-2022 Wilde Awards, Jenny (Jenny’s House of Joy), The Dio; 2019 Best Supporting Actress in a Musical Nomination, BroadwayWorld Detroit Regional Awards, Marmee (Little Women), One Off Productions; Utah District Finalist, Metropolitan Opera Competition; International Finalist, Lotte Lenya Competition for Singers; Semi-Finalist, International Czech and Slovak Competition.

TBA

Dick Deadeye

Join us one hour prior to curtain of H.M.S. Pinafore for a pre-opera talk.

Click for more details.

Production Details

Experience this all new production of one of operetta's most beloved scores! H.M.S. Pinafore has something for everyone - love, laughter, and hijinks on the high seas!

Back to all Toledo Opera Performances

This site uses cookies to improve your experience.

By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Ok