7:30 p.m., Tannery Pond Center, North Creek

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Saranac Lake High School Auditorium

2 p.m. Sunday, Strand Theater, Old Forge

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David Neal, playing a police sergeant, laments that “The Policeman’s Lot is Not a Happy One” with his fellow officers (from left) Mary Leach, Noah Cordes, Karen Butters, Matthew Varden, Maurice Fortune, Dorran Boucher and Carl Tropper. (Photo provided)

The famed comic opera “The Pirates of Penzance” landed in Tupper Lake Thursday night and will dock in North Creek, Saranac Lake and Old Forge for a wild weekend of high notes on the high seas.

First performed in 1879, Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular work is considered to be a precursor to modern musical theater and even comedic groups like Monty Python. Nothing is safe from the operetta’s satirical take on British society, mocking everything from the military to pirates. It even pokes fun at its own opera format.

“The great thing about Gilbert and Sullivan is that it really is still relevant,” stage director George Cordes said. “The comedy feels fresh and makes audiences laugh still today as much as they did back then.”

Cordes, of Tupper Lake, also acts in the opera, and is the artistic director of the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, which is behind the production.

Much of the comedy comes from the opera’s absurd plot points. Fake orphans, leap years and mispronunciations put characters in complicated and outrageous situations as they debate, flirt and battle, all while performing memorable pieces like the well-known patter song, “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General.”

“Patter” is the term used for songs whose short, punctuated syllables and quick delivery require impeccable enunciation. Possibly the most popular patter song of all time, “Major-General” features Cordes rapidly delivering the expansive vocabulary, lamenting the character’s lack of military knowledge.

Though the opera follows classical conventions, it is littered with jokes, gags and situations that lighten the mood as well as the art form.

“I just always leave from jobs like this, having sung Gilbert and Sullivan, feeling like I’ve done some good,” said mezzo Beth MacLeod Largent, who plays Ruth. “People need to laugh.”

Many actors who are accustomed to the serious and dramatic tone of most opera appreciate the chance to use their comedic chops on stage. The operatic music fuses with comedic lyrics to set a goofy tone for the performance.

“You have to have a reason to be singing all of those high-flying runs and scales,” said soprano Natalie Polito, who plays Mabel. “If you make them into a laugh or if you give them some kind of comedic intention, it makes the music have a lot more meaning.”

The principal lead roles are played by trained opera and theater performers from New York City, Binghamton and Boston. Polito said they enjoy performing in the Adirondacks and do not want to go back home.

“It’s great to see the arts thriving up here, and there is a lot of local talent, which I think this production showcases in a really special way,” Polito said.

The show’s choral group features singers from Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, AuSable Forks, Indian Lake and Blue Mountain Lake, and is scored by Elizabeth Cordes, wife of George and music teacher in Tupper Lake Schools, on the piano.

“The audience, I hope they know how lucky they are to have someone like George up here working so hard to provide this type of artistic experience,” said tenor Jordan Schreiner, who plays Frederic.

George Cordes, says he wants to show audiences the lighter side of opera by tickling their funny bone with a skillfully written comedy about fraudulent orphans, unenthusiastic police and countless misunderstandings.

“It going to be two hours of just fun escapism, beautiful music and funny comedy,” he said.

The opera can be seen at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tannery Pond Center in North Creek and Saturday at the Saranac Lake High School auditorium, where the chorus will let loose vocally in the large venue.

A matinee can be seen Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Strand Theatre in Old Forge. Tickets can be found at adirondackarts.org.