There is a performance of a musical opera which is set on ships at sea. In the first scene a group of two or three pirates kidnap three young ladies. Further details from the first scene are sketchy. The second scene takes place on the pirate ship, where the three lady hostages have been taken. In this opera, the decks of the ship are represented on stage by large sleeping hammocks. The ladies lie on the lower deck, or hammock, while the pirates are on the upper deck, or hammock. The pirates, singing their lines, decide amongst themselves to tease their captives. They proceed to do this by swinging the lower hammock back and forth in order to make the ladies dizzy. While swinging the hammock, they sing together in a strong clear voice. One of the ladies, however, is not bothered by the hammock swinging and she answers the pirates' song with a clear soprano voice of her own. The pirates sing their song louder, only to have the soprano answer in an aria which grows more and more beautiful, expressing her determination to be heard.