Part 10

The story is a satire upon the English courts, the incident being a breach of promise case. Edwin is sued by Angelina. The usher impresses upon the jury its duty to divest itself of prejudice in one breath, and in the next seeks to prejudice it against the defendant by most violent denunciations of him. When Edwin enters he is at once requested by the jury to "dread our damages." He tells them how he became "the lovesick boy" first of one and then of another. The jurymen in chorus, while admitting that they were fickle when young, declare that they are now respectable and have no sympathy with him. The judge enters, and after informing the audience how he came to the bench, announces he is ready to try the breach of promise case. The jury is sworn. Angelina enters, accompanied by her bridesmaids. The judge takes a great fancy to the first bridesmaid, and sends her a note, which she kisses rapturously and places in her bosom. Immediately thereafter the judge transfers his admiration to the plaintiff, and directs the usher to take the note from the bridesmaid and give it to Angelina, which he does, while the jurymen taunt the judge with being a sly dog, and then express their love for her also. The plaintiff's counsel makes the opening speech, and Angelina takes the witness-stand, but, feeling faint, falls sobbing on the foreman's breast, who kisses her as a father. She revives, and then falls sobbing upon the judge's breast, while the jurymen shake their fists at the defendant, who comes forward and offers to marry Angelina "to-day and marry the other to-morrow." The judge thinks it a reasonable proposition, but the plaintiff's counsel submits that "to marry two at once is Burglaree." In this dilemma Angelina embraces Edwin rapturously, but he repels her furiously and throws her into the arms of her counsel. The jury thereupon becomes distracted, and asks for guidance, whereupon the judge decides he will marry Angelina himself, to which she gives enthusiastic consent.

The best numbers in the operetta are the defendant's song, "When first my Old, Old Love I knew"; the juryman's song, "Oh! I was like that when I was a Lad"; the judge's song, "When I, Good Friends, was called to the Bar"; the pretty chorus of the bridesmaids, "Cover the Broken Flower"; the plaintiff's song, "O'er the Season Vernal"; and the defendant's song, "Oh! Gentlemen, listen, I pray." The London "Times," after the first performance, said: "There is a genuine humor in the music, as for instance in the unison chorus of the jurymen, and the clever parody on one of the most renowned finales of modern Italian opera; and there is also melody, both catching and fluent, here and there, moreover, set off by little touches in the orchestral accompaniments which reveal the experienced hand."

The Sorcerer.

[Comic opera, in two acts; text by Gilbert. First produced at the Opéra Comique, London, November 18, 1877.]

PERSONAGES.

Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre, an elderly baronet. Alexis, his son, of the Grenadier Guards. Dr. Daly, vicar of Ploverleigh. Notary. John Wellington Wells, of Wells & Co., family sorcerers. Lady Sangazure, a lady of ancient lineage. Aline, her daughter, betrothed to Alexis. Mrs. Partlet, a pew-opener. Constance, her daughter.

[Chorus of peasantry.]

The scene is laid upon an English estate; time, the present.

The success of the two operettas, "Cox and Box" and "Trial by Jury," led to the organization of a company under the management of Mr. D'Oyly Carte for the production of the Sullivan-Gilbert collaborations, and the first of its performances was "The Sorcerer." Incidentally it may be stated that this opera introduced Mr. George Grossmith to the stage, and its success led to a proposition from "Lewis Carroll" to Sullivan to set his "Alice in Wonderland" as an opera, though the scheme was never realized. The libretto is replete with humor, and the music is original and characteristic, and particularly noticeable for its admirable parodies of the Italian operas, and yet it is always scholarly.

The first act opens upon the grounds of Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre's estate, where the villagers are gathered to celebrate the betrothal of his son Alexis, and Aline, daughter of Lady Sangazure, with whom, fifty years before, Sir Marmaduke had been in love. Mrs. Partlet, the pew-opener, enters with her daughter Constance, who is hopelessly in love with Dr. Daly, the vicar, for he cannot be made to understand, either by her demonstrations or by the mother's hints, that he is the object of her devotion. Alexis and Aline are congratulated by all, and sign the marriage contract. When alone together, Alexis discourses upon his favorite theory that all artificial barriers should be broken down and that marriage should be contracted without regard to rank. To put his theory into practice he procures from the firm of J. W. Wells & Co., the old established family sorcerers of the place, a large quantity of their love potion, which has no effect upon married persons but will cause unmarried ones to couple without regard to rank or condition, mixes it with the tea and serves it out to all who are in attendance at the betrothal banquet. Gradually all fall insensible, and the act closes.

The second act opens upon Sir Marmaduke's grounds at midnight. The guests, one after the other, are waking. Alexis tells Aline she must take some of the potion so that he may be sure of her love, which she does after much protesting. As they regain their senses, each guest makes offer of marriage to the first one seen. Constance declares her love for the old notary. Sir Marmaduke enters with Mrs. Partlet, the venerable pew-opener, on his arm and announces his intention of marrying her. Wells appears on the grounds in a remorseful condition as he beholds the mischief he has caused, and Lady Sangazure proposes to him, and leaves in great anguish when he declares he is already engaged to "a maiden fair on a South Pacific Isle." Aline beholds Dr. Daly and begins to fall violently in love with him and he with her. Alexis, in alarm at the trouble he is making, seeks out Wells and demands that he shall remove the spell. Wells explains that in order to do this, one or the other of them must offer his life to Ahrimanes. Alexis is not willing to give up Aline, and Wells is averse to losing his profitable business. They agree to leave the decision to the guests, and the latter agree that Wells shall make the sacrifice. He consents, and all go back to their old lovers as he sinks through a trap amid red fire.

The most conspicuous numbers in the first act are Dr. Daly's ballad, "Time was when Love and I were well acquainted"; the duet between Sir Marmaduke and Lady Sangazure, "Welcome Joy, adieu to Sadness"; Alexis' ballad, "Love feeds on many Kinds of Food I know"; Wells' long and rollicking song, "Oh! my Name is John Wellington Wells"; and the incantation music, "Sprites of Earth and Air." The second act opens with a charming little country dance. The principal numbers which follow it are Constance's aria, "Dear Friends, take Pity on my Lot"; the ensemble for Aline, Alexis, Constance, and the Notary, "O, Joy! O, Joy!"; Alexis' ballad, "Thou hast the Power thy Vaunted Love"; the quintette, "I rejoice that it's decided"; Dr. Daly's humorous song, "Oh! my Voice is sad and low"; and the final ensemble, "Now to the Banquet we press."

H. M. S. Pinafore; or, The Lass that Loved a Sailor.

[Comic opera, in two acts; text by Gilbert. First produced at the Opéra Comique, London, May 28, 1878.]

PERSONAGES.

The Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B., First Lord of the Admiralty. Capt. Corcoran, commanding "H. M. S. Pinafore." Ralph Rackstraw, able seaman. Dick Deadeye, able seaman. Bill Bobstay, boatswain's mate. Bob Becket, carpenter's man. Tom Tucker, midshipmite. Sergeant of Marines. Josephine, the Captain's daughter. Hebe, Sir Joseph's first cousin. Little Buttercup, a bumboat woman.

[First Lord's sisters, his cousins, his aunts, sailors, marines, etc.]

The scene is laid on the quarterdeck of "H. M. S. Pinafore"; time, the present.

Although "Pinafore," when it was first produced in London, was received so coolly that it was decided to take it off the boards, yet eventually, with the exception of "The Beggar's Opera," it proved to be the most popular opera ever produced in England; while in the United States it was for years the rage, and is still a prime favorite. The first scene introduces the leading characters on the deck of "H. M. S. Pinafore" in the harbor of Portsmouth. Little Buttercup, a bumboat woman, "the rosiest, the roundest, and the reddest beauty in all Spithead," comes on board and has an interview with Dick Deadeye, the villain of the story, and Ralph Rackstraw, "the smartest lad in all the fleet," who is in love with Josephine, Captain Corcoran's daughter. The Captain comes on deck in a melancholy mood because Josephine has shown herself indifferent to Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B., who is to ask for her hand that afternoon. She confesses to her father that she loves a common sailor, but will carry her love to the grave without letting him know of it. Sir Joseph comes on board with a long retinue of sisters, cousins, and aunts, who chant his praises. After attending to some minor details, he has a fruitless interview with the Captain and Josephine. She declares she cannot love him. Shortly afterwards she meets Ralph, who declares his love for her, but she haughtily rejects him. When he draws his pistol and declares he will shoot himself, she acknowledges her love, and they plan to steal ashore at night and be married. Dick Deadeye overhears the plot and threatens to thwart it.

The second act opens at night. Captain Corcoran is discovered sadly complaining to the moon, and wondering why everything is at "sixes and sevens." Little Buttercup sympathizes with him, and is about to become affectionate, when he informs her he can only be her friend. She grows enraged, and warns him there is a change in store for him. Sir Joseph enters, and informs the Captain he is much disappointed at the way Josephine has acted. The Captain replies that she is probably dazzled by his rank, and that if he will reason with her and convince her that "love levels all ranks," everything will be right. Sir Joseph does so, but only pleads his rival's cause. She tells him she has hesitated, but now she hesitates no longer. Sir Joseph and the Captain are rejoicing over her apparent change of heart, when Dick Deadeye reveals the plot to elope that night. The Captain confronts them as they are stealthily leaving the vessel, and insists upon knowing what Josephine is about to do. Ralph steps forward and declares his love, whereupon the Captain grows furious and lets slip an oath. He is overheard by Sir Joseph, who orders him to his cabin "with celerity." He then inquires of Ralph what he has done to make the Captain profane. He replies it was his acknowledgment of love for Josephine, whereupon, in a towering rage, Sir Joseph orders his imprisonment in the ship's dungeon. He then remonstrates with Josephine, whereupon Little Buttercup reveals her secret. Years before, when she was practising baby-farming, she nursed two babies, one of "low condition," the other "a regular patrician," and she "mixed those children up and not a creature knew it." "The well-born babe was Ralph, your Captain was the other." Sir Joseph orders the two before him, gives Ralph the command of "H. M. S. Pinafore," and Corcoran Ralph's place. As his marriage with Josephine is now impossible, he gives her to Ralph, and Captain Corcoran, now a common seaman, unites his fortunes with those of Little Buttercup.

It is one of the principal charms of this delightful work that it is entirely free from coarseness and vulgarity. The wit is always delicate, though the satire is keen. Words and music rarely go so well together as in this opera. As a prominent English critic said of "Trial by Jury," "it seems, as in the great Wagnerian operas, as though poem and music had proceeded simultaneously from one and the same brain." The chorus plays a very important part in it, and in the most solemnly ludicrous manner repeats the assertions of the principals in the third person. All its numbers might be styled the leading ones, but those which have become most popular are the song, "I'm called Little Buttercup"; Josephine's sentimental song, "Sorry her Lot who loves too well," one of the few serious numbers in the opera; Sir Joseph Porter's song, "I am the Monarch of the Sea," with its irresistible choral refrain, "And so are his Sisters and his Cousins and his Aunts, his Sisters and his Cousins, whom he reckons by the Dozens," leading up to the satirical song, "When I was a Lad, I served a Term"; the stirring trio, "A British Tar is a Soaring Soul"; Captain Corcoran's sentimental ditty, "Fair Moon, to thee I sing"; Josephine's scena, "The Hours creep on apace," with its mock heroic recitative; Dick Deadeye's delightful song, "The Merry Maiden and the Tar"; the pretty octette and chorus, "Farewell, my own"; Little Buttercup's legend, "A many Years ago, when I was young and charming"; and the choral finale, "Then give three Cheers and one Cheer more."

The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty.

[Comic opera, in two acts; text by Gilbert. First produced in England at the Opéra Comique, April 3, 1880.]

PERSONAGES.

Maj.-Gen. Stanley. Pirate King. Samuel, his lieutenant. Frederic, the pirate apprentice. Sergeant of Police. Mabel, } Edith, } Kate, } Isabel, } Gen. Stanley's daughters. Ruth, a pirate maid of all work.

[Pirates, police, etc.]

The scene is laid on the coast of Cornwall; time, the present.

"The Pirates of Penzance" has a local interest from the fact that it was first produced in New York on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1879, under the immediate supervision of both Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Gilbert. When the composer left England he had only finished the second act, and that was without orchestration. After his arrival here he wrote the first act and scored the entire opera. By this performance the profits of the representations in this country were secured. The work was not published until after their return to England.

At the opening of the opera it is disclosed that Frederic, when a boy, in pursuance of his father's orders, was to have been apprenticed to a pilot until his twenty-first year, but by the mistake of his nurse-maid, Ruth, he was bound out to one of the pirates of Penzance, who were celebrated for their gentleness and never molested orphans because they were orphans themselves. In the first scene the pirates are making merry, as Frederic has reached his majority and is about to leave them and seek some other occupation. Upon the eve of departure Ruth requests him to marry her, and he consents, as he has never seen any other woman, but shortly afterwards he encounters the daughters of General Stanley, falls in love with Mabel, the youngest, and denounces Ruth as a deceiver. The pirates encounter the girls about the same time, and propose to marry them, but when the General arrives and announces that he is an orphan, they relent and allow the girls to go.

The second act opens in the General's ancient baronial hall, and reveals him surrounded by his daughters, lamenting that he has deceived the pirates by calling himself an orphan. Frederic appears, and bids Mabel farewell, as he is about to lead an expedition for the extermination of the pirates. While he is alone, the Pirate King and Ruth visit him and show him the papers which bound him to them. It is stated in them that he is bound "until his twenty-first birthday," but as his birthday is the 29th of February, he has had but five. Led by his strong sense of duty, he decides that he will go back to his old associates. Then he tells them of the General's orphan story, which so enrages them that they swear vengeance. They come by night to carry off the General, but are overpowered by the police and sent to prison, where they confess they are English noblemen. Upon promising to give up their piratical career, they are pardoned, and this releases Frederic.

The principal numbers in the first act are Ruth's song, "When Frederic was a Little Lad"; the Pirate King's song, "Oh! better far to live and die"; Frederic's sentimental song, "Oh! is there not one Maiden Breast"; Mabel's reply, "Poor Wandering One"; and the descriptive song of the General, "I am the very Pattern of a Modern Major-General," which reminds one of Sir Joseph's song, "When I was a Lad I served a Term," in "Pinafore," and Wells' song, "Oh! my Name is John Wellington Wells," in "The Sorcerer." The second act opens with a chorus of the daughters and solo by Mabel, "Dear Father, why leave your Bed." The remaining most popular numbers are the Tarantara of the Sergeant; the Pirate King's humorous chant, "For some Ridiculous Reason"; Mabel's ballad, "Oh, leave me not to pine," and the Sergeant's irresistible song, "When a Fellow's not engaged in his Employment," which has become familiar as a household word by frequent quotation.

Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride.

[Comic opera, in two acts; text by Gilbert. First produced at the Opéra Comique, London, April 23, 1881.]

PERSONAGES.

Col. Calverley, } Major Murgatroyd, } Lieutenant the Duke of Dunstable, } officers of Dragoon Guards. Reginald Bunthorne, a fleshly poet. Archibald Grosvenor, an idyllic poet. Mr. Bunthorne's Solicitor. Lady Angela, } Lady Saphir, } Lady Ella, } Lady Jane, } rapturous maidens. Patience, a dairy-maid.

[Guards, æsthetic maidens.]

The scene is laid at Castle Bunthorne; time, the last century.

The opera of "Patience" is a pungent satire upon the fleshly school of poetry as represented by Oscar Wilde and his imitators, as well as upon the fad for æsthetic culture which raged so violently a quarter of a century ago. Bunthorne, in one of his soliloquies, aptly expresses the hollowness of the sham,--

"I am _not_ fond of uttering platitudes In stained-glass attitudes; In short, my mediævalism's affectation Born of a morbid love of admiration."

In these four lines Gilbert pricked the æsthetic bubble, and nothing did so much to end the fad of lank, languorous maidens, and long haired, sunflowered male æsthetes, as Gilbert's well-directed shafts of ridicule in this opera.

The story of the opera tells of the struggle for supremacy over female hearts between an æsthetic (Bunthorne) and an idyllic poet (Grosvenor). In the opening scene lovesick maidens in clinging gowns, playing mandolins, sing plaintively of their love for Bunthorne. Patience, a healthy milkmaid, comes upon the scene, and makes fun of them, and asks them why they sit and sob and sigh. She announces to them that the Dragoon Guards will soon arrive, but although they doted upon Dragoons the year before they spurn them now and go to the door of Bunthorne to carol to him. The Guards duly arrive, and are hardly settled down when Bunthorne passes by in the act of composing a poem, followed by the twenty lovesick maidens. After finishing his poem he reads it to them, and they go off together, without paying any attention to the Dragoons, who declare they have been insulted and leave in a rage. Bunthorne, when alone, confesses to himself he is a sham, and at the close of his confession Patience comes in. He at once makes love to her, but only frightens her. She then confers with Lady Angela, who explains love to her, and tells her it is her duty to love some one. Patience declares she will not go to bed until she has fallen in love with some one, when Grosvenor, the idyllic poet and "apostle of simplicity," enters. He and Patience had been playmates in early childhood, and she promptly falls in love with him, though he is indifferent. In the closing scene Bunthorne, twined with garlands, is led in by the maidens, and puts himself up as a prize in a lottery; but the drawing is interrupted by Patience, who snatches away the papers and offers herself as a bride to Bunthorne, who promptly accepts her. The maidens then make advances to the Dragoons, but when Grosvenor appears they all declare their love for him. Bunthorne recognizes him as a dangerous rival, and threatens "he shall meet a hideous doom."

The opening of the second act reveals Jane, an antique charmer, sitting by a sheet of water mourning because the fickle maidens have deserted Bunthorne, and because he has taken up with "a puling milkmaid," while she alone is faithful to him. In the next scene Grosvenor enters with the maidens, of whom he is tired. They soon leave him in low spirits, when Patience appears and tells him she loves him, but can never be his, for it is her duty to love Bunthorne. The latter next appears, followed by the antique Jane, who clings to him in spite of his efforts to get rid of her. He accuses Patience of loving Grosvenor, and goes off with Jane in a wildly jealous mood. In the next scene the Dragoons, to win favor with the maidens, transform themselves into a group of æsthetes. Bunthorne and Grosvenor finally meet, and Bunthorne taxes his rival with monopolizing the attentions of the young ladies. Grosvenor replies that he cannot help it, but would be glad of any suggestion that would lead to his being less attractive. Bunthorne tells him he must change his conversation, cut his hair, and have a back parting, and wear a commonplace costume. Grosvenor at first protests, but yields when threatened with Bunthorne's curse. In the finale, when it is discovered that Grosvenor has become a commonplace young man, the maidens decide that if "Archibald the All-Right" has discarded æstheticism, it is right for them to do so. Patience takes the same view of the case, and leaves Bunthorne for Grosvenor. The maidens find suitors among the Dragoons, and even the antique Jane takes up with the Duke, and Bunthorne is left alone with his lily, nobody's bride.

The most popular musical numbers in the opera are the Colonel's song, "If you want a Receipt for that Popular Mystery"; Bunthorne's "wild, weird, fleshly" song, "What Time the Poet hath hymned," also his song, "If you're anxious for to shine"; the romantic duet of Patience and Grosvenor, "Prithee, Pretty Maiden"; the sextette, "I hear the Soft Note of the Echoing Voice"; Jane's song, "Silvered is the Raven Hair"; Patience's ballad, "Love is a Plaintive Song"; Grosvenor's fable of the magnet and the churn; the rollicking duet of Bunthorne and Grosvenor, "When I go out of Door," and the "prettily pattering, cheerily chattering" chorus in the finale of the last act.

Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri.

[Comic opera, in two acts; text by Gilbert. First produced at the Savoy Theatre, London, November 25, 1882.]

PERSONAGES.

Lord Chancellor. Earl of Mountararat. Earl Tollaller. Private Willis, of the Grenadier Guards. Strephon, an Arcadian shepherd. Iolanthe, a fairy, Strephon's mother. Queen of the fairies. Celia, } Leila, } Fleta, } fairies. Phyllis, an Arcadian shepherdess and ward in Chancery.

[Dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, barons, and fairies]

The scene is laid in Arcady and at Westminster; time, between 1700 and 1882.