Part 11

The first act of "Iolanthe" opens in Arcady. Iolanthe, a fairy, having offended her Queen by marrying a mortal, has been banished for life; but in the opening scene, after twenty years of exile, she is pardoned. She tells the Queen of her marriage, and her son Strephon, half a fairy and half a shepherd, who is engaged to Phyllis, a shepherdess, and ward in Chancery. At this point Strephon enters, and informs his mother that the Lord Chancellor will not permit him to marry Phyllis, but he will do so in spite of him. He curses his fairyhood, but the Queen says she has a borough at her disposal, and will return him to Parliament as a Liberal-Conservative. In the next scene Strephon meets Phyllis and pleads against delay in marriage, since the Lord Chancellor himself may marry her, and many of the lords are attentive to her. Meanwhile the lords meet to decide which one of them shall have Phyllis, the Lord Chancellor waiving his claim, as it might lay his decision open to misconstruction. Phyllis is summoned before them, but is deaf to all entreaties, and declares she is in love with Strephon, who has just entered. The peers march out in a dignified manner, while the Lord Chancellor separates Phyllis and Strephon and orders her away. He then refuses Strephon his suit, whereupon the latter invokes the aid of his fairy mother, who promises to lay the case before her Queen. In the finale the peers are seen leading Phyllis, who overhears something said by Strephon and Iolanthe which induces her to believe he is faithless, and she denounces him. He replies that Iolanthe is his mother, but cannot convince her. She charges him with deceit, and offers her hand to any one of the peers. He then appeals to the Queen, who threatens vengeance upon the peers and declares that Strephon shall go into Parliament. The peers beg her for mercy, and Phyllis implores Strephon to relent, but he casts her from him.

The second act opens at Westminster. Strephon is in Parliament and carrying things with a high hand. Phyllis is engaged to two of the lords and cannot decide between them, nor can they settle the matter satisfactorily. Whereupon the Lord Chancellor decides to press his own suit for her hand. Strephon finally proves his birth to Phyllis and explains away all her fears. Iolanthe then acknowledges that the Lord Chancellor is her husband and pleads with him in Strephon's behalf. When she makes this confession, she is condemned to death for breaking her fairy vow. Thereupon all the fairies confess that they have married peers. As it is impracticable to kill them all, the Queen hunts up a husband, and finds one in Private Willis, the sentry in the palace yard. All the husbands join the fairies, and thus matters are straightened out.

The music of "Iolanthe" is peculiarly refined and fanciful, and abounds in taking numbers. The best of these are Strephon's song, "Good Morrow"; the delightful duet between Strephon and Phyllis, "None shall part us from each other," one of the most felicitous of the composer's lighter compositions; the Lord Chancellor's song, "When I went to the Bar"; Strephon's charming ballad, "In Babyhood upon her Lap I lay"; Private Willis's song, "When all Night long a Chap remains"; the patter song of the Lord Chancellor, "When you're lying awake with a Dismal Headache"; the duet of Strephon and Phyllis, "If we're weak enough to tarry"; and Iolanthe's pretty ballad, "He loves! if in the Bygone Years."

Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant.

[Comic opera, in three acts; text by Gilbert. First produced at the Savoy Theatre, London, January 5, 1884.]

PERSONAGES.

King Hildebrand. Hilarion, his son. Cyril, } Florian, } Hilarion's friends. King Gama. Avac, } Guron, } Scynthius, } Gama's sons. Princess Ida, Gama's daughter. Lady Blanche, Professor of Abstract Science. Lady Psyche, Professor of Humanities. Melissa, Lady Blanche's daughter. Sacharissa, } Chloe, } Ada, } girl graduates.

[Soldiers, courtiers, girl graduates, "daughters of the plough," etc.]

The scene is laid at King Hildebrand's palace and Castle Adamant; time, the present.

"Princess Ida" is the least effective of the Sullivan operas. Its libretto is also the least effective of the Gilbert stories set to the former's music. At the time it was written the composer was depressed by a severe family affliction, and at the same time had met the misfortune of losing all his savings through the failure of those to whom he had intrusted them. It may have been also that the labored and heavy style of the story had something to do with the dry and somewhat forced style of the music, as well as its lack of the brightness and fancy which are so apparent in "Pinafore" and "Patience."

The first act opens at King Hildebrand's palace, where the courtiers are watching for the arrival of King Gama and his daughter, the Princess Ida, who has been promised in marriage to Hilarion, Hildebrand's son. When Gama finally comes, Ida is not with him, and he explains to the enraged Hildebrand that she is at Castle Adamant, one of his country houses, where she is president of a woman's university. Gama and his three sons, Avac, Guron, and Scynthius, are seized and held as hostages for her appearance, and in the mean time Hilarion, and his two friends, Cyril and Florian, determine to go to Castle Adamant and see if they cannot make some impression upon the Princess.

The second act opens at Castle Adamant, and discloses the pupils of the university in discourse with Lady Psyche, the Professor of Humanities, and Lady Blanche, Professor of Abstract Science, who is ambitious to get control of the institution. Hilarion and his two friends scale the wall and get into the grounds, and finding some academic robes they disguise themselves as girls. They first meet the Princess and explain to her that they wish to enter the university, to which she gives her consent upon their subscription to the rules. They sign with enthusiasm, especially when they discover that there is one which requires them to give the fulness of their love to the hundred maidens of the university. Shortly afterwards they encounter Lady Psyche, who recognizes Florian as her brother. They tell their secret to her. Melissa, the daughter of Lady Blanche, overhears them, and is in raptures at her first sight of men. She discloses to her mother what she has discovered, but urges her not to speak of it, for if Hilarion is successful in his suit she (the Lady Blanche) may succeed to the presidency. At the luncheon, however, the Princess discovers she is entertaining three men and flees from the spot. In crossing a bridge she falls into the river, but is rescued by Hilarion. Her anger is not appeased by his gallantry, and she orders the arrest of the three. As they are marched off, there is a tumult outside. Hildebrand, with an armed force and with his four hostages, has arrived, and gives the Princess until the morrow afternoon to release Hilarion and become his bride.

The last act opens with the preparations of the Princess and her pupils to defend themselves, but one after the other their courage deserts them. Gama proposes that his three sons shall be pitted against Hilarion and his two friends, and if the latter are defeated the Princess shall be free. In the contest Gama's sons are defeated, whereupon the Princess at once resigns and accepts Hilarion. The Lady Psyche falls to Cyril, and the delighted Melissa to Florian, and it is to be presumed the presidency of the Woman's College falls to Lady Blanche.

As has already been intimated, the music as a whole is labored, but there are some numbers that are fully up to the Sullivan standard; among them Hilarion's ballad, "Ida was a twelvemonth old"; Gama's characteristic song, "If you give me your Attention," and the trio of Gama's sons, "For a Month to dwell," in the first act: the Princess's long aria, "At this my Call"; Lady Blanche's song, "Come, Mighty Must"; Lady Psyche's sarcastic evolution song, "A Lady Fair of Lineage High"; Cyril's song, "Would you know the Kind of Maid"; and Hilarion's song, "Whom thou hast chained must wear his Chain," in the second act: and the Princess's song, "I built upon a Rock"; Gama's song, "Whene'er I spoke Sarcastic Joke"; the soldiers' chorus, "When Anger spreads his Wing"; and the finale, "With Joy abiding," in the third act.

The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu.

[Comic opera, in two acts; text by Gilbert. First produced at the Savoy Theatre, London, March 14, 1885.]

PERSONAGES.

Mikado of Japan. Nanki-Poo, his son, disguised as a minstrel, in love with Yum-Yum. Ko-Ko, Lord High Executioner of Titipu. Pooh-Bah, Lord High Everything Else. Pish-Tush, a noble lord. Yum-Yum, } Pitti-Sing, } Peep-Bo, } three sisters, wards of Ko-Ko. Katisha, an elderly lady, in love with Nanki-Poo.

[School girls, nobles, guards, and coolies.]

The scene is laid in Japan; time, the present.

That the "Princess Ida," ineffective as it is in some respects, did not indicate that the resources of Gilbert and Sullivan were exhausted, is shown by the great success of both in "The Mikado," which immediately followed it. This charming travesty of Japan, with the exception perhaps of "Pinafore," has proved to be the most popular of the Sullivan operas, and has even made an impression in Germany. It has been an equal success for both the musician and the librettist, and still retains its freshness and vivacity after seventeen years of performance.

The story of "The Mikado" is so well known that it need not be given with much fulness of detail. Nanki-Poo, the Mikado's son, is in love with Yum-Yum, the ward of the tailor Ko-Ko, who is also Lord High Executioner, and to whom she is betrothed, as Nanki-Poo is informed by Pooh-Bah, when he comes to Titipu in quest of her. Pooh-Bah, who accepted all the offices of the Ministers of State after their resignations when Ko-Ko was made Lord High Executioner, is also "the retailer of state secrets at a low figure," and furnishes much of the delightful comedy of the opera. Nanki-Poo nevertheless manages to secure an interview with Yum-Yum, confesses to her he is the Mikado's son, and that he is in disguise to escape punishment for not marrying the elderly Katisha. Ko-Ko's matrimonial arrangements are interfered with by a message from the Mikado, that unless some one is beheaded in Titipu within a month he will be degraded. Nanki-Poo consents to be beheaded if he is allowed to marry Yum-Yum and live with her for the month. This being satisfactory, the arrangements for the nuptials are made.

The second act opens with Yum-Yum's preparations for her marriage. A _tête-à-tête_ with Nanki-Poo is interrupted by Ko-Ko, who announces that by the law when a married man is beheaded his wife must be burned alive. This cools Yum-Yum's passion, and to save her Nanki-Poo threatens to perform the Happy Despatch that day. As this would endanger Ko-Ko, he arranges to swear to a false statement of Nanki-Poo's execution. Suddenly the Mikado arrives. Ko-Ko gives him the statement, but a great danger is imminent when the Mikado informs him he has killed the heir apparent and must suffer some horrible punishment. In the dénouement Nanki-Poo reappears, and Ko-Ko gets out of trouble by marrying the ancient Katisha, leaving Yum-Yum to Nanki-Poo.

The opera abounds in charming lyrics, though with a single exception, a march chorus in the second act, "Miya sama, miya sama," there is no local color to the music, as might have been expected in an opera entirely Japanese in its subject and dramatic treatment. Its lyrics are none the less delightful on that account. The most popular numbers in the first act are Ko-Ko's song, with its choral response, "You may put 'em on the List and they never will be missed"; the fascinating trio for Yum-Yum, Peep-Bo, and Pitti-Sing, "Three Little Maids from School are we"; Nanki-Poo's song, "A Wandering Minstrel"; and the trio for Ko-Ko, Pooh-Bah, and Pish-Tush, "My Brain, it teems." The leading numbers of the second act are Yum-Yum's song, "The Sun, whose Rays"; the quartette, "Brightly dawns our Wedding-Day"; the Mikado's song, "A more Humane Mikado never"; Ko-Ko's romantic ballad, "On a Tree by a River a little Tomtit," which is in the genuine old English manner, and the well-known duet for Nanki-Poo and Ko-Ko, "The Flowers that bloom in the Spring, tra la."

Ruddygore; or, The Witch's Curse.

[Comic opera, in two acts; text by Gilbert. First produced at the Savoy Theatre, London, January 22, 1887.]

PERSONAGES.

Robin Oakapple, a young farmer. Richard Dauntless, his foster brother and man-o'-war's man. Sir Despard Murgatroyd, the wicked Baronet. Old Adam Goodheart, Robin's faithful servant. Rose Maybud, a village maiden. Mad Margaret. Dame Hannah, Rose's aunt. Zorah, } Ruth, } professional bridesmaids. Six Murgatroyd Ghosts. Sir Roderic Murgatroyd, twenty-first Baronet.

[Officers, ancestors, and professional bridesmaids.]

The scene is laid in Cornwall; time, early in the last century.

Although "Ruddygore," a satire upon the old English melodramas, has not been as successful as some of the other Sullivan operas, it is as entertaining as any in the series, while the story, with its grotesque dramatic features, is peculiarly Gilbertian in its humor. The first act opens in Cornwall. Sir Rupert Murgatroyd, the first of the baronets, employed his leisure in persecuting witches and committing other crimes. The chorus of "the legend," sung by Hannah, an old spinster, prophesies that each Murgatroyd will die "with sinning cloyed." To avoid this fate, the last inheritor of the title, Sir Ruthven, secludes himself under the name of Robin Oakapple, in the Cornish village of Rederring, and his younger brother, Despard, believing him to be dead, succeeds to the title. Robin, who is shy and modest, is in love with Rose, a foundling, who is very discreet. The love-making lags, and meanwhile Richard, his foster brother, a man-o'-war's man, returns from sea, and so commiserates Robin that he offers to plead his case with Rose. Instead of that he pleads his own case, and is accepted by her, much to the disappointment of Robin, who supports Richard's claim, however. Robin's younger brother, Sir Despard, next appears, and hears from Richard of the existence of the brother whom he had thought dead. He thereupon claims Robin as his elder brother, and Rose shows her preference for Sir Despard, who is also claimed by Mad Margaret, a village maiden, whom he had mistreated when he was under the influence of the Murgatroyd curse.

The second act opens in the picture gallery of Ruddygore Castle. Robin and Adam, his faithful servant, are in the gallery, the former as Sir Ruthven, and Adam as Gideon Crawle, a new name he has taken. The new Sir Ruthven is under the curse, and asks his servant to suggest some daily crime for him to commit. The strong scene of the act is the coming to life of the various baronets whose portraits hang upon the walls, and their announcement that Robin will die in fearful agony unless he abducts some lady, it matters not whom. In the dénouement it is revealed that a Ruddygore baron can only die through refusing to commit the daily crime, but that such a refusal is tantamount to suicide. Hence none of the ancestors ought to have died at all, and they come back to life greatly to the delight of the professional bridesmaids, and Rose and Robin are at last united.

The principal numbers in the first act are the weird legend, "Sir Rupert Murgatroyd, his Leisure and his Riches," sung by Hannah; Richard's breezy sea song, "I shipped, d' ye see, in a Revenue Sloop"; the very tuneful chorus of the bridesmaids, "Hail the Bridegroom, hail the Bride"; Mad Margaret's whimsical song, "Cheerily carols the Lark"; the melodious chorus of the bucks and blades, "When thoroughly tired of being admired"; Sir Despard's song, with its alternating choral refrains, "Oh, why am I moody and sad"; the madrigal, "Where the Buds are blossoming," written in the early English style, and supported by the chorus; and the charming gavotte leading to the finale, which contains some admirable duet and trio numbers. The leading numbers of the second act are the opening duet for Robin and Adam, "I once was as meek as a New-born Lamb," with a most melodramatic "Ha ha," followed by another charming duet for Richard and Rose, with choral refrain, "Happily coupled are we"; the weird song of Sir Roderic, "When the Night Wind howls in the Chimney Cowls," which is finely artistic in construction; the patter trio for Robin, Despard, and Margaret, "My Eyes are fully open to my Awful Situation"; Hannah's pretty ballad, "There grew a Little Flower"; and the brilliant finale, beginning with Robin's number, "Having been a Wicked Baronet a Week."

The Yeoman of the Guard; or, The Merry Man and his Maid.

[Comic opera, in two acts; text by Gilbert. First produced at the Savoy Theatre, October 3, 1888.]

PERSONAGES.

Sir Richard Cholmondeley, lieutenant of the Tower. Col. Fairfax, under sentence of death. Sergt. Meryll, of the Yeomen of the Guard. Leonard Meryll, his son. Jack Point, a strolling jester. Wilfred Shadbolt, head jailer of the Tower. Headsman. Elsie Maynard, a strolling singer. Phoebe Meryll, Sergt. Meryll's daughter. Dame Carruthers, housekeeper to the Tower. Kate, her niece.

[Yeomen of the guard, gentlemen, citizens, etc.]

The scene is laid at Tower Green, London; time, the sixteenth century.

Although "The Yeomen of the Guard" has not enjoyed the popularity of some others of Sullivan's works, the composer himself believed it to be the best of his operas. The music is in some numbers a parody of the old English; the story is melodramatic. Colonel Fairfax has been sentenced to death for sorcery. As he has twice saved the life of Sergeant Meryll in battle, the latter and his daughter, Phoebe, are anxious to save him also. The chance comes when the brother of Phoebe, who has been appointed a yeoman of the Guard, is induced to let Fairfax take his place in the ranks. The latter is brought in to the lieutenant of the Tower and declares his readiness to die, but asks, as he has been condemned for sorcery through the machinations of one of his kinsmen who will succeed to the estate in case he dies unmarried, that he will find him some one whom he can marry at once. Elsie Maynard, a strolling singer, happens along with Jack Point, a jester, and she agrees for a money consideration to be married blindfolded to Fairfax, provided she can leave immediately after the ceremony. She marries him, and then the question arises how to get the yeoman suit to Fairfax in his cell and let him escape, as the keys are in the possession of Wilfred, the head jailer, who is in love with Phoebe. The problem is solved by Phoebe, who steals the keys, releases Fairfax, and returns them before Wilfred discovers their absence. The executioner comes forward, and the first act closes as he is waiting for his victim.

The second act discloses the civilians and Dame Carruthers denouncing the warders for permitting their prisoner to escape. Point arranges with Wilfred that if he will discharge his arquebus and state that he has killed Fairfax he shall be a jester. When the shot is heard, Wilfred and Point notify the governor that Fairfax is dead. Dame Carruthers enters and informs Meryll that from what she has heard Elsie mutter in her sleep she is sure Fairfax is the man she married. Fairfax, in order to test her, makes love to Elsie in Point's interests, but ends by falling in love with her himself. In the dénouement, Leonard, son of Sergeant Meryll, arrives with a pardon which had been kept back by Fairfax's kinsmen. Now that he is free, Fairfax claims Elsie, Phoebe consents to marry Wilfred, and the sergeant surrenders to Dame Carruthers.

The music is in humorous imitation of the antique, in which kind of work Sullivan is always happy. The choruses are interesting, especially the opening double one, "Tower Warders under Orders," which is swinging and tuneful. The principal numbers in the first act are Dame Carruthers' song with chorus, "When our Gallant Norman Foes"; Fairfax's sentimental song, "Is Life a Boon"; the irresistibly funny chorus, both in music and words, "Here's a Man of Jollity, jibe, joke, jollify; give us of your Quality, come, Fool, follify"; the extremely melodramatic duet for Elsie and Point, "I have a Song to sing"; Point's recitative and song, "I've Jest and Joke"; Elsie's pretty ballad, "'Tis done! I am a Bride"; Phoebe's graceful song, "Were I thy Bride"; and the trio in the finale, "To thy Fraternal Care." The leading numbers of the second act are Point's rollicking song, "Oh! a Private Buffoon is a Light-hearted Loon"; Fairfax's ballad, "Free from his Fetters Grim"; the quartette, "Strange Adventure! Maiden wedded"; the trio, "If he's made the Best Use of his Time," and the quartette, "When a Wooer goes a-wooing," which leads through a melodramatic ensemble to the finale,

"Heighdy! heighdy! Misery me, lackadaydee! He sipped no sup and he craved no crumb, As he sighed for the love of a ladyee."

The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria.

[Comic opera, in two acts; text by Gilbert. First produced at the Savoy Theatre, London, December 7, 1889.]

PERSONAGES.

Duke of Plaza-Toro, a grandee of Spain. Luiz, his attendant. Don Alhambra del Bolero, the Grand Inquisitor. Duchess of Plaza-Toro. Casilda, her daughter.

[Gondoliers, contadine, men-at-arms, heralds, and pages.]

The scene is laid in Venice; time, the year 1750.

"The Gondoliers" will always bring a feeling of regret to the admirers of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, as it was their last joint production. It was during its run at the London theatre that their partnership was dissolved after the extraordinary collaboration of twenty-three years. Both were at their best in their Swan Song. "The Gondoliers" is not so much melodrama or pleasant satire as it is genuine comedy. Among all the Gilbert books which he furnished the composer, none is more delightful or more full of his rollicking humor than this. The story opens in Venice. The contadine are weaving garlands for the two favorite gondoliers, Marco and Giuseppe, who, as they have no preference, make their choice blindfolded, and secure Tessa and Gianetta for their brides. As all gayly dance off, a gondola arrives with the Spanish Duke of Plaza-Toro, the Duchess, their daughter Casilda, and Luiz, their attendant. While waiting for an audience with the Grand Inquisitor, the Duke tells Casilda the object of their visit. When she was an infant she was married by proxy to the infant son of the King of Barataria. When the latter abandoned the creed of his fathers and became a Methodist, the Inquisitor had the young husband stolen and taken to Venice. Now that the King is dead, they have come to find the husband, and proclaim Casilda queen. During the audience the Inquisitor announces that the husband is a gondolier, and that the person who brought him up had "such a terrible taste for tippling" that he was never certain which child had been intrusted to him, his own or the other. The nurse, however, who is Luiz's mother, would know, and he would induce her to tell in the torture chamber. Shortly afterwards the Inquisitor meets the newly wedded gondoliers, Marco and Giuseppe, and decides that one or the other of them is the new King, but as he cannot tell which, he arranges that both of them shall rule until the nurse can be found and made to settle the matter. Thereupon they bid their wives good-by, and sail away for Barataria.