"the theme from ""Iolanthe"" of the war between the sexes. The opera is based on Tennyson's poem ""The Princess: A Medley"". Gilbert had written a blank verse farce based on the same material in 1870, called ""The Princess"", and he reused a good deal of the dialogue from his earlier play in the libretto of ""Princess Ida"". ""Ida"" is the only Gilbert and Sullivan work with dialogue entirely in blank verse and is also the only one of their works in three acts. Lillian Russell had been engaged to create the title role, but Gilbert did not believe that she"
"the House of Lords are in love with Phyllis, a ward of the Lord Chancellor. Gilbert satirically sets up the fantastical fairies as the agents of common sense in contrast with the nonsensical peers, who should be sober parliamentarians, while the most poetically romantic of the fairies, the ""Arcadian"" shepherd, Strephon, is chosen to lead both houses of Parliament. One of Gilbert's biographers, Andrew Crowther wrote: ""The things that make [the opera] memorable as a work of art [include] the peers entering in the full pomp of their formal robes, magnificent and ridiculous."" Among many pot-shots that Gilbert takes at"
"Chancellor's Nightmare Song"" (""When you're lying awake...""). Iolanthe Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert and Sullivan. In the opera, the fairy Iolanthe has been banished from fairyland because she married a mortal; this is forbidden by fairy law. Her son, Strephon, is an Arcadian shepherd who wants to marry Phyllis, a Ward of Chancery. All the members of the House of Peers also want to marry"
"operas (and two Gilbert operas) at the Savoy after ""Fallen Fairies"", but after his dispute with Gilbert, this idea was out of the question. The scene is laid in Fairyland, outside the Fairy Queen's bower, which for the purposes of the opera, is supposed to be located on the upper side of a cloud which floats over the Earth. The fairies sing of the ""wicked world"" below, which they believe is populated by mortals who sin throughout their lives. Selene, their Queen, tells them that Lutin, the only fairy who has ever set foot on solid ground, will soon be"
"Iolanthe Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert and Sullivan. In the opera, the fairy Iolanthe has been banished from fairyland because she married a mortal; this is forbidden by fairy law. Her son, Strephon, is an Arcadian shepherd who wants to marry Phyllis, a Ward of Chancery. All the members of the House of Peers also want to marry Phyllis. When Phyllis sees Strephon hugging a"
"as a virtual paradise, is thrown into chaos by the importation of ""English"" influences, and is eventually saved by an English political expedience. Gilbert's biographer Jane Stedman calls this a ""Gilbertian invasion plot"". The opera's satiric treatment of limited liability entities that are not required to honour their obligations and scandal in the monarchy was effective in 1893 and still resonates today. In addition, the show satirises ""practically everything English – English prudery, English conversation, English company promoting, the English party system, the English War Office and Admiralty, the County Council, and the English Cabinet."" Apart from satirical elements, Gilbert"
"Sullivan Festival. Princess Ida Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. ""Princess Ida"" opened at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, for a run of 246 performances. The piece concerns a princess who founds a women's university and teaches that women are superior to men and should rule in their stead. The prince to whom she had been married in infancy sneaks into the university, together with two friends, with the aim of collecting his bride. They disguise"
"in 2012; in 2016, Liz Truss become the first woman to serve as Lord Chancellor. A fictional depiction of a Lord Chancellor occurs in ""Iolanthe"", the frequently-revived comic opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The Lord Chancellor is the central character in the work but is identified only by his title. The action concerns a group of fairies who become romantically involved with members of the House of Lords. The Lord Chancellor, who serves as guardian to wards of the Court of Chancery, is worried, because he has developed feelings for a ward of court. The character sings"
"women students, but are discovered, and all soon face a literal war between the sexes. The opera satirizes feminism, women's education and Darwinian evolution, which were controversial topics in conservative Victorian England. ""Princess Ida"" is based on a narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson called ""The Princess"" (1847), and Gilbert had written a farcical musical play, based on the poem, in 1870. He lifted much of the dialogue of ""Princess Ida"" directly from his 1870 farce. It is the only Gilbert and Sullivan opera in three acts and the only one with dialogue in blank verse. By Savoy Opera standards,"
"Princess Ida Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. ""Princess Ida"" opened at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, for a run of 246 performances. The piece concerns a princess who founds a women's university and teaches that women are superior to men and should rule in their stead. The prince to whom she had been married in infancy sneaks into the university, together with two friends, with the aim of collecting his bride. They disguise themselves as"
"Gilbert. Not only had he written a short story on the theme in 1871, but he returned to it in his 1909 comic opera, ""Fallen Fairies"". Indeed, the general theme of mortals disturbing the peaceful state of affairs in fairyland is featured in a number of other Gilbert works, including the Gilbert and Sullivan opera ""Iolanthe"" (1882). Gilbert followed ""The Happy Land"" with ""The Realm of Joy"", set in the lobby of a theatre performing a thinly-disguised ""The Happy Land"", which directly parodies the scandal, even describing the costumes used. In ""The Happy Land"", ""The Realm of Joy"" (1873) and"
"fairytale prince and princess. The music is taken from the operas ""Mosè in Egitto"", ""Otello"", and ""Le siège de Corinthe"" by Rossini. The title is a pun on the departure of Covent Garden flower, fruit and vegetable market from its traditional site in 1978 (‘Vegetable step’ – ‘No vegetables’). (The Royal Ballet’s home was the adjacent Royal Opera House.) In the original film, the vegetables were played by dancers of the Royal Ballet. The ballet ""Pas de légumes"" was first performed by Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet at Sadler's Wells Theatre, on 20 May 1982 with the extravagant costumes designed by"
"art of music"" in Britain. Act I The beloved fairy Iolanthe, who arranged the fairies' songs and dances, committed the capital crime (under fairy law) of marrying a mortal human. The Queen of the fairies commuted Iolanthe's sentence of death to banishment for life on the condition that Iolanthe left her husband and never communicated with him again. After the passage of 25 years, the fairies, still missing Iolanthe deeply, plead with their Queen to pardon Iolanthe and to restore her place in fairyland (""Tripping hither, tripping thither""). Summoned by the Fairy Queen (""Iolanthe! From thy dark exile thou art"
"""How shabby!"" Soon the three male fairies return with news from the Fairy King: they may enjoy the privilege of ""popular government."" Selene rejects this with horror. The fairies will ""Leave such blessings to a happy land."" Gilbert created several blank verse ""fairy comedies"" at the Haymarket Theatre in the early 1870s beginning with ""The Palace of Truth"" (1870) and ""Pygmalion and Galatea"" (1871). ""The Wicked World"" was the third of these, and ""The Happy Land"" followed so soon on its heels that the two plays ran simultaneously. The plot of ""The Happy Land"" and ""The Wicked World"" clearly fascinated"
"peers about the success of MP Strephon, who is advancing a bill to open the peerage to competitive examination (""Strephon's a member of Parliament""). The peers ask the fairies to stop Strephon's mischief, stating that the House of Peers is not susceptible of any improvement (""When Britain really ruled the waves""). Although the fairies say that they cannot stop Strephon, they have become strongly attracted to the peers (""In vain to us you plead""). The fairy Queen is dismayed by this. Pointing to Private Willis of the First Grenadier Guards, who is still on duty, the Queen claims that she"
"Mountararat (""...and I don't care which!""). Strephon then calls for help from the fairies, who appear but are mistaken by the peers for a girls' school on an outing. Offended, the Fairy Queen pronounces a magical ""sentence"" upon the peers: Strephon shall not only become a Member of Parliament, but will also have the power to pass any bill he proposes (""With Strephon for your foe, no doubt""). Act II Private Willis, on night guard duty, paces outside the Palace of Westminster and muses on political life (""When all night long a chap remains""). The fairies arrive and tease the"
"an opera, but after the failure of ""Fallen Fairies"", the idea was abandoned. Some of the satire of the piece is aimed at musicians. An exchange in the piece, where the character of Zoram, the court composer and a poseur, makes the following complicated musical remark, was tried out by Gilbert on his future collaborator, Arthur Sullivan, some months before the play was produced (Gilbert had looked up the definition of ""harmony"" in the Encyclopædia Britannica and translated it into blank-verse, as follows): Act I – The garden of the King's Country House. The Queen is upset because the Princess"
"a rehearsal for a revue of songs from their comic operas, a command performance for Queen Victoria at the Savoy Theatre. The underprepared show is set to open in about eight hours. Sullivan has been ill and has missed most of the rehearsals; he’s in love with pretty Violet Russell, a young soprano of whom Gilbert disapproves. To make matters worse, Sullivan has invited Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh (a son of the Queen), to join the cast. The eager duke can't sing, dance or remember his cues. When Gilbert finds out, he's furious. With a company of temperamental actors"
"young woman (not knowing that it is his mother – immortal fairies all appear young), she assumes the worst and sets off a climactic confrontation between the peers and the fairies. The opera satirises many aspects of British government, law and society. The confrontation between the fairies and the peers is a version of one of Gilbert's favourite themes: a tranquil civilisation of women is disrupted by a male-dominated world through the discovery of mortal love. ""Iolanthe"" opened in London on 25 November 1882, at the Savoy Theatre to a warm reception, and ran for 398 performances, the fourth consecutive"
"with its original illustrations and a new introduction by Martin Gardner (). Like all books published in the U.S. before 1923, it is now in the public domain. On the night of a full moon, the fairies ruled by Queen Lurlene are dancing in the Forest of Burzee. Lurlene calls a halt to it, for ""one may grow weary even of merrymaking"". To divert themselves, another fairy recommends that they make something they can imbue with fairy magic. After several ideas are considered and rejected, the fairies decide to make a magic cloak that can grant its wearer one wish."
"blank verse ""fairy comedies"", beginning with ""The Palace of Truth"" later in 1870 and his first operas with Arthur Sullivan. In 1870, Gilbert was establishing his ""topsy-turvy"" style and proving that his capabilities extended well beyond his early burlesques and extravaganzas. ""The Princess"" is one of several Gilbert plays, including ""The Wicked World"", ""Broken Hearts"", and the later operas, ""Iolanthe"", ""Princess Ida"", and ""Fallen Fairies"", where the introduction of males into a tranquil world of women brings ""mortal love"" that wreaks havoc with the status quo. Stedman calls this a ""Gilbertian invasion plot"". The play is a farcical burlesque of"
"grows up, she visits him on Earth, but she is mistaken for his lover, since fairies perpetually appear young and beautiful. Sullivan found the premise funny, and Gilbert set to work on fleshing out the story. By December, he had written some lyrics for Sullivan to look at, but he struggled with the plot for several months, whereas he had dashed off earlier operas in a matter of weeks. During these months, Sullivan took an extended trip to Egypt, Italy and elsewhere. Upon his return to London in April 1882, he moved into a new home; in May, his beloved"
"Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ""H.M.S. Pinafore"", ""The Pirates of Penzance"" and ""The Mikado"" are among the best known. Gilbert, who wrote the libretti for these operas, created fanciful ""topsy-turvy"" worlds where each absurdity is taken to its logical conclusion—fairies rub elbows with British lords, flirting is a capital offence, gondoliers ascend to the monarchy, and pirates emerge as"
"The Beauty Stone The Beauty Stone is an opera, billed as a ""romantic musical drama"" in three acts, composed by Arthur Sullivan to a libretto by Arthur Wing Pinero and J. Comyns Carr. The medieval Faustian story concerns an ugly, crippled girl, who dreams of being beautiful and meeting a handsome prince. The Devil offers her a magical stone that confers perfect beauty to anyone who wears it. The stone is passed from one character to another, but eventually the prince recognizes the girl's beautiful soul, the stone is discarded, and the disappointed Devil leaves the town. It premiered at"
"three fairies place Aurora on a bed in the highest tower and place a powerful spell on all the people in the kingdom, causing them to fall asleep until the spell on their princess is broken. While doing so, they overhear a sleepy conversation between the two kings. From King Hubert's conversation with King Stefan, the fairies realize that Phillip is the man with whom Aurora has fallen in love. They rush to find him, but he is abducted by Maleficent who is waiting for him at the cottage in the forest. She shows Phillip the peasant girl he fell"
"that they are the least fitted for the particular duties are appointed to fill them. For example, the fairy who asks what a ship may be is appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. All the fairies want to be Prime Minister, but, following precedent, Selene is so appointed. The fairies' experiment in ""popular government"" is a disaster. Penny-pinching and shabbiness rule the state, the military is in disarray, and the Chinese may soon invade. Leila and the other Opposition fairies revolt, and all the Government ministers resign. Selene appeals to Mr. A., who suggests that ""patriotism is the ladder by"
"a single word: ""every fairy shall die who ""doesn't"" marry a mortal."" The Fairy Queen cheerfully agrees and, to save her life, the dutiful soldier, Private Willis, agrees to marry her. Seeing no reason to stay in the mortal realm if peers are to be recruited ""from persons of intelligence"", the peers join the fairy ranks and ""away [they] go to fairyland"" (""Soon as we may, off and away""). Act I Act II At the time they wrote ""Iolanthe"", both Gilbert and Sullivan were in their peak creative years, and ""Iolanthe"", their seventh work together, drew the best from both"
"later be a defining part of his work. These led to Gilbert's more mature ""fairy comedies"", such as ""The Palace of Truth"" (1870) and ""Pygmalion and Galatea"" (1871), which in turn led to the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Although Gilbert gave up direct parodies of opera soon after ""Robert"", his parodic pokes at grand opera continued to be seen in the Savoy operas. The title character, a breeches role, was played as an insouciant ""swell"" by Nellie Farren, who became famous as the theatre's ""principal boy"". Gilbert later renounced ""travesti"" roles and revealing dresses on his actresses, and made"
"those of the better-known Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and professional productions are rare, ""Utopia"" is regularly presented by some of the amateur Gilbert and Sullivan repertory companies, and an amateur production has been seen most summers at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival. Utopians Imported Flowers of Progress On the fictional South Pacific island of Utopia, the monarch, King Paramount, has sent his eldest daughter, Princess Zara, to Girton College in England. He hopes that her training there will contribute to his plan to civilise his people. The Public Exploder, Tarara, disturbs the languor of the Utopian maidens (""In lazy"
"The Gondoliers The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the fifth longest-running piece of musical theatre in history), closing on 30 June 1891. This was the twelfth comic opera collaboration of fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan. The story of the opera concerns the young bride of the heir to the throne of the fictional kingdom of Barataria who arrives in Venice to join her"
"But Selene warns that love is a deadly snare. The chorus praise Selene's purity, and Darine returns the crown to her head. The fairies kneel in adoration at her feet. Fallen Fairies Fallen Fairies; ""or, The Wicked World"", is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Edward German. The story is an operatic adaptation of Gilbert's 1873 blank-verse fairy comedy, ""The Wicked World"". In Fairyland, the fairies are curious about wicked mortals, especially their strange capacity for love. They summon three mortal men from the world below to observe them and to teach"
"who presented Miss Nelson with traditional headwear in appreciation. ""The Mountain Sylph"" was Barnett's only major operatic success. His other large scale operas (""Fair Rosamond"" (1837) and ""Farinelli"" (1839)) flourished only briefly. ""The Mountain Sylph"" does not seem to have been revived since the early 20th century; the last known performance was in 1906 at the Guildhall School of Music. Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera ""Iolanthe"" (1882) parodies themes from ""The Mountain Sylph"". In that work, for the love of a mortal, the fairy Iolanthe is banished from fairy society with the consent of her Queen. Typically Gilbertian absurdities are"
"the princess accepts. Act III (The Wedding) The royal wedding is underway. Guests include the Jewel Fairies: Diamond, Gold, Silver and Sapphire, and of course the Lilac Fairy. Fairytale characters are in attendance, including Puss in Boots and The White Cat, Princess Florine and the Bluebird, and others. Aurora and Désiré perform a grand Pas de Deux, and the entire ensemble dances. The prince and princess are married, with the Lilac Fairy blessing the union. Titles of all of the numbers listed here come from Marius Petipa's original scenario, as well as the original libretto and programs of the first"