Original costume design for the Fairy Queen by Wilhelm
"Iolanthe", or "The Peer and the Peri", opened at the Savoy Theatre on
November 25, 1882, three nights after the final performance of Patience at
the same theatre, and ran for 398 performances.
Gilbert had taken pot shots at the aristocracy before, but in this "fairy
opera," the House of Lords is lampooned as a bastion of the ineffective,
privileged and dim-witted. The political party system and other
institutions also come in for a dose of satire. Yet, both author and
composer managed to couch the criticism among such bouncy, amiable
absurdities that it is all received as good fun.
Both Gilbert and Sullivan were at the
height of their creative powers in 1882, and many people feel that Iolanthe, their
seventh work together, is the most perfect of their collaborations.
Strephon, an Arcadian shepherd, wants to marry Phyllis, a Ward of
Chancery. Phyllis does not know that Strephon is half fairy (his upper half — his legs are mortal!) and when she sees Strephon kissing a seemingly young
woman, she assumes the worst. But her "rival" turns out to be none other
than Strephon's own mother, Iolanthe, a fairy — fairies never grow old.
But Phyllis' guardian, the Lord Chancellor, and half the peers
in the House of Lords are sighing after her. Soon the peers and the
fairies are virtually at war, and long friendships are nearly torn
asunder. But all is happily sorted out, thanks to the "subtleties of the legal mind".
Original costume design for Iolanthe by Wilhelm
Introductionadapted from the book "Tit-Willow or Notes and Jottings on Gilbert and Sullivan Operas" by Guy H. and Claude A. Walmisley (Privately Printed, Undated
).
Gilbert and Sullivan's New Comic Opera from The Era, 11 February 1882. A description of the plot of Iolanthe in an early form. A further intimation of the plot of the new piece from The Morning Post 19 June, 1882
Note: This vocal score is based on the vocal score published during Sullivan's lifetime and which remained current into the early twentieth century. However, the published score was modified at some point during the twentieth century to produce the version generally on sale today. Companies familiar with recently purchased vocal scores will find several passages unfamiliar.
George Sherringham's costume design for Strephon, 1929
Internet Archive — A
copy of the Schirmer Vocal Score can be downloaded in a variety of formats.
Musical Solutions — G&S MIDI Rehearsal Files — David Cookson's site
includes MIDI rehearsal files for all the G&S Operas, plus
Cox and Box and Haddon Hall.
Fold Your Flapping Wings: This
was a song for Strephon that was cut by Gilbert and Sullivan during the
original production of Iolanthe. Some reviewers found the piece too dark
for a lighthearted, good-humored comedy like Iolanthe. Some modern productions
have experimented with including the song. The song appeared immediately
after the Trio "If You Go In" in
Act II. It is rather an interesting and dramatic piece: Judge for yourself
by listening to the Midi file and reading the lyrics or following along
with the vocal score.
Early Reviews. From a variety of nineteenth century and later newspapers.
Transcript of a discussion of Iolanthe by members of the SavoyNet
distribution list. This extensive discussion provides substantial
background information on this opera, and is a must for anyone wanting
to understand it better, produce it, or perform in it. Compiled by
Stephen B. Sullivan.
A chapter on Iolanthe from the book Gilbert and Sullivan Opera, A
History and a Comment, by H. M. Walbrook, published in London in 1922.
