Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. 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 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 hit by Gilbert and Sullivan. It was the first work to premiere at the Savoy (although Patience had transferred to the theatre in 1881) and was the first new theatre production in the world to be illuminated entirely with electric lights, permitting some special effects that had not been possible in the era of gas lighting. The opera opened simultaneously in New York, and touring companies were sent around the UK and US to play the piece. The first Australasian touring production followed in 1885, and the opera was revived in London beginning in 1901. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company toured the opera nearly continuously in repertory from 1891 until 1982, and made several recordings of the opera over that period. Numerous other professional and amateur productions have been given of this enduring work, and various other recordings have been issued.
Background
W. S. Gilbert presented his basic idea for a new opera to Arthur Sullivan in October 1881. Gilbert's earliest ideas for the story of Iolanthe originated in his Bab Ballad, "The Fairy Curate": "Once a fairy / Light and airy / Married with a mortal".Ainger, p. 215 The fairy marries a "prosaic" attorney and bears him a son. After her son grows up, she visits him on Earth, but she is mistaken for his lover, since fairies perpetually appear young and beautiful.Crowther, p. 158 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.Ainger, pp. 204–205; Bradley, p. 358; and Crowther, pp. 167 and 170 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 mother died rather suddenly.Jacobs, pp. 172–173 By the end of July 1882, Gilbert had supplied Sullivan with lyrics to several of the songs, and Sullivan began work setting them to music. Over the next two months, Sullivan met Gilbert to discuss the libretto as more lyrics were completed. Music rehearsals began in September, and staging began in October, scheduled around performances of Gilbert and Sullivan's previous opera, Patience, which had transferred to the Savoy Theatre a year earlier.Crowther, pp. 167–169 Sullivan was still composing more numbers for the opera until 20 October, with a few modifications continuing into early November. Uncharacteristically, Sullivan composed the overture himself, instead of assigning it to an assistant.Ainger, pp. 211–215 Two casts rehearsed simultaneously, as the opera was to open on the same night in London and New York City, a historic first for any play.Bradley, p. 357
Gilbert had targeted the aristocracy and political officials for satiric treatment in earlier works. In this opera, the House of Lords is lampooned as a bastion of the ineffective, privileged and dim-witted, whose only qualification to govern is noble birth. The political party system, the law and other institutions also come in for a dose of satire. Throughout Iolanthe, however, both author and composer managed to couch the criticism among such bouncy, amiable absurdities and "splendid pageantry" that it is all received as good humour, with Prime Minister Gladstone complimenting the opera's good taste.Crowther, p. 171; and Bradley, pp. 357–358 In fact, Gilbert later refused to allow quotes from the piece to be used as part of the campaign to diminish the powers of the House of Lords.Bradley, p. 416
Although titled Iolanthe all along in Gilbert's plot book,Tillett et al. 1982, p. 5 for a time the piece was advertised as Perola and rehearsed under that name. According to an often-repeated myth, Gilbert and Sullivan did not change the name to Iolanthe until just before the première.Baily 1952, p. 209 In fact, however, the title was advertised as Iolanthe as early as 13 November 1882 – eleven days before the opening – so the cast had at least that much time to learn the name. It is also clear that Sullivan's musical setting was written to match the cadence of the word "Iolanthe", and could only accommodate the word "Perola" by preceding it (awkwardly) with "O", "Come" or "Ah".Tillett, et al. 1982, pp. 6–7 Henry Irving had produced a W. G. Wills adaptation of King René's Daughter in London in 1880, under the name Iolanthe, and in October 1882 Gilbert asked his producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte, to request Irving's permission to use the name. It is not known whether Irving replied.Ainger, pp. 212–13; and Bradley, p. 364
Iolanthe premiered only three days after Patience closed at the Savoy. The Savoy Theatre, opened only a year earlier, was a state-of-the-art facility, the first theatre in the world to be lit entirely by electricity. Patience had transferred to the Savoy from the Opera Comique, upon the theatre's opening, but Iolanthe was the first show to premiere at the theatre. New lighting technologies made such special effects as sparkling fairy wands possible for the first time."The Savoy Theatre, Strand, WC2", ArthurLloyd.co.uk, retrieved 25 October 2018; and Davis, Carol E. "Sullivan: Iolanthe", Opera News, June 2014, Vol. 78, No. 12, retrieved 26 July 2015Burgess, Michael. "Richard D'Oyly Carte", The Savoyard, January 1975, pp. 7–11 The principal fairies' heads were also lit by wreaths of small illuminated stars attached to a battery.Iolanthe, D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, retrieved 26 July 2015 The audience that attended the opening night in London included Captain (later Captain Sir) Eyre Massey Shaw, head of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, whom the Fairy Queen apostrophises in the second act ("Oh, Captain Shaw / Type of true love kept under / Could thy brigade with cold cascade / Quench my great love, I wonder?"). On the first night Alice Barnett, as the Queen of the Fairies, sang the verses directly to Captain Shaw, who was sitting in the centre of the stalls.Ainger, pp. 216–217
The opera's premiere was received by an enthusiastic audience and earned critical praise,Ainger, p. 217 although there was general agreement that the second act needed some trimming.Crowther, p. 170 Iolanthe became the fourth consecutive major success for Gilbert, Sullivan and their producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte, following H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879) and Patience (1881).Ainger, pp. 145–225 Increasingly viewing his work with Gilbert as frivolous, beneath his skills and repetitious, Sullivan had intended to resign from the partnership with Gilbert and Carte after Iolanthe, but on the day of its premiere, he received a letter from his broker, Edward Hall, notifying him that Hall had lost all his money, including £7,000 of Sullivan's investments, the bulk of his fortune.Ainger, pp. 199 and 217 Sullivan's lifestyle was not inexpensive, and he was helping to support his late brother's large family,Hayes, pp. 8–9 as well as his mistress, Fanny Ronalds, and her family.Barker, John W. "Gilbert and Sullivan" , Madison Savoyards.org (2005), retrieved 12 April 2009 He soon concluded that the only certain way to restore his financial security was to continue writing Savoy operas. On 8 February 1883, he signed a new five-year creative partnership agreement with Gilbert and Carte; Gilbert was already at work on their next piece, Princess Ida.Ainger, pp. 218–219 On 22 May 1883, Sullivan was knighted by Queen Victoria for his "services ... rendered to the promotion of the art of music" in Britain.Ainger, p. 220
Roles
The Lord Chancellor (comic baritone) George, Earl of Mountararat (baritone) Thomas, Earl Tolloller (tenor) Private Willis, of the Grenadier Guards (bass) Strephon, an Arcadian Shepherd (baritone) Queen of the Fairies (contralto) Iolanthe, a Fairy, Strephon's mother (mezzo-soprano) Celia, a Fairy (soprano) Leila, a Fairy (mezzo-soprano) Fleta, a Fairy (speaking role/chorus) Phyllis, an Arcadian Shepherdess and Ward in Chancery (soprano) Chorus of Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Viscounts, Barons, and Fairies
Synopsis Act I
The beloved fairy Iolanthe, who arranged the fairies' songs and dances, committed the capital crime (under fairy law) of marrying a mortal man. The Queen of the fairies commuted Iolanthe's sentence of death to banishment for life on the condition that she 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 summoned"), Iolanthe rises from the frog-infested stream that has been her home in exile. The Queen, unable to bear punishing her any longer, pardons Iolanthe, who is warmly greeted by the other fairies. Iolanthe tells her sisters that she has a son, Strephon, noting that he's a fairy down to the waist, but his legs are mortal. The fairies laugh that Iolanthe appears too young to have a grown son, as one of the advantages of a fairy's immortality is that they never grow old. Strephon, a handsome Arcadian shepherd, arrives and meets his aunts ("Good-morrow, good mother"). He tells Iolanthe of his love for the Lord Chancellor's ward of court, the beautiful Phyllis, who does not know of Strephon's mixed origin. Strephon is despondent, however, as the Lord Chancellor has forbidden them to marry, partly because he feels that a shepherd is unsuitable for Phyllis, but partly because the Lord Chancellor wishes to marry Phyllis himself. In fact, so do half the members of Britain's House of Lords. The Fairy Queen promises her assistance ("Fare thee well, attractive stranger"). Soon Phyllis arrives, and she and Strephon share a moment of tenderness as they plan their future and possible elopement ("Good-morrow, good lover"; "None shall part us from each other").