Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, is an operatic extravaganza that was the first collaboration between dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. No musical score of Thespis was ever published, and most of the music has been lost. Gilbert and Sullivan went on to become the most famous and successful artistic partnership in Victorian England, creating a string of enduring comic opera hits, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.Bradley (2005), Chapter 1
Thespis premièred in London at the Gaiety Theatre on 26 December 1871. Like many productions at that theatre, it was written in a broad, burlesque style, considerably different from Gilbert and Sullivan's later works. It was a success, for a Christmas entertainment of the time,Walters, Michael. "Thespis: a reply", W. S. Gilbert Society Journal, Vol. 4, part 3, Issue 29. Summer 2011. and closed on 8 March 1872, after a run of 63 performances.The length of the run is given as 64 performances in some sources. According to Rees (p. 78, n. 7), that is because they fail to take into account that there was no performance of Thespis on Ash Wednesday. It was advertised as "An entirely original Grotesque Opera in Two Acts".Rollins and Witts, p. 3
The story follows an acting troupe headed by Thespis, the legendary Greek father of the drama, who temporarily trade places with the gods on Mount Olympus, who have grown elderly and ignored. The actors turn out to be comically inept rulers. Having seen the ensuing mayhem down below, the angry gods return, sending the actors back to Earth as "eminent tragedians, whom no one ever goes to see". Gilbert would return to this theme twenty-five years later in his last opera with Sullivan, The Grand Duke, in which a theatre company temporarily replaces the ruler of a small country and decides to "revive the classic memories of Athens at its best".
Seasonal works like Thespis were not normally expected to endure, and apart from a benefit performance shortly after the original staging, Thespis was not performed again during its creators' lifetimes. A renewed interest in the piece began in the 1950s, and numerous productions have been performed since, either with music taken from Sullivan's other works, or with original music.
Synopsis
Act I
Scene: A Ruined Temple on the Summit of Mount Olympus
On Mount Olympus, the elderly deities complain of feeling old and lament their waning influence on Earth. Mercury complains that the older gods are lazy and leave all their duties to him, while he gets no credit for all his drudgery. Jupiter says that matters have reached a crisis, but he is unsure what can be done about it. Just then, the gods see a swarm of mortals ascending the mountain and withdraw to observe them from a distance.
Thespis's acting company enters for a picnic celebrating the marriage of two of its members, Sparkeion and Nicemis. The actors, being cheap, have failed to contribute substantial food items to the picnic. Sparkeion flirts with his former fiancée, Daphne, which annoys Nicemis. In retaliation, Nicemis flirts with her old suitor, Thespis, but he declines to flirt back. Thespis explains to his troupe that a successful manager must be aloof from those he manages, or he will lose his authority.
Jupiter, Mars and Apollo enter. All of the actors flee in terror, except for Thespis. Jupiter asks Thespis whether he is impressed with the father of the gods. Thespis replies that the gods are unimpressive and suggests that they go down to earth in disguise to "mingle" and judge for themselves what people think of them. They agree to invest the actors with their powers, as they take a merry holiday below on Earth. Thespis agrees that he and his company will keep things running on Mount Olympus during the gods' absence. Each actor takes the place of one of the gods, with Thespis himself replacing Jupiter. Mercury stays behind to offer any advice the actors may need.
Act II
The Same Scene, One Year Later, with the Ruins Restored
Under Thespis's direction, Olympus has been restored to its former splendour, and the Thespians enjoy ambrosia and nectar. Thespis's rule is very liberal, and he has advised his troupe not to "be hampered by routine and red tape and precedent". The celestial assignments, however, have caused some difficulties, as the romantic entanglements of the actors in real life conflict with those of the gods that they are playing. Venus, played by Pretteia, is supposed to be married to Mars, but the actor playing Mars is her father. A possible solution is discovered in Venus having actually married Vulcan, but Vulcan is her grandfather. Sparkeion, who took on the role of Apollo, accompanies his wife, Nicemis, who plays Diana, on her nightly duties, so that the sun is up during the night.
Mercury informs Thespis that the substitute gods have received many complaints from mortals because some are not performing their functions, and others' ill-judged experiments have wreaked havoc in the world below. For instance, Timidon, the replacement for Mars, is a pacifist and a coward; the substitute for Hymen refuses to marry anyone; and the ersatz Pluto is too tenderhearted to let anyone die. Daphne, who plays the muse Calliope, comes to Thespis and claims, based on a bowdlerised edition of the Greek myths, that Calliope was married to Apollo. She points out that Apollo, played by Sparkeion, is the brother of Diana (played by Sparkeion's wife, Nicemis). Thespis decides that Sparkeion is married to Daphne while they are gods, but his marriage to Nicemis will resume when they are mortals once again.
When the gods return, they are furious and tell Thespis that he has "deranged the whole scheme of society". Thespis says that they should calm down, as the list of mortals' complaints is about to be read. The gods watch incognito as Mercury presents the complaints: The actors have ruined the weather; caused strife among the nations; and there is no wine, since Bacchus is a teetotaller. After listening to these grievances, the gods angrily shed their disguises. The actors beg to stay on Olympus, but Jupiter punishes them for their folly by sending them back to earth cursed as "eminent tragedians, whom no one ever goes to see".
Roles and original cast
Gods Jupiter, Aged Deity – John Maclean Apollo, Aged Deity – Fred Sullivan Mars, Aged Deity – Frank Wood Diana, Aged Deity – Mrs. Henry Leigh Venus, Aged Deity – (Miss Jolly)Rees, pp. 42–43; Programme, 26 December 1871, Savoy TheatreGänzl, Kurt. "The Jollys: from Buck House to the Workhouse", Kurt of Gerolstein, 7 June 2018 Mercury – Ellen "Nellie" Farren
Thespians Thespis, Manager of a Travelling Theatrical Co. – J. L. Toole Sillimon, his Stage Manager – J. G. Taylor Timidon – Mr. Marshall Tipseion – Robert Soutar (Nellie Farren's husband) Preposteros – Harry Payne Stupidas – Fred PayneThe Payne brothers were the most famous harlequinade Harlequin and Clown of their day. The choreographer and ballet master for Thespis, W. H. Payne, was their father. Sparkeion – Mlle. Clary (Real name: Jeanne-Marie-Madeleine-Poirel)Clary (c. 1846 – 30 December 1930) was born and began her career in France, left the stage and married in 1875, and died in England. See Gänzl, Kurt. "Mademoiselle Clary: Sparkeion of Croydon", Kurt of Gerolstein, 9 June 2018 Nicemis – Constance Loseby Pretteia – Rose BerendGänzl, Kurt. "Geraldine St Maur: or The Blogger bloggered", Kurt of Gerolstein, 20 March 2026 Daphne – Annie TremaineGänzl, Kurt. "Three times a star: from Thespis to Trovatore", Kurt of Gerolstein, 7 June 2018 Cymon – Lardy WilsonGänzl, p. 38
Principal dancers: Mlle. Esta, Misses Lizzie Wright and Smithers Chorus of aged deities and thespians; Gaiety Corps de Ballet
The first performance was conducted by Arthur Sullivan. Subsequent performances were conducted by Meyer Lutz, the theatre's musical director. In addition to playing Tipseion, the theatre's stage manager, Robert Soutar, stage managed the piece. The Ballet Master was W. H. PayneCasting information from Rees, pp. 12–18 and 102. Crew and principal dancer information is from Rollins and Witts, p. 3
Background
Genesis Impresario and author John Hollingshead, the lessee of London's Gaiety Theatre since 1868, had produced a number of successful musical burlesques and operettas there. Indeed, Hollingshead "boasted that he kept alight 'the sacred lamp of burlesque.'"Dark & Grey, p. 63. Gilbert and Sullivan were each well acquainted with the Gaiety and its house artistes. Gilbert's Robert the Devil (a burlesque of the opera Robert le Diable) had been on the programme on the theatre's opening night on 21 December 1868, with Nellie Farren in the title role, and played successfully for over 100 nights.Article about Robert the Devil (Jewry in Music site) , accessed 30 March 2008 Constance Loseby and Annie Tremaine (both of whom had roles in Thespis) were also in the cast of Robert, and Arthur Sullivan was in the audience on that opening night as one of Hollingshead's guests.Ainger, p. 80. It was a great success, "received with a storm of approbation".Ainger, p. 80, quoting a review in the Times of 24 December 1868. Less successfully, Gilbert had also written a play for the theatre in 1869 called An Old Score.Stedman, pp. 73–74. Hollingshead would later say that the piece was "too true to nature".Ainger, p. 82, quoting Hollingshead, Good Old Gaiety: An Historiette & Remembrance, p. 16 (1903) London: Gaiety Theatre Co. By late September or early October 1871, Gaiety programmes announced that "The Christmas Operatic Extravaganza will be written by W. S. Gilbert, with original music by Arthur Sullivan."Rees, p. 10. There would be prominent roles for the popular comedian J. L. Toole, as well as Farren, the theatre's star "principal boy" in all of its burlesques.
How and when the pair came to collaborate on Thespis is uncertain. Gilbert was a logical choice for the assignment. With seven operas and plays premièring that year and over a dozen other burlesques, farces and extravaganzas under his belt, he was well known to London theatregoers as a comic dramatist.Goldberg, p. 144. Sullivan, however, was at this point mainly known for his serious music. His completed music that year included the choral cantata On Shore and Sea, a suite of incidental music for Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, and numerous hymns, including "Onward, Christian Soldiers". He did have two comic operas to his credit, Cox and Box (1866) and The Contrabandista (1867), but the latter was four years in the past and had been unsuccessful. In September 1871, Sullivan had been engaged to conduct at The Royal National Opera, but it failed abruptly, leaving him unexpectedly without commitments.Rees, p. 11. Hollingshead's offer of a role to his brother, Fred Sullivan, may have encouraged him to write the music for Thespis.Ainger, p. 93.
The production "aroused a great deal of interest and speculation".Rees, p. 26. Ironically, it had "probably the largest audience" of any Gilbert and Sullivan première, as the Gaiety was the largest of the five London theatres at which their joint works premièred.Allen (First Night), p. 1.
Composition Gilbert had a busy autumn. His play On Guard had an unsuccessful run at the Court Theatre, opening on 28 October 1871,Ainger, p. 92. while his most successful play to date, Pygmalion and Galatea, opened on 9 December, only a few days before rehearsals for Thespis were to begin. Sullivan, however, had more time on his hands after a Manchester production of The Merchant of Venice, for which he supplied incidental music, had its première on 9 September.Ainger, p. 91.
Both Gilbert and Sullivan recalled that Thespis was written in some haste. Sullivan recalled, simply, that "both music and libretto were very hurriedly written".Lawrence, p. 85. In his 1883 autobiography, Gilbert wrote:
By 1902, Gilbert's recollection of the time frame had expanded to five weeks: