The Grand Duke

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An early poster for The Grand Duke GrandDukeposter.jpg
An early poster for The Grand Duke

The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel, is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 March 1896, and ran for 123 performances. Despite a successful opening night, the production had a relatively short run and was the partnership's only financial failure, and the two men never worked together again. In recent decades, the opera has been revived professionally, first in the US and then in the UK.

Contents

In The Grand Duke, Gilbert and Sullivan come full circle, back to the theme of their first collaboration, Thespis : a troupe of actors taking political power. The plot hinges on the mis-interpretation of a 100-year-old law regarding statutory duels (decided by drawing cards). The baffled leading man of the troupe, Ludwig, spearheads the rebellion against the hypochondriac, miserly Grand Duke and becomes engaged to four different women before the plot is resolved. The frugality and phoniness of the wealthy classes and the nobility are lampooned and, as in Princess Ida , The Mikado , The Gondoliers , and Utopia, Limited , the foreign setting emboldens Gilbert to use some particularly pointed satire. Sullivan's varied score includes lilting Viennese waltz music.

Background

During the production of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1889 comic opera, The Gondoliers , Gilbert became embroiled in a legal dispute with producer Richard D'Oyly Carte over the cost of a new carpet for the Savoy Theatre and, more generally, over the accounting for expenses of the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership. Sullivan sided with Carte (who was about to produce Sullivan's grand opera, Ivanhoe ), and the partnership disbanded. After The Gondoliers closed in 1891, Gilbert withdrew the performance rights to his libretti and vowed to write no more operas for the Savoy. [1] The lawsuit left Gilbert and Sullivan somewhat embittered, and though they finally collaborated on two more works, these suffered from a less collegial working relationship than the two men had typically enjoyed while writing earlier operas. [2]

Gilbert and Sullivan's penultimate opera, Utopia, Limited (1893), was a very modest success compared with their earlier collaborations. It introduced Gilbert's last protégée, Nancy McIntosh, as the heroine, who received generally unfavourable press. [3] Sullivan refused to write another piece if she was to take part in it. [4] Discussions over her playing the role of Yum-Yum in a proposed revival of The Mikado led to another row between Gilbert and Sullivan that prevented the revival, and Gilbert's insistence upon her appearing in his 1894 opera, His Excellency , caused Sullivan to refuse to set the piece. [5] After His Excellency closed in April 1895, McIntosh wrote to Sullivan informing him that she planned to return to concert singing, and so the obstacle to his further collaboration with Gilbert was removed. [6] Meanwhile, Sullivan had written a comic opera for the Savoy Theatre with F. C. Burnand, The Chieftain , but that had closed in March 1895. [7]

Genesis

Ilka Palmay as Julia Jellicoe Ilka Palmay as Julia Jellico.jpg
Ilka Pálmay as Julia Jellicoe

Gilbert had begun working on the story of The Grand Duke in late 1894. [6] Elements of the plot were based on several antecedents including "The Duke's Dilemma" (1853), a short story by Tom Taylor, published in Blackwood's Magazine, about a poor duke who hires French actors to play courtiers to impress his rich fiancée. The story also contains the germ of the character of Ernest. [8] [9] In 1888, "The Duke's Dilemma" was adapted as The Prima Donna, a comic opera by H. B. Farnie that contains other details seen in The Grand Duke, including the Shakespearean costumes, a prince and princess who make a theatrical entrance. [10] In addition, the plot shows similarities with the first Gilbert and Sullivan opera, Thespis , in which a company of actors gain political power. [11] Gilbert read a sketch of the plot to Sullivan on 8 August 1895, and Sullivan wrote on 11 August to say that he would be pleased to write the music, calling Gilbert's plot sketch "as clear and bright as possible". [7] [12] The theme of Ernest (and then Rudolph) being legally dead while still physically alive was used in earlier works by Gilbert and, separately by Sullivan, for example Tom Cobb (1875) and Cox and Box (1867). [13] [14] Gilbert sold the libretto of the new piece to Carte and Sullivan for £5,000, and so he took no risk as to whether or not it would succeed. [12]

Mr. and Mrs. Carte hired a new soprano, the Hungarian Ilka Pálmay, who had recently arrived in England and quickly made a favourable impression on London audiences and critics with her charming personality. [15] Gilbert devised a new plot line revolving around Pálmay, making her character, Julia, an English actress among a company of German actors, with the topsy-turvy conceit that her "strong English accent" was forgiven by her audiences because of her great dramatic artistry. Rutland Barrington's role, Ludwig, became the leading comedian of the theatrical company and the central role in the opera. [16] Gilbert had paired the title character with contralto Rosina Brandram, causing Sullivan to suggest some different pairings of the characters, but Gilbert and the Cartes disagreed; Mrs. Carte went so far as to caution Sullivan that his ideas would upset the casting. [17] Unhappily for Gilbert, three of his usual principal players, George Grossmith, Richard Temple and Jessie Bond, who he had originally thought would play the title character, the prince and the princess, all left the company before rehearsals began for The Grand Duke, and so he reduced the size of these roles, further changing his original conception. [18]

While Gilbert and Sullivan finished writing the show, the Cartes produced a revival of The Mikado at the Savoy Theatre, opening on 6 November 1895. Rehearsals for The Grand Duke began in January. [19] Sullivan wrote the overture himself, effectively weaving together some of the best melodies in the opera. [20] Gilbert made a few additional changes to the libretto shortly before opening night to avoid giving offense to Kaiser Wilhelm, possibly at the request of Sullivan, who valued the Kaiser's friendship. These included changing the name of the title character from Wilhelm to Rudolph. [20]

Original production and reception

Programme from the original production of The Grand Duke Grand-duke-11-5-96.jpg
Programme from the original production of The Grand Duke
Grossmith comforts Carte after failure of The Grand Duke Comic Opera at the Savoy.png
Grossmith comforts Carte after failure of The Grand Duke

The opera premiered on 7 March 1896, and Sullivan conducted the orchestra, as he always did on opening nights. Costumes were by Percy Anderson. [21] The opening night was a decided success, and the critics praised Gilbert's direction, Pálmay's singing and acting, Walter Passmore as Rudolph, and the cast in general. There were some reservations, however. [22] The Times's review of the opening night's performance said:

The Grand Duke is not by any means another Mikado, and, though it is far from being the least attractive of the series, signs are not wanting that the rich vein which the collaborators and their various followers have worked for so many years is at last dangerously near exhaustion. This time the libretto is very conspicuously inferior to the music. There are still a number of excellent songs, but the dialogue seems to have lost much of its crispness, the turning-point of what plot there is requires considerable intellectual application before it can be thoroughly grasped, and some of the jests are beaten out terribly thin. [23]

The reviewer stated that the jokes might be funnier if the dialogue between them were "compressed". The Manchester Guardian concurred: "Mr. Gilbert's tendency to over-elaboration has nowhere shown itself so obtrusively.... Mr. Gilbert has introduced too many whimsical ideas which practically bear no relation to the story proper". [24] Although the audience greeted the new piece enthusiastically, [25] [26] neither partner was satisfied. Sullivan wrote in his diary, "Parts of it dragged a little – dialogue too redundant but success great and genuine I think.... Thank God opera is finished & out." [22] Gilbert wrote to his friend, Mrs. Bram Stoker: "I'm not at all a proud Mother, and I never want to see this ugly misshapen little brat again." [27]

After the opening night, Sullivan left to recuperate in Monte Carlo. Gilbert reacted to the reviews by making cuts in the opera. These included three songs in Act II, and commentators have questioned the wisdom of these particular cuts, especially the Baroness's drinking song and the Prince's roulette song. [28] The Grand Duke closed after 123 performances on 11 July 1896, Gilbert and Sullivan's only financial failure. It toured the British provinces for a year and was produced in Germany on 20 May 1896 at the Unter den Linden Theatre in Berlin and on a D'Oyly Carte tour of South Africa the same year. After this, it disappeared from the professional repertory, [29] although Gilbert considered reviving it in 1909. [30]

Analysis and subsequent history

The Grand Duke is longer than most of the earlier Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and more of the libretto is devoted to dialogue. Gilbert's cutting of parts of the opera after the opening night did not prevent it from having a shorter run than any of the earlier collaborations since Trial by Jury . In addition to whatever weaknesses the show had, as compared with earlier Gilbert and Sullivan pieces, the taste of the London theatregoing public had shifted away from comic opera to musical comedies, such as A Gaiety Girl (1893), The Shop Girl (1894) and An Artist's Model (1895), which were to dominate the London stage through World War I. [31] One of the most successful musical comedies of the 1890s, The Geisha (1896), competed directly against The Grand Duke and was by far the greater success. [32] [33]

"Ludwig and his Julia are mated." Palmay barrington.jpg
"Ludwig and his Julia are mated."

After its original production, The Grand Duke was not revived by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company until 1975 (and then only in concert), and performances by other companies have been less frequent than most of the other Gilbert and Sullivan operas. 20th century critics dismissed the work. [34] For example, H. M. Walbrook wrote in 1921, "It reads like the work of a tired man. ... There is his manner but not his wit, his lyrical fluency but not his charm. ... [For] the most part, the lyrics were uninspiring and the melodies uninspired." [35] Of Gilbert's work in the opera, Isaac Goldberg opined, "the old self-censorship has relaxed", and of Sullivan's he concludes, "his grip upon the text was relaxing; he pays less attention to the words, setting them with less regard than formerly to their natural rhythms". [36]

In the first half of the 20th century, The Grand Duke was produced occasionally by amateur companies, [37] including the Savoy Company in Philadelphia and the Blue Hill Troupe in New York City, who pride themselves on producing all of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. [38] In America, it was mounted by professional companies, including the American Savoyards, beginning in 1959, [37] and the Light Opera of Manhattan in the 1970s and 1980s. The BBC assembled a cast to broadcast the opera (together with the rest of the Gilbert and Sullivan series) in 1966 (led by former D'Oyly Carte comic Peter Pratt) and again in 1989. Of a 1962 production by The Lyric Theater Company of Washington, D.C., The Washington Post wrote, "the difficulties were worth surmounting, for the work is a delight. ... Throughout the work are echoes of their earlier and more successful collaborations, but Pfennig Halbpfennig retains a flavor all its own." [39]

Since the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company released its recording of the piece in 1976, The Grand Duke has been produced more frequently. [40] [41] The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players produced a concert version in 1995 and a full production in 2011. [42] Writer Marc Shepherd concluded that the work "is full of bright comic situations and Gilbert's characteristic topsy-turvy wit. Sullivan's contribution has been considered first-rate from the beginning. The opera shows him branching out into a more harmonically adventurous Continental operetta style." [43] The first fully staged professional revival in the UK took place in 2012 at the Finborough Theatre in London, starring Richard Suart in the title role, with a reduced cast and two-piano accompaniment. [44] [45] The Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company presented a full-scale professional production with orchestra at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton later in 2012. [46] [47] An amateur production at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in 2024 by the Savoy Company of Philadelphia drew praise from Spectator critic Richard Bratby, who called Sullivan’s score "a lyrical, luminous thing; a last blossoming of the Mendelssohn spirit in the era of Richard Strauss". [48]

Roles and casting

Charles Kenningham as Ernest ErnestKenning.jpg
Charles Kenningham as Ernest

The original and 1975 principal cast were as follows:

RoleVoice1896 [49] 1975 [50]
Rudolph, Grand Duke of Pfennig-Halbpfennigcomic baritone Walter Passmore John Reed
Ernest Dummkopf, a Theatrical Manager tenor Charles Kenningham Colin Wright
Ludwig, his Leading Comedianbaritone Rutland Barrington Kenneth Sandford
Dr. Tannhäuser, a Notary high baritone Scott Russell Michael Rayner
The Prince of Monte Carlobaritone R. Scott Fishe John Ayldon
Viscount Mentonespeaking roleE. CarltonJeffrey Cresswell
Ben Hashbaz, a costumierany male voice C. H. Workman Jon Ellison
Heraldbaritone Jones Hewson John Broad
The Princess of Monte Carlo, betrothed to Rudolph soprano Emmie Owen Pamela Field
The Baroness von Krakenfeldt, betrothed to Rudolph contralto Rosina Brandram Lyndsie Holland
Julia Jellicoe, an English Comediennesoprano Ilka Pálmay Julia Goss
Lisa, a Soubrette mezzo-soprano Florence Perry Judi Merri
Members of Ernest Dummkopf's Company:
Olga

[51]

Mildred Baker

Marjorie Williams
Gretchen [51] Ruth Vincent Anne Egglestone
Bertha [51] Jessie Rose Beti Lloyd-Jones
Elsa [51] Ethel Wilson Patricia Leonard
Martha [51] Beatrice PerryRosalind Griffiths
Chorus of Chamberlains, Nobles, Actors, Actresses, etc.

Synopsis

Drawing of the original Act I set GDact1Set.jpg
Drawing of the original Act I set

The Grand Duke is set in the Grand Duchy of Pfennig-Halbpfennig in 1750.

Act I

In the market square in the capital city, Speisesaal, Ernest Dummkopf's theatrical company is ready to open their production of Troilus and Cressida that night. They also prepare to celebrate the wedding of the troupe's leading comedian, Ludwig, to Lisa, a soubrette of the company. The marriage cannot take place, however, as there are no parsons available in the city: all clerics have been summoned to the palace by the Grand Duke of Pfennig-Halbpfennig to discuss his own forthcoming marriage. Everyone has grown to resent the Grand Duke, and all of the company had already become members of a plot to blow him up with dynamite and place a new man on the throne. The secret sign by which members of the conspiracy recognise each other is to eat a sausage roll a food of which they are by now all heartily sick.

It is clear that Ernest will win the election which is to follow the coup and become Grand Duke, which troubles Julia Jellicoe, a famous English comedian. As leading lady of the company, she is bound by contract to play the leading female role in any production. If Ernest, the manager, becomes the Grand Duke, she reasons that she will have to be the Grand Duchess. She says that this is a repugnant prospect to her (though it is a delightful one to Ernest), but that she will play the part in a professional manner.

Note: Gilbert supplied a topsy-turvy twist by writing Julia's dialogue in a German accent, since she is the only English character in Ernest's company; all of the Germans speak with an English accent. The first Julia, Ilka Pálmay, was Hungarian but performed mostly in German. Modern productions do not always carry out this idea. For instance, in the 1976 D'Oyly Carte recording (which did not include the dialogue), the singer playing Julia did not affect a German accent.
Passmore as Rudolph Passmore as Grand Duke Rudolph 1896.jpg
Passmore as Rudolph

Meanwhile, Ludwig has met a man who returned his secret salute by eating three sausage rolls. Ludwig believed him to be a member of the conspiracy and told him all the details; only then did he realise that he had revealed the entire plot to the Grand Duke's private detective. The company are aghast, believing they are doomed once the Grand Duke learns of the plot. The company's notary, Dr. Tannhäuser, appears and offers a solution. He explains that a century ago the Grand Duke of the time, concerned about the loss of life in duelling, had created the statutory duel: the duellers draw cards, and the one who draws the lower card loses. He becomes legally dead, and the winner takes over his position: his property, responsibilities and debts. The law regulating statutory duels, like all laws of Pfennig-Halbpfennig, lasts for one hundred years unless revived, and it is to lapse tomorrow.

Tannhäuser counsels Ernest and Ludwig to fight a statutory duel immediately: the loser will be legally dead, and the survivor can go to the Duke and confess the whole plot. As informer he will be spared, while the other party will be dead and so beyond retribution. The next day, the loser will come to life when the law lapses, but since death expunges crime, his character will be unstained. Ernest and Ludwig promptly "fight" a statutory duel: Ernest draws a king, but Ludwig draws an ace and is declared the winner.

They leave, and the miserly yet pompous and moralistic Grand Duke Rudolph appears, heralded by his corps of chamberlains. He instructs them in the arrangements for his wedding the next day to the rich, but also miserly, Baroness Caroline von Krakenfeldt. She arrives, handing him a letter from his detective, and they sing about how exactly in agreement are their ideas on economy. Caroline is disconcerted that Rudolph insists on courting her in the market square, but he explains that he has made a law compelling couples to do all courting in the square so as to increase the value of his properties around the square. She approves of this example of economy.

Florence Perry as Lisa Perrylisa.jpg
Florence Perry as Lisa

Caroline is also upset by a newspaper article which says that Rudolph was betrothed in infancy to the Princess of Monte Carlo, but he explains that the engagement is "practically off." The betrothal lapses when the Princess reaches the age of twenty-one, which will happen tomorrow, and her father, the Prince, dares not venture out of his house for fear of being arrested by his creditors.

Once he is alone, Rudolph reads the letter and learns about the plot to blow him up. Ludwig arrives, intent on denouncing the plot to him. Before he can do so, Rudolph declares that he would give anything to avoid being blown up the next day, and Ludwig sees a way out. He feigns patriotism and suggests that the two engage in a statutory duel. He explains that they will hide cards up their sleeves, guaranteeing victory to Ludwig. When the plot unfolds, Ludwig will bear the brunt of it. The next day, when the Act authorizing statutory duels expires, Rudolph can come back to life unharmed. Although Rudolph is sceptical, he accepts Ludwig's proposal.

Rudolph and Ludwig summon the city's inhabitants. They stage a mock quarrel and conduct the rigged statutory duel as planned: Rudolph's king is beaten by Ludwig's ace, making Ludwig the Grand Duke. Rudolph's subjects berate him with scorn, and he retreats, threatening revenge. Ludwig uses his new powers to extend the Act for another hundred years, thus ensuring that neither Rudolph nor Ernest can come back to life.

Julia Jellicoe appears and once again asserts that, as leading lady, she must take the leading role of the Grand Duchess. Lisa leaves in tears. Julia points out that if she and Ludwig are to rule over a Grand Ducal court, they need to be dressed more impressively than their everyday clothes will allow. Ludwig recalls that they have a complete set of brand-new costumes for Troilus and Cressida, which they can use to "upraise the dead old days of Athens in her glory."

Act II

"We'll upraise the dead old days of Athens in her Glory!" ACTII Grand Duke.jpg
"We'll upraise the dead old days of Athens in her Glory!"

In a room in the Ducal palace, the new Grand Duke, Grand Duchess and court parade in classical costumes and sing a Grecian chorus. Left alone, Ludwig and Julia fail to agree on how her role is to be played. Caroline von Krakenfeldt arrives for her wedding and is startled to find that Rudolph has been replaced by Ludwig. But once she discovers that Ludwig has beaten Rudolph in a statutory duel, she points out that he must take on Rudolph's responsibilities including his betrothal to her. So despite being already married to Julia, Ludwig goes off with Caroline to get married, and Julia makes a dramatic exit.

Ernest, though legally dead, is desperate for news and arrives to try to find out what is going on. He sees the wedding procession in the distance and assumes that Ludwig is marrying Lisa; but it cannot be so, for Lisa appears. She sees him and runs away in fright, since he is a "ghost". He then supposes that Ludwig must be marrying his Julia, but she too appears. Though affecting to be also frightened, she stays and tells him what Ludwig has done.

Owen and Fishe: "We're rigged out in magnificent array." Fische owen.jpg
Owen and Fishe: "We're rigged out in magnificent array."

They leave, and the wedding party returns. Caroline is enjoying the rare pleasure of drinking "when somebody else pays the bill." Yet another unexpected visitor arrives: it is a herald, who announces that the Prince and Princess of Monte Carlo are on their way. Ludwig decides to give the Prince a theatrical welcome, and tells the company to hide.

The Prince of Monte Carlo arrives with his daughter the Princess and a retinue of supernumeraries out-of-work actors hired from the Theatre Monaco to play the part of nobles. He has reversed his fortunes by inventing a game called roulette, which has allowed him to pay his debts, hire the supernumeraries, and take his daughter to Pfennig-Halbpfennig just in time to marry the Grand Duke before the engagement expires.

Ludwig and the court spring out at them, dancing a lively can-can. The Princess is shocked and upset when she discovers that Ludwig already has three Grand Duchesses. She points out, however, that her claim predates the others', and Ludwig is therefore obliged to marry her.

Ludwig and the Princess are about to go off to yet another wedding party, when Ernest, Rudolph and Dr Tannhäuser burst in. The Notary reveals that the Act regulating statutory duels specifically states that the ace shall count as lowest, so Ludwig did not win, was never Grand Duke, and cannot have revived the act. Within seconds, the Act expires, returning Ludwig and Ernest to the living. Three couples marry: Rudolph and the Princess; Ernest and Julia; and Ludwig and Lisa.

Musical numbers

Act I
Bab drawing of Rudolph RudolphGD.gif
Bab drawing of Rudolph
Act II
Rosina Brandram as the Baroness BranBaroness.jpg
Rosina Brandram as the Baroness

Versions of the text

The published vocal score for The Grand Duke was available within days of opening night, and it included all of the music performed at the premiere. Shortly thereafter, there were a number of substantial cuts, which were reflected in the published libretto. It is uncertain whether Sullivan (who was travelling abroad) agreed with these cuts, but the published vocal score was never revised. The libretto and vocal score have thus remained in disagreement.

The cuts involving the music included:

There is no standard performing version of The Grand Duke. While most companies that have produced The Grand Duke agree that the first-night version is too long, there is no established tradition about which cuts to make, if any, and most productions have made cuts in the dialogue and often dropped verses and/or attempted some reorganization or rewriting.

The 1976 D'Oyly Carte recording observed the original cuts in Act I, but restored the three deleted numbers from Act II.

Recordings

Until the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company recorded this opera in 1976, it was unfamiliar to most fans of Gilbert and Sullivan. While the 1976 recording has been well-received, the 1973 recording by UMGASS, though an amateur recording, including dialogue, is admired. [52] The BBC had broadcast the opera with an excellent cast and including dialogue in 1966, but they have never released the recording. [53] The 2012 professional production at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival was recorded on video. [54]

Selected recordings

Notes

  1. Shepherd, p. vii.
  2. Wolfson, passim
  3. Ainger, pp. 349–50
  4. Ainger, p. 352
  5. Wolfson, pp. 61–62
  6. 1 2 Ainger, p. 356
  7. 1 2 Ainger, p. 357
  8. "The Duke's Dilemma"
  9. Wolfson, p. 70
  10. Farnie, H. B. and Alfred Murray; music by Tito Mattei. The Prima Donna, first produced in 1889 at the Avenue Theatre, London. See The Story of the Savoy Opera: in Gilbert and Sullivan Days, S. J. Adair Fitz-Gerald, p. 180
  11. Stedman, p. 307, n. 25
  12. 1 2 Shepherd, p. xiii,
  13. Crowther, Andrew. "'My Last Client': Afterword", W. S. Gilbert Society Journal, vol. 3, issue 23, Summer 2008, p. 731
  14. Cox and Box Archived 13 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine at The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive, accessed 8 March 2010
  15. Ainger, p. 358
  16. Wolfson, pp. 88–91
  17. Shepherd, pp. xviii–xx
  18. Shepherd, p. xx
  19. Wolfson, p. 91
  20. 1 2 Ainger, p. 360
  21. Rollins and Witts, Appendix, p. VIII
  22. 1 2 Ainger, p. 361
  23. "Savoy Theatre", The Times , 9 March 1896, p. 7, reprinted at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive
  24. "Theatre Royal – The Grand Duke", The Manchester Guardian, 16 June 1896
  25. "The New Savoy Opera", The Observer, 8 March 1896
  26. "The New Savoy Opera", The Manchester Guardian, 9 March 1896
  27. Quote from letter to Mrs. Bram Stoker
  28. Wolfson, p. 100
  29. Shepherd, p. xiii, n.3 and n.4.
  30. Shepherd, p. xxvii
  31. Ainger, p. 353
  32. Ainger, p. 362
  33. Gänzl, Kurt. The British Musical Theatre: Volume I, 1865–1914, New York: Oxford University Press, 1986, p. 619
  34. Shepherd, pp. xxviii–xxxi
  35. Walbrook, pp. 122–24
  36. Goldberg, Isaac. The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan or The 'Compleat' Savoyard, (London: John Murray, 1929), pp. 424–29
  37. 1 2 Shepherd, p. xxxi; the first American production was by a student group at the Boston Technological School in 1901. See the El Paso Daily Herald, 26 March 1901.
  38. Theatre programmes, including the Blue Hill Troupe in 1937 and the Savoy Company in 1938. See also Jones, Kenneth. "Thespis, Lost G&S Operetta, Gets New Score by Thomas Z. Shepard", Playbill, 28 May 2008
  39. Diggins, Peter S. The Washington Post, 3 August 1962; quoted in Shepherd, p. xxxii
  40. Bond, Ian. "Rarely Produced Shows" Archived 11 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine . St. David's Players, accessed 28 April 2015
  41. Stedman, p. 309
  42. Gluck, Victor. The Grand Duke Archived 9 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine , TheaterScene.net, 16 November 2011
  43. Shepherd, p. xxxiii
  44. Billington, Michael. "The Grand Duke – review", The Guardian, 3 April 2012
  45. "Gilbert and Sullivan's The Grand Duke", FinboroughTheatre, accessed 28 February 2012
  46. Lisle Nicola. "The Grand Duke: Buxton Opera House" Archived 3 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine , The Oxford Times, 22 August 2012
  47. "Events, Festivals & Projects", Sir Arthur Sullivan Society, accessed 2 November 2011
  48. Bratby, Richard (17 August 2024). "In defence of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Grand Duke". The Spectator.
  49. Rollins and Witts, p. 14
  50. Rollins & Witts, Third Supplement, p. 28
  51. 1 2 3 4 5 Of these named roles, any four are singing roles and may be assigned to two sopranos and two altos
  52. 1 2 Shepherd, Marc. Review of 1973 recording of The Grand Duke at A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 11 December 2001, accessed 31 July 2016
  53. List and assessments of recordings of the opera Archived 5 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  54. "Professional Shows from the Festival" Archived 26 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine , Musical Collectibles catalogue website, accessed 15 October 2012
  55. Shepherd, Marc. Review of 1966 broadcast of The Grand Duke at A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 26 November 2000, accessed 31 July 2016
  56. Shepherd, Marc. Review of 1976 recording of The Grand Duke at A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 21 September 2008, accessed 31 July 2016
  57. Shepherd, Marc. Review of 1989 broadcast of The Grand Duke at A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 31 December 1999, accessed 31 July 2016

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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, 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.

<i>H.M.S. Pinafore</i> 1878 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London on 25 May 1878, and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical theatre piece up to that time. H.M.S. Pinafore was Gilbert and Sullivan's fourth operatic collaboration and their first international sensation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savoy opera</span> Opera genre

Savoy opera was a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house the Gilbert and Sullivan pieces, and later those by other composer–librettist teams. The great bulk of the non-G&S Savoy Operas either failed to achieve a foothold in the standard repertory, or have faded over the years, leaving the term "Savoy Opera" as practically synonymous with Gilbert and Sullivan. The Savoy operas were seminal influences on the creation of the modern musical.

<i>The Yeomen of the Guard</i> 1888 comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan

The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh collaboration of fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan.

<i>Utopia, Limited</i> 1893 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress, is a Savoy opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a run of 245 performances. It did not achieve the success of most of their earlier productions.

<i>The Sorcerer</i> 1877 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876. A young man, Alexis, is obsessed with the idea of love levelling all ranks and social distinctions. To promote his beliefs, he invites the proprietor of J. W. Wells & Co., Family Sorcerers, to brew a love potion. This causes everyone in the village to fall in love with the first person they see and results in the pairing of comically mismatched couples. In the end, Wells must sacrifice his life to break the spell.

<i>Princess Ida</i> 1884 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

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 betrothed in infancy sneaks into the university, together with two friends, with the aim of collecting his bride. They disguise themselves as women students, but are discovered, and all soon face a literal war between the sexes.

<i>The Gondoliers</i> 1889 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

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, closing on 30 June 1891. This was the twelfth comic opera collaboration of fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan.

<i>Patience</i> (opera) 1881 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera is a satire on the aesthetic movement of the 1870s and '80s in England and, more broadly, on fads, superficiality, vanity, hypocrisy and pretentiousness; it also satirises romantic love, rural simplicity and military bluster.

<i>His Majesty</i> (opera) Opera by Alexander Mackenzie, F. C. Burnand and R. C. Lehmann

His Majesty, or, The Court of Vingolia is an English comic opera in two acts with dialogue by F. C. Burnand, lyrics by R. C. Lehmann, additional lyrics by Adrian Ross and music by Alexander Mackenzie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D'Oyly Carte Opera Company</span> British theatre company

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The company was revived for short seasons and tours from 1988 to 2003, and since 2013 it has co-produced four of the operas with Scottish Opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonora Braham</span> English singer and actress (1853–1931)

Leonora Braham was an English opera singer and actress primarily known as the creator of principal soprano roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Carte</span> Businesswoman and wife of Richard DOyly Carte (1852–1913)

Helen Carte Boulter, also known as Helen Lenoir, was a Scottish businesswoman known for her diplomatic skills and grasp of detail. Beginning as his secretary, and later marrying, impresario and hotelier Richard D'Oyly Carte, she is best remembered for her stewardship of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and Savoy Hotel from the end of the 19th century into the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. Scott Fishe</span> British opera singer and actor

Robert Scott Fishe was an English operatic baritone and actor best remembered for creating roles in the 1890s with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.

<i>Trial by Jury</i> 1875 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its popular companion piece, Jacques Offenbach's La Périchole. The story concerns a "breach of promise of marriage" lawsuit in which the judge and legal system are the objects of lighthearted satire. Gilbert based the libretto of Trial by Jury on an operetta parody that he had written in 1868.

References