77-454: 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
154-572: A chance to win their spurs ... the stalls and the boxes lost much by missing the curtain-raiser, but to them dinner was more important. The following table lists the known companion pieces that appeared at the Opera Comique or the Savoy Theatre during the original runs and principal revivals of the Savoy Operas through 1909. There may have been more such pieces that have not yet been identified. In
231-574: 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. In addition, the plot shows similarities with the first Gilbert and Sullivan opera, Thespis , in which a company of actors gain political power. 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
308-489: 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. They leave, and
385-514: A floppy Byronic collar , and he talks solemn poetic rubbish. He is now a poet-soldier. He does not wish to deceive Caroline, but he is afraid to tell her who he really is. Docket & Tape, Solicitors, have been advertising in the papers for information about him, and he fears that they are after him for forging the will of old Tom Cobb. O'Fipp refuses to pay Tom his pound a week any more, because he believes that Tom's fear of prosecution for forgery will be enough to keep him quiet. Finally, Tom writes
462-437: A joke "will" in which he left his worldly goods to Matilda. O'Fipp angrily crumples this up and throws it away. Whipple arrives with the news that the old pauper Tom Cobb was not a pauper at all, but a miser with a hoard of gold under his hearth but without any friends or relations. O'Fipp, retrieving the "will", lays claim to the money. Act II: The same room, but now handsomely furnished. Three months have passed, and Whipple
539-615: A joke. Whipple suggests that Tom make people think the dead man is young Tom Cobb, lie low for a few months, and come back to life with a new name and a clean slate. Tom adopts the suggestion and leaves immediately, Whipple giving him £25 to tide him over. Caroline Effingham, an old school-friend of Matilda's, is a very romantic young woman. She tells Matilda that she fell in love with a "poet-soldier" with whom she has corresponded with but never met. However, he hasn't responded to her letters for some time, and when she finds him she will sue him for breach of promise. Before Tom "died", he scribbled
616-514: A last blossoming of the Mendelssohn spirit in the era of Richard Strauss". The original and 1975 principal cast were as follows: The Grand Duke is set in the Grand Duchy of Pfennig-Halbpfennig in 1750. 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
693-533: 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
770-473: A man describes how he "killed himself" yet remains alive. Act I: A shabby but pretentious sitting-room in Colonel O'Fipp's house. Matilda, the Colonel's daughter, is engaged to Tom Cobb, a penniless young surgeon. Tom rents a room at O'Fipp's house. He is in debt to a moneylender and has lent the money to O'Fipp in exchange for some worthless I.O.U.s. The money-lender has just signed judgement against Tom, so Tom
847-487: 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
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#1733085104474924-613: 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. 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
1001-521: A number of cases, the exact opening and closing dates are not known. Date ranges overlap, since it was common to rotate two or more companion pieces at performances during the same period to be played with the main piece. Many of these pieces also played elsewhere (and often on tour by D'Oyly Carte touring companies). Only the runs at the Opera Comique and the Savoy are shown here. *Indicates an approximate date. Tom Cobb Tom Cobb or, Fortune's Toy
1078-404: 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
1155-468: 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
1232-410: Is a farce in three-acts (styled "An Entirely Original Farcical Comedy") by W. S. Gilbert . The story concerns Tom, a young debtor who pretends to be a recently deceased man to avoid his debts. A family claims to inherit the dead man's fortune and pays Tom a pound a week to continue to live under an assumed name and keep quiet. He is claimed in marriage by the well-born Caroline Effingham who was jilted by
1309-416: 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
1386-423: 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. 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
1463-445: Is engaged to Matilda. The wealthy O'Fipps are happy, thanks to the "death" of Tom Cobb, and they agree that if he should decide to return from the dead, he will find it difficult to convince anyone of his identity. Tom reappears looking "very seedy and dirty". His money has run out. Much to his bewilderment, O'Fipp, Matilda and Whipple all deny that he is Tom Cobb. O'Fipp suggests he assume another name, selecting one at random from
1540-427: 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
1617-453: Is in bad financial straits as the play opens. Whipple, a successful young surgeon, also wishes to marry Matilda. He proposes to her, but she says she prefers Tom. She notes, however, that if Tom hasn't married her in another month, she'll talk to Whipple again. Tom tells Whipple about his financial difficulties. Whipple notes that one of his old patients has just died. The deceased had had no name of his own, so Whipple had called him Tom Cobb as
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#17330851044741694-458: Is requires considerable intellectual application before it can be thoroughly grasped, and some of the jests are beaten out terribly thin. 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
1771-784: The Times newspaper: Major-General Arthur Fitzpatrick. Tom accepts from O'Fipp a pound a week for as long as he keeps that name. "I'm so hungry, and seedy, and wretched," Tom says, "that I'd agree to anything." Caroline Effingham and her family appear, and O'Fipp introduces Tom to them as Major-General Arthur Fitzpatrick. It turns out that this was the name of the "poet-soldier" who had jilted Caroline. To avoid being sued for breach of promise of marriage, Tom agrees to marry Caroline. Act III: A drawing-room, shabbily furnished, in Mr. Effingham's house. Three more months have passed, and Tom, engaged to Caroline, has grown his hair long and centre-parted, he wears
1848-423: 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:
1925-489: The 1871 opera Thespis – was not a Savoy Opera under any of the definitions mentioned to this point, as Richard D'Oyly Carte did not produce it, nor was it ever performed at the Savoy Theatre. Nevertheless, Rollins & Witts include it in their compendium of the Savoy Operas, as does Geoffrey Smith . The Oxford English Dictionary defines the phrase as: "Designating any of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas originally presented at
2002-645: 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, although Gilbert considered reviving it in 1909. 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
2079-639: 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
2156-407: The Gilbert and Sullivan works as operettas. Gilbert and Sullivan's early operas played at other London theatres, and Patience (1881) was the first opera to appear at the Savoy Theatre, and thus, in a strict sense, the first true "Savoy Opera", although the term "Savoy Opera" has, for over a century, referred to all thirteen operas that Gilbert and Sullivan wrote for Richard D'Oyly Carte. During
2233-462: The London stage through World War I . 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. 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
2310-402: The Savoy Theatre in London by the D'Oyly Carte company. Also used more generally to designate any of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, including those first presented before the Savoy Theatre opened in 1881, or to designate any comic opera of a similar style which appeared at the theatre". The following table shows all of the full-length operas that could be considered "Savoy Operas" under any of
2387-409: 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. The published vocal score for The Grand Duke was available within days of opening night, and it included all of the music performed at
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2464-477: 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
2541-523: 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. Meanwhile, Ludwig has met a man who returned his secret salute by eating three sausage rolls. Ludwig believed him to be
2618-528: The contemporary British press and literature, called works of this kind "comic operas" to distinguish their content and style from that of the often risqué continental European operettas that they wished to displace. Most of the published literature on Gilbert and Sullivan since that time refers to these works as "Savoy Operas", " comic operas ", or both. However, the Penguin Opera Guides and many other general music dictionaries and encyclopedias classify
2695-419: The definitions mentioned above. Only first runs are shown. Curtain-raisers and afterpieces that played with the Savoy Operas are included in the next table below. The fashion in the late Victorian era and Edwardian era was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so full-length pieces were often presented together with companion pieces. During the original runs of the Savoy Operas, each full-length work
2772-524: 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
2849-426: 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. Until the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company recorded this opera in 1976, it
2926-489: The idea for the play came to him when he attended the funeral of T. W. Robertson in 1871 and a man in the crowd reminded him of Robertson. However, Gilbert based Tom Cobb on a short story that he had written in 1871 called "Tom Poulton's Joke", in which the title character attends his own "funeral", as in the story told by Gilbert in "My Last Client". In Tom Cobb there is no such incident. Arthur Sullivan and F. C. Burnand had earlier written Cox and Box , in which
3003-521: The last Savoy Operas. Fitz-Gerald wrote his book, The Story of the Savoy Opera , in 1924, when these other pieces were still within living memory. But over the ensuing decades, the works produced at the Savoy by composers and librettists other than Gilbert and Sullivan were forgotten or infrequently revived. The term "Savoy Opera" came to be synonymous with the thirteen extant works of Gilbert and Sullivan. The first collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan –
3080-778: The last of the Savoy Operas. After A Princess of Kensington closed in May 1903, Mrs. Carte leased the theatre to unrelated parties until late 1906, when she produced the first of her two seasons of G&S revivals in repertory at the Savoy, with Gilbert returning to direct. In March 1909, Charles H. Workman leased the theatre, producing three new pieces, including one by Gilbert, Fallen Fairies (music by Edward German). The last of these Workman-produced works came in early 1910, Two Merry Monarchs , by Arthur Anderson , George Levy, and Hartley Carrick, with music by Orlando Morgan . The contemporary press referred to these works as "Savoy Operas", and S. J. Adair Fitz-Gerald regarded Workman's pieces as
3157-558: The leading comedian of the theatrical company and the central role in the opera. 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. Unhappily for Gilbert, three of his usual principal players, George Grossmith , Richard Temple and Jessie Bond , who he had originally thought would play
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3234-404: 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." In a room in
3311-465: 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
3388-557: The man whose name he has assumed. After further complications, Tom turns out, in actuality, to be the heir of the deceased and wealthy miser and happily marries Caroline. The play opened at the St. James's Theatre on 24 April 1875. Although it was praised by the critics, the original production of the play ran for only 53 performances. Arthur Sullivan 's The Zoo played as an afterpiece to Tom Cobb . Gilbert and Sullivan had already produced their hit one-act comic opera Trial by Jury by
3465-456: The music, calling Gilbert's plot sketch "as clear and bright as possible". 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). 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. Mr. and Mrs. Carte hired
3542-453: 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
3619-439: The nexus of Carte and the Savoy Theatre is used to define "Savoy Opera," then the last new Savoy Opera was The Rose of Persia (music by Sullivan, libretto by Basil Hood ), which ran from 28 November 1899 – 28 June 1900. After Carte's death, his wife Helen Carte assumed management of the theatre. In 1901, she produced Sullivan's last opera, The Emerald Isle (finished after Sullivan's death by Edward German ), and during
3696-415: 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 (in both senses) were seminal influences on the creation of the modern musical . Gilbert, Sullivan, Carte and other Victorian era British composers, librettists and producers, as well as
3773-583: 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. The Grand Duke closed after 123 performances on 11 July 1896, Gilbert and Sullivan's only financial failure. It toured
3850-465: 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
3927-431: The orchestra, as he always did on opening nights. Costumes were by Percy Anderson . 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. The Times ' s review of the opening night's performance said: The Grand Duke is not by any means another Mikado , and, though it
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#17330851044744004-469: The other Gilbert and Sullivan operas. 20th century critics dismissed the work. 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." 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
4081-484: The overture himself, effectively weaving together some of the best melodies in the opera. 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. The opera premiered on 7 March 1896, and Sullivan conducted
4158-485: 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. 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. Gilbert and Sullivan's penultimate opera, Utopia, Limited (1893),
4235-495: 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
4312-402: 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
4389-618: The revival, and Gilbert's insistence upon her appearing in his 1894 opera, His Excellency , caused Sullivan to refuse to set the piece. 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. Meanwhile, Sullivan had written a comic opera for the Savoy Theatre with F. C. Burnand , The Chieftain , but that had closed in March 1895. Gilbert had begun working on
4466-415: The run of that opera, she hired William Greet as manager of the theatre. Later that year, she leased the theatre to Greet, who then produced Ib and Little Christina , The Willow Pattern , a revival of Iolanthe , Merrie England (1902) and A Princess of Kensington (1903), each with a cast made up largely of Carte's Savoy company. Cyril Rollins and R. John Witts adopt A Princess of Kensington as
4543-571: The second table below), the G&;S operas were the only works produced at the Savoy Theatre from the date it opened (10 October 1881) until The Gondoliers closed on 20 June 1891. Over the next decade, there were only two new G&S pieces ( Utopia Limited and The Grand Duke ), both of which had comparatively brief runs. To fill the gap, Carte mounted G&S revivals, Sullivan operas with different librettists, and works by other composer–librettist teams. Richard D'Oyly Carte died on 3 April 1901. If
4620-471: The story of The Grand Duke in late 1894. 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. In 1888, "The Duke's Dilemma" was adapted as The Prima Donna ,
4697-432: The story proper". Although the audience greeted the new piece enthusiastically, 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." 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." After
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#17330851044744774-641: The text was relaxing; he pays less attention to the words, setting them with less regard than formerly to their natural rhythms". In the first half of the 20th century, The Grand Duke was produced occasionally by amateur companies, 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. In America, it
4851-446: The time Tom Cobb was written, but both Gilbert and Sullivan were still producing a considerable amount of work separately. Several plot elements from Tom Cobb reappear in Gilbert and Sullivan's last opera, The Grand Duke (1896). This full-length romantic farce was a departure by Gilbert from his earlier farces, which had generally been short works in one act. Gilbert claimed, in a 1903 story article called "My Last Client", that
4928-471: 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. 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. Sullivan wrote
5005-706: The title role, with a reduced cast and two-piano accompaniment. 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. 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;
5082-543: 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. During
5159-544: 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. 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
5236-405: 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
5313-403: 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
5390-465: 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." The first fully staged professional revival in the UK took place in 2012 at the Finborough Theatre in London, starring Richard Suart in
5467-448: 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." Since the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company released its recording of the piece in 1976, The Grand Duke has been produced more frequently. The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players produced a concert version in 1995 and a full production in 2011. Writer Marc Shepherd concluded that
5544-521: The years when the Gilbert and Sullivan ("G&S") operas were being written, Richard D'Oyly Carte also produced, at the Savoy Theatre, operas by other composer–librettist teams, either as curtain raisers to the G&S pieces, or to fill the theatre when no G&S piece was available. To his contemporaries, the term "Savoy Opera" referred to any opera that appeared at that theatre, regardless of who wrote it. Aside from curtain raisers (which are listed in
5621-409: 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. Sullivan refused to write another piece if she was to take part in it. 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
5698-599: Was mounted by professional companies, including the American Savoyards , beginning in 1959, 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
5775-665: Was normally accompanied by one or two short companion pieces. A piece that began the performance was called a curtain raiser , and one that ended the performance was called an afterpiece. W. J. MacQueen-Pope commented, concerning the curtain raisers: This was a one-act play, seen only by the early comers. It would play to empty boxes, half-empty upper circle, to a gradually filling stalls and dress circle, but to an attentive, grateful and appreciative pit and gallery. Often these plays were little gems. They deserved much better treatment than they got, but those who saw them delighted in them. ... [They] served to give young actors and actresses
5852-515: Was recorded on video. Savoy Opera 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
5929-409: 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. The BBC had broadcast the opera with an excellent cast and including dialogue in 1966, but they have never released the recording. The 2012 professional production at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
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