PRINCESS IDA

'''Princess Ida', or Castle Adamant'', is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5 1884, for a run of 246 performances.
By Savoy Opera standards, it was not considered a success (a particularly hot summer in London did not help ticket sales), and it was not revived in London until 1919. Nevertheless, the piece is performed regularly today by both professional and amateur companies, although not as frequently as the most popular of the Savoy operas. This was the eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan.

Contents

Background

Roles

Synopsis

Musical numbers

Versions of the text

Productions

Historical casting

Notes

References

External links

Background

''Princess Ida'' is based on Tennyson's 1847 poem ''The Princess: A Medley''. Gilbert had written a blank verse farce based on the same material, produced in 1870, called ''The Princess'', and he reused a good deal of the dialogue from his earlier play in the libretto. ''Princess Ida'' is the only Gilbert and Sullivan work with dialogue entirely in blank verse. It is also the only one of their works in three acts.

American Lillian Russell was engaged to create the dramatic title role of ''Princess Ida'', but Gilbert did not believe that she was dedicated enough, and when she missed a rehearsal, she was dismissed.^[1]
The opera satirizes feminism, women's education, and Darwinian evolution, all of which were controversial topics in conservative Victorian England. In the 15 years between the time that Gilbert wrote ''The Princess'' and the premiere of ''Princess Ida'', the movement for women's education had gained momentum in Britain, with the founding of Girton College (1869) and Newnham College (1871) at the University of Cambridge; and Somerville (1878) and Lady Margaret Hall (1878) at the University of Oxford.
As in ''Patience'' and ''Iolanthe'', the two previous Gilbert and Sullivan operas, ''Princess Ida'' concerns the war between the sexes. In ''Patience'', the aesthetic-crazed women are contrasted with vain military men; in ''Iolanthe'', the vague and flighty fairies (women) are pitted against the ineffective, dim-witted peers (men); and in ''Ida'', overly serious students and professors at a women's university (women) defy a marriage-by-force ultimatum by a militaristic king and his testosterone-laden court (men). ''Princess Ida'' is one of several Gilbert plays, including ''The Wicked World'', ''Broken Hearts'', ''Fallen Fairies'', and ''Iolanthe'', where the introduction of males into a tranquil world of women brings "mortal love" that wreaks havoc with the status quo.[1]
Sullivan's score is majestic, and a sequence of songs in Act II, sometimes known as the "string of pearls", is particularly well loved. Although Gilbert's libretto contains some very funny lines, the iambic pentameter and three act structure tend to make it more difficult to stage effectively than some of the other Savoy Operas. In addition, modern audiences sometimes find the libretto's dated portrayal of sex roles, and the awkward resolution of the opera, unsatisfying.

Roles

★ King Hildebrand (bass-baritone)

★ Hilarion, ''King Hildebrand's Son'' (tenor)

★ Cyril, ''Hilarion's Friend'' (tenor)

★ Florian, ''Hilarion's Friend'' (lyric baritone)

★ King Gama (comic baritone)

★ Arac, ''King Gama's Son'' (bass-baritone)

★ Guron, ''King Gama's Son'' (bass-baritone)

★ Scynthius, ''King Gama's Son'' (bass)

★ Princess Ida, ''King Gama's Daughter'' (soprano)

★ Lady Blanche, ''Professor of Abstract Science'' (contralto)

★ Lady Psyche, ''Professor of Humanities'' (soprano)

★ Melissa, ''Lady Blanche's Daughter'' (mezzo-soprano)

★ Sacharissa, ''Girl Graduate'' (soprano)

★ Chloe, ''Girl Graduate'' (speaking role/chorus)

★ Ada, ''Girl Graduate'' (speaking role/chorus)

★ Chorus of Soldiers, Courtiers, "Girl Graduates", "Daughters of the Plough", etc.

Synopsis

;Act I
In a pavilion at King Hildebrand's palace, courtiers wait expectantly for the arrival of King Gama and his daughter Princess Ida, who was betrothed in infancy to Hildebrand's son, Prince Hilarion (''Search Throughout the Panorama''). Hildebrand has promised to wage war against Gama if the Princess should fail to appear (''Now harken to Our Strict Command''), while Hilarion, who is in love with Ida, although he has not seen her since he was two years old, wonders how she may have changed over the ensuing twenty years (''Ida was a twelvemonth-old'').
Ida's war-like (and dull) brothers Arac, Guron and Scynthius, arrive at Hildebrand's palace (''We are warriors three'') preceding their father. King Gama enters, explains his misanthropy (''If you give me your attention I will tell you what I am''), and promptly displays it by insulting Hildebrand and his son. He then announces that Princess Ida has forsworn men and founded a women's university at Castle Adamant, one of his many country houses. The Kings advise Hilarion to go to Castle Adamant to claim Ida, and that if she refuses him, Hildebrand will storm the castle (''Pr'haps if you address the lady''). But Hilarion plans to use romantic means, rather than force, to gain the princess's love. He points out that nature has "armed" him and his friends, the courtiers Cyril and Florian, to win this "war" (''Expressive Glances will be our lances''). The three set off to Castle Adamant, while King Gama and his sons are to remain at Hildebrand's palace as hostages (''For a month to Dwell in a Dungeon Cell'').
;Act II
At Castle Adamant, Princess Ida's pupils learn that "man is nature's sole mistake" (''Towards the Empyrean Heights''). One of the Professors, Lady Blanche, doles out the punishments for the day, for "offenses" that include bringing chessmen to the university — "men with whom you give each other mate" — and for sketching a double-perambulator. Princess Ida arrives (''Minerva! Oh hear me'') and delivers a stern lecture, stating that women's brains are larger than men's, and predicting that woman shall conquer man, but that once having conquered, woman will treat man better than he has treated her. Lady Blanche resents the Princess and predicts that one day she will replace her as head of the university (''Come Mighty Must'', a song often cut from the D'Oyly Carte productions).
Hilarion, Cyril and Florian sneak into Castle Adamant (''Gently, Gently''). They scoff at the idea of a woman's college. Finding some discarded academic robes, the three men disguise themselves as young maidens wishing to join the university (''I am a Maiden Cold and Stately'') and are welcomed by Princess Ida (''The World is But a Broken Toy''). Florian realises that their disguises won't fool his sister, Lady Psyche (one of the professors), and they take her into their confidence. Lady Psyche warns them that they will face death if the Princess discovers who they are and informs them of the Princess's theories on man, using a parable about an ape who falls in love with a high-born lady to illustrate her point that "Man, sprung from an Ape, is Ape at heart" (''A Lady Fair of Lineage High'').
Melissa, Lady Blanche's daughter, has overheard them, but, fascinated by the first men she has ever seen, swears herself to secrecy. She falls in love with Florian at first sight, and the company celebrate joyously the discovery that men are not the monsters that Princess Ida had claimed (''The Woman of the Wisest Wit''). Lady Blanche, who has not fallen for the men's disguises, confronts Melissa. Though indignant at first, she is persuaded to keep the men's secret when her daughter points out that if Hilarion is able to woo Princess Ida, Blanche will become head of the university (''Now, Wouldn't You Like to Rule the Roast?'').
During lunch (''Merrily Rings the Luncheon Bell''), Cyril gets tipsy and inadvertently gives away his friends' identity by singing a bawdy song (''Wouldn't You Know the Kind of Maid''). In the ensuing confusion, Princess Ida falls into a stream, and Hilarion rescues her (''Oh Joy, our Chief is Saved''). Despite her rescue, Ida condemns Hilarion and his friends to death. Hilarion counters that without her love to live for, he welcomes death (''Whom thou hast Chained''). King Hildebrand and his soldiers arrive, with Ida's brothers in chains. He reminds her that she is bound by contract to marry Hilarion and gives her until the following afternoon to comply (''Some years ago'') or incur the guilt of fratricide. The defiant Ida replies that, although Hilarion saved her life and is fair, strong, and tall, she would rather die than be his bride (''To Yield at Once to such a foe'').
;Act III
Princess Ida reviews her student troops' readiness to meet Hildebrand's soldiers in battle, but the terrified girls admit that they are afraid of fighting (''Death to the Invader!''). Princess Ida is disgusted by their lack of courage and vows that, if necessary, she will fight Hildebrand's army alone (''I Built Upon a Rock''). Her father, King Gama, arrives with a message that Hildebrand prefers not to go to war against women. He reveals that Hildebrand has been torturing him by treating him in luxury and giving him nothing to complain about (''Whene'er I Spoke Sarcastic Joke''). He suggests that, instead of subjecting her women to all-out war, she pit her three strong, brave brothers against Hilarion and his friends, with Ida's hand to depend on the outcome. Ida is insulted to be "a stake for fighting men" but realises that she has no alternative.
Hildebrand's forces enter, together with Gama and his three sons (''When Anger spreads his wing''). Hilarion, Cyril, and Florian are still in their women's robes, and King Gama and his sons ridicule them. In preparation for battle, Gama's sons shed their heavy armour, saying that it is too uncomfortable for combat (''This Helmet I Suppose''). The fight ensues, with Hilarion, Cyril, and Florian defeating Gama's sons (''It is Our Duty Plain'').
Her wager lost, Ida yields to Hilarion and bitterly asks Lady Blanche if she can resign her post with dignity. The delighted Blanche, who will succeed her as head of the university, assures her that she can. Ida laments the failure of her "cherished scheme," but King Hildebrand points out the fatal flaw in her logic:
:::''If you enlist all women in your cause,
:::''And make them all abjure tyrannic Man,
:::''The obvious question then arises, "How
:::''Is this Posterity to be provided?"
Princess Ida admits, "I never thought of that!" Hilarion makes an emotional appeal, urging her to give Man one chance, while Cyril observes that if she grows tired of the Prince, she can return to Castle Adamant. Lady Psyche says that she, too, will return if Cyril does not behave himself, but Melissa swears that she will not return under any circumstances. Finally, Ida admits that she has been wrong, and declares that indeed she loves Hilarion, ending with a quotation directly from the Tennyson poem. All celebrate, (''With joy abiding'').

Musical numbers

★ Overture (includes "We are warriors three" and "Minerva! oh, hear me")
;Act I

★ 1. "Search throughout the panorama" (Florian and Chorus)

★ 2. "Now hearken to my strict command" (Hildebrand and Chorus)

★ 3. "Today we meet" (Hilarion)

★ 4. "From the distant panorama" (Chorus)

★ 5. "We are warriors three" (Arac, Guron, Scynthius, and Chorus)

★ 6. "If you give me your attention" (Gama)

★ 7. Finale Act I (Gama, Hildebrand, Cyril, Hilarion, Florian, and Chorus)

★
★ "P'raps if you Address the Lady"

★
★ "Expressive glances"

★
★ "For a month to dwell in a dungeon cell"
;Act II


★ 8. "Towards the empyrean heights" (Lady Psyche, Melissa, Sacharissa, and Chorus of Girls)

★ 9. "Mighty maiden with a mission" (Chorus of Girls)

★ 10. "Minerva! oh, hear me!" ... "Oh, goddess wise" (Princess)

★ 10a."And thus to Empyrean Heights" (Princess and Chorus)

★ 11. "Come, mighty Must" (Lady Blanche)¹

★ 12. "Gently, gently" (Cyril, Hilarion, and Florian)

★ 13. "I am a maiden, cold and stately" (Cyril, Hilarion, and Florian)

★ 14. "The world is but a broken toy" (Princess, Cyril, Hilarion, and Florian)

★ 15. "A lady fair, of lineage high" (Psyche with Cyril, Hilarion, and Florian)²

★ 16. "The woman of the wisest wit" (Psyche, Melissa, Cyril, Hilarion, and Florian)

★ 17. "Now wouldn't you like to rule the roast" (Melissa and Blanche)³

★ 18. "Merrily ring the luncheon bell" (Blanche, Cyril, and Chorus of Girls)

★ 19. "Would you know the kind of maid?" (Cyril)

★ 20. Finale Act II (Princess, Hildebrand, Melissa, Psyche, Blanche, Cyril, Hilarion, Florian, Arac, Guron, Scynthius, and Chorus)

★
★ "Oh, joy! our chief is saved"

★
★ "Whom thou hast chained must wear his chain"

★
★ "Walls and fences scaling"

★
★ "Some years ago, no doubt you know"

★
★ "We may remark, though nothing can dismay us"

★
★ "To yield at once to such a foe with shame were rife"
¹ Starting in the 1920s, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company traditionally deleted this song.
²As musical director, Harry Norris was responsible for adding prominent horn parts to the accompaniment to "A Lady Fair". They were expunged by Malcolm Sargent but subsequently restored by Royston Nash in the 1970s. These are customarily referred to as the ‘Norris’ horn parts, though they may have been written by Geoffrey Toye.
³ The first line of this song is often erroneously sung as "Now wouldn't you like to rule the 'roost'" instead of "'roast'" (rhymes with "clear the coast" in the next couplet). This typographical error appeared in early vocal scores and still appears in a current Chappell vocal score edition, although some scores have corrected it.
;Act III

★ 21. "Death to the invader" (Melissa and Chorus of Girls)

★ 22. "Whene'er I spoke" (King Gama with Chorus of Girls)³

★ 23. "I built upon a rock" (Princess)

★ 24. "When anger spreads his wing" (Chorus of Girls and Soldiers)

★ 25. "This helmet, I suppose" (Arac with Guron, Scynthius, and Chorus)

★ 26. Chorus during the fight, "This is our duty plain" (Chorus)

★ 27. "With joy abiding" [Reprise of "Expressive glances"] (Ensemble)
³ In the original production, No. 22 ''followed'' No. 23. The present order first appeared in vocal scores published after the first London revival in 1919.

Versions of the text

''Princess Ida'' was not revived in London during the authors' lifetimes, and there were no substantive changes to the text after the premiere. The one alteration was purely cosmetic: the first act had originally been called a "Prologue." It was re-designated Act I, with a consequent renumbering of the remaining acts.
At around the time of the first London revival, in 1919, there were changes to the running order of Act III. As written originally, the sequence of Act III is as follows:

# "Death to the invader"
# Princess Ida addresses the girls and then dismisses them
# "I built upon a rock" (Princess)
# The girls re-enter, shortly followed by King Gama
# "When e'er I spoke sarcastic joke" (King Gama, Ladies' Chorus)
# Dialogue in which the Princess agrees to let her brothers fight for her
# "When anger spreads his wing" (Double chorus)
# Dialogue preceding the fight
# "This helmet, I suppose" (Arac, Guron, Scynthius, Chorus)
# "This is our duty plain" (Chorus during the fight)
# Dialogue and finale
As re-ordered in the 1920s, the running order is as follows:
# "Death to the invader"
# Princess Ida addresses the girls and then dismisses them
# The girls re-enter, shortly followed by King Gama
# "When e'er I spoke sarcastic joke" (King Gama, Ladies' Chorus)
# Dialogue in which the Princess agrees to let her brothers fight for her
# "I built upon a rock" (Princess)
# "When anger spreads his wing" (Double chorus)
# "This helmet, I suppose" (Arac, Guron, Scynthius, Chorus)
# Dialogue preceding the fight
# "This is our duty plain" (Chorus during the fight)
# Dialogue and finale
The Chappell vocal score was re-issued to conform to this revised order.
The other significant change is that, at some point in the 1920s, it became traditional to delete Lady Blanche's Act II song, "Come, mighty must" (although it continued to be printed in the vocal score). The song is included in the 1924 D'Oyly Carte recording, but on none of the three recordings the Company made after that (1932, 1955, 1965).

Productions

''Princess Ida'' was not as successful as the Gilbert and Sullivan operas that had preceded it. In the midst of an unusually hot summer of 1884, Richard D'Oyly Carte closed the Savoy Theatre for a month, starting in mid-August. The opera had been running for seven months, a short period by the partnership's past standards. The opera re-opened for just three weeks, starting in mid-September, before giving way to a revival of ''The Sorcerer'' (revised) and ''Trial by Jury''. A New York production ran briefly, and there was a second American production in 1887, but the opera was not revived in London during Gilbert's lifetime.
A provincial tour of ''Princess Ida'' began in early 1884, and ended by mid-1885. The opera was revived on tour in December 1895, remaining in the touring repertory through 1896. It re-appeared in late 1897 or early 1898, and from then on was never out of the D'Oyly Carte touring repertory through the early years of the twentieth century. The first London revival, however, did not come until December 30, 1919. From then on, it was included in every D'Oyly Carte touring season until the company disbanded at the outbreak of war in 1939.
During World War II, the Company played a smaller repertory. The scenery and costumes for ''Princess Ida'', which were in storage, were destroyed by enemy action over the winter of 1940–41. A new production was mounted at the Savoy Theatre on September 27, 1954. A guest artist, opera singer Victoria Sladen, was engaged to sing the title role for the London season.
For the 1954 revival, the Act II line "And the niggers they'll be bleaching by and by," was changed to "And they'll practice what they're preaching by and by," to accommodate the sensibilities of modern audiences, following similar changes in other Gilbert and Sullivan works.
After the 1954 revival, ''Princess Ida'' was an irregular presence in the D'Oyly Carte repertory. While it never went unperformed more than two or three seasons at a time, it was usually performed only in London and a few other major cities. The demands of the title role were considered unusual by Gilbert and Sullivan standards, and often the Company brought in guest artists to play it. The Company's final performances of the opera were in February–April 1977. The Company's reduced repertory in its final five seasons did not accommodate it.
The following table shows the history of the D'Oyly Carte productions in Gilbert's lifetime:

Theatre	Opening Date	Closing Date	Perfs.	Details
Savoy Theatre	January 5 1884	August 15 1884	246	First run
	September 15 1884	October 9 1884
Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York	February 11 1884	March 22 1884	48	Authorised American productions
Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York	November 22 1887		3 wks

Historical casting

The following tables show the casts of the principal original productions and D'Oyly Carte Opera Company touring repertory at various times through to the company's 1982 closure.

Role	Savoy Theatre 1884	Fifth Avenue 1884	Fifth Avenue 1887	D'Oyly Carte 1910 Tour	D'Oyly Carte 1920 Tour
'King Hildebrand'	Rutland Barrington	Sgr Broccolini	Sgr Broccolini	Fred Billington	Leo Sheffield
'Hilarion'	Henry Bracy	Wallace Macreery	Courtice Pounds	Henry Herbert	James Hay
'Cyril'	Durward Lely	W. S. Rising	Phil Branson	Strafford Moss	Derek Oldham
'Florian'	Charles Ryley	Charles F. Lang	Stuart Harold	Leicester Tunks	Sydney Granville
'King Gama'	George Grossmith	J. H. Ryley	J. W. Herbert	Henry Lytton	Henry Lytton
'Arac'	Richard Temple	W. Ainsley Scott	Joseph Fay	Sydney Granville	Frederick Hobbs
'Guron'	Warwick Gray	James Early	N. S. Burnham	Fred Hewett	Joe Ruff
'Scynthius'	William Lugg	E. J. Cloney	L. W. Raymond	George Sinclair	George Sinclair
'Princess Ida'	Leonora Braham	Cora S. Tanner	Geraldine Ulmar	Elsie Spain	Sylvia Cecil
'Lady Blanche'	Rosina Brandram	Genevieve Reynolds	Alice Carle	Bertha Lewis	Bertha Lewis
'Lady Psyche'	Kate Chard	Florence Bemister	Helen Lamont	Mabel Graham	Gladys Sinclair
'Melissa'	Jessie Bond	Hattie Delaro	Agnes Stone	Beatrice Boarer	Nellie Briercliffe
'Sacharissa'	Sybil Grey	Eva Barrington	Edith Jenesse	Myfanwy Newell	Nancy Ray
'Chloe'	Miss Heathcote	Eily Coghlan	Miss Branson		Ella Milne
'Ada'	Miss Twyman	Clara Primrose	Miss McCann	Ethel Gledhill	Nell Raymond

Role	D'Oyly Carte 1930 Tour	D'Oyly Carte 1939 Tour	Savoy Theatre 1954	D'Oyly Carte 1965 Tour	D'Oyly Carte 1975 Tour
'King Hildebrand'	Joseph Griffin	Sydney Granville	Fisher Morgan	Kenneth Sandford	Kenneth Sandford
'Hilarion'	Derek Oldham	John Dudley	Thomas Round	Philip Potter	Colin Wright
'Cyril'	Charles Goulding	John Dean	Leonard Osborn	David Palmer	Ralph Mason
'Florian'	Leslie Rands	Leslie Rands	Jeffrey Skitch	Alan Styler	Thomas Lawlor
'King Gama'	Henry Lytton	Martyn Green	Peter Pratt	John Reed	John Reed
'Arac'	Darrell Fancourt	Darrell Fancourt	Donald Adams	Donald Adams	John Ayldon
'Guron'	Richard Walker	Richard Walker	John Banks	Anthony Raffell	Michael Rayner
'Scynthius'	L. Radley Flynn	L. Radley Flynn	Trevor Hills	George Cook	Jon Ellison
'Princess Ida'	Winifred Lawson	Ann Drummond-Grant	Victoria Sladen	Ann Hood	Valerie Masterson
'Lady Blanche'	Bertha Lewis	Evelyn Gardiner	Ann Drummond-Grant	Christene Palmer	Lyndsie Holland
'Lady Psyche'	Sybil Gordon	Margery Abbott	Muriel Harding	Valerie Masterson	Julia Goss
'Melissa'	Nellie Briercliffe	Marjorie Eyre	Beryl Dixon	Pauline Wales	Pauline Wales
'Sacharissa'	Nancy Ray	Maysie Dean	Cynthia Morey	Anne Sessions	Anne Egglestone
'Chloe'	Beatrice Elburn	Ivy Sanders	Margaret Dobson	Jennifer Marks	Marjorie Williams
'Ada'	Muriel Dickson	Majorie Flinn	Jennifer Toye	Elizabeth Mynett	Rosalind Griffiths

Notes

1. Stedman, pp. 200-01

References

★ The Gilbert & Sullivan Book, , Leslie, Baily, Cassell & Company Ltd, 1952,

★ The British Musical Theatre—Volume I, 1865–1914, , Kurt, Gänzl, Oxford University Press, 1986,

★ Arthur Sullivan – A Victorian Musician, , Arthur, Jacobs, Oxford University Press, 1984,

★ The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: A Record of Productions, 1875–1961, , Cyril, Rollins, Michael Joseph, 1962, Also, five supplements, privately printed.

★ W. S. Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theatre, , Jane W., Stedman, Oxford University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-19-816174-3

External links

★ ''Princess Ida'' at The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive

★ ''Princess Ida'' at The Gilbert & Sullivan Discography

★ Site containing biographies of the people listed in the historical casting chart