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The world premiere of Iolanthe took place November 25, 1882
at the Savoy Theatre in London and, a few hours later, allowing
for the time zone difference, at the Standard Theatre in New York
City. The one major difference between the two productions
would have been the overture. Sullivan had not gotten around to
writing it before the U.S. company sailed for New York, so he told
Alfred Cellier, the music director for the American show, to make
one up himself!
Iolanthe was the first opera to premiere at the Savoy. (Its
predecessor, Patience, had opened the theatre half-way through
its run.) The expensive seats were packed with dignitaries,
including Captain Eyre Massey Shaw, the man who had whipped
the London Fire Brigade into shape, but who would unexpectedly
find himself being sung to (and about!) by the Fairy Queen in
her Act 2 solo. The gallery (less expensive) occupants indulged
themselves in the by-now-familiar opening-night tradition of
singing favourite songs from previous G. and S. operas while waiting for the show to begin.
The Savoy was the first theatre to have electrical lighting. The printed program reminded audiences of that fact
by surrounding the cast list with a border of artistically drawn light bulbs! Gilbert also used the new technology
by having the fairies’ headbands light up in the Act 2 final scene (batteries in small backpacks!), then topped that
with the string-pull sprouting of wings by all the men in the House of Lords. Iolanthe’s frog pond in Act 1 also
contained real water - an occupational hazard for Jessie Bond, who played the title role.
Sullivan also had some new imaginative touches in his music. While everyone noticed his debt to Felix
Mendelssohn’s music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the quick fairy passages, he also gently spoofed Richard
Wagner, first to accompany Iolanthe’s rise from the swamp in Act 1 and later in the off-stage wails of the fairies
near the end of Act 2. In addition, he borrowed a favourite technique of Wagner’s by introducing characters
with a kind of signature theme, which musical experts call a leitmotif. Iolanthe’s four-note phrase opens the
overture and also the introductory music to the fairies’ first number. A light flute solo precedes both Strephon’s
and Phyllis’s first entrances. And the most obvious signature tune is the Bach-like fugue which tells us the serious
Lord Chancellor is about to sing. Listen for it when he first enters, when he interrupts proceedings to the ask what
is going on in the Act 1 finale, and when he wanders onstage to sing his famous Nightmare Song in Act 2.
When Sullivan entered the pit to thunderous applause, little did the audience know that he had just received news
that his brokers had gone bankrupt, losing most of Sullivan’s investments, £7,000. It is also difficult to accept that
the infectious lightness of his musical score was all composed in an impetuous rush to counter the crushing blow
of his mother’s death in May. But, when Iolanthe is making a mother’s plea to the Lord Chancellor on behalf of
her son, Strephon, we may get a glimpse of Sullivan’s loss.
Opening nights, as we all know, are rather nerve-wracking. Sullivan seemed to enjoy them, but Gilbert stoutly
refused to stay in the theatre once the performance began, showing up only in time to take his on-stage bow
with Sullivan. Both men had placed an extra burden on the cast by hiding the true name of the show for various
reasons. When Sullivan told everyone at the final rehearsal to change “Perola” (which they had been using) to
“Iolanthe” every time it occurred, there was understandable panic. What if they slipped up and used the old name?
“Never mind,” responded Sullivan, “so long as you sing the music.”
Despite all, the show was received rapturously. The encores, if we can believe historians, included the whole of
the Act 1 finale - the longest finale G. and S. produced! Sullivan’s diary reflected the conflicting emotions of a
draining day:
First performance of Iolanthe at the Savoy Theatre. House crammed. Awfully nervous: more so than usual on
going into the Orchestra. Tremendous reception. First Act went splendidly. The second dragged, and I was afraid
it must be compressed. However, it finished well, and Gilbert and myself were called and heartily cheered. Very
low afterwards. Came home.
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