The Gondoliers

Creation

Sullivan thought The Yeomen of the Guard was the best operetta he’d written with Gilbert. He was very disappointed when a large decline in interest in Yeomen showed in only five months. Again Sullivan said comic opera is distasteful to him, and he would not write another. Sullivan wanted to do a serious opera, where “music is to be the first consideration – where words are to suggest music not govern it.” Sullivan thought his music was placed second to Gilbert’s words. Gilbert, irascible as usual, became angry.

Carte was tired of Gilbert and Sullivan’s bickering. He invited Sullivan over. There he asked Sullivan to write another comic operetta, using serious opera as bait. Sullivan would be commissioned to write an opera for the opening of Carte’s new grand opera house, if Sullivan did another comic operetta. Sullivan agreed. He soon wrote a letter to Gilbert after Carte had reconciled them.

“I understand from him [Carte] sometime ago that you had some subject connected with Venice & Venetian life, and this seemed to me to hold out great chances of bright colours and taking music. Can you not develop this into something we can both go into with warmth and enthusiasm…?”

Gilbert did as Sullivan suggested. He worked for four months on the new libretto, which was a satire on social and political equality. Gilbert took to heart what Sullivan had said about wanting more music, so much so that Sullivan got more than he bargained for. Only 14/47 pages of the libretto were dialogue.

None of the previous operettas had such lengthy preparation, neither had the librettist and musician been so considerate of each other. The Gondoliers, as this new operetta was being called, opened December 7, 1889. It opened at The Savoy, as usual. The Gondoliers is the first operetta that Queen Victoria attended.

Plot Synopsis

The Gondoliers opens on a chorus of contadini, or peasant girls. They are awaiting the arrival of the brothers Marco and Giuseppe Palmieri, two gondoliers who are the “two there are for whom in duty, every maid in Venice sighs…”. Today they are to choose brides from the girls. The other gondoliers are disappointed until they realized there would still be enough girls for all of them as well.

Marco and Giuseppe arrive. They think, “a bias to disclose would be indelicate”, so they play a little game of blind man’s bluff. The first girl they catch will become their wife. Giuseppe catches Tessa, and Marco catches Gianetta. Everyone rushes off to Marco and Giuseppe’s wedding.

Then we meet the “celebrated, cultivated, underrated nobleman,” the Duke of Plaza-Toro, Count Matadoro, Baron Picadoro (the Duke of the bullring, Count bull-killer, Baron bull-provoker) along with His Grace’s Duchess, His Grace’s daughter Casilda, and His Grace’s private drum Luiz. They have come to Venice because the Grand Inquisitor resides there (I rather think he lived in Spain, not Italy, but that is another matter entirely). Luiz goes to demand an audience with the Inquisitor.

When he is gone, the Duke and Duchess reveal to Casilda that she was married in babyhood to the infant son of the King of Barataria (wherever that is). Then the Duke and Duchess disappear into the Ducal Palace.

As soon as they leave, Casilda and Luiz run into each other’s arms. They are in love. Casilda recovers herself, and tells Luiz she may not love him anymore, because she is another’s.

The Duke, Duchess and the Inquisitor come back out. Apparently there is some little doubt about which person Caslida married. Don Alhambra Bolero, the Inquisitor stole the prince at the early age of 1, because his father was assassinated. He was put in the care of a gondolier, who couldn’t tell him apart from his own son. The gondolier had since died, and the two children now are also gondoliers. One of them is the prince, but nobody knows which, except for the prince’s foster-mother. She is Luiz’s real mother, and he is sent to fetch her. Everyone else goes away.

Marco, Giuseppe, Gianetta, and Tessa return as husband and wife. The Grand Inquisitor greets them. He finds out they are married (“How extremely awkward”) and tells them that either Marco or Giuseppe is a king, and they must go to Barataria, but women aren’t allowed… not at present. But they won’t be parted long. The wives are delighted, except for the fact of leaving their husbands.

“Then one of us will be a Queen,
And sit on golden throne,
With a crown instead,
Of a hat on her head,
And diamonds all her own!
With a beautiful robe of gold and green,
I’ve always understood;
I wonder whether
She’d wear a feather?
I rather think she should!”

Marco and Giuseppe are to act as one individual so no one can doubt the validity of their actions. They, as one individual, ask all the gondoliers to come to Barataria. The gondoliers are all republicans.

“I’m aware you object
To pavilions and palaces,
But you’ll find I respect
Your Republican fallacies.”

Marco and Giuseppe are going to make everyone equal. The groom and Duke would be exactly equal. The gondoliers like this idea, and prepare to join the King (Marco and Giuseppe). They are sad about leaving the contadini behind.

Act two opens at the court of Barataria. Marco and Giuseppe have totally changed Barataria around. All they want are their wives they left at home three months ago. But wait; here are all the contadini with Tessa and Gianetta! They couldn’t wait any longer. Everyone celebrates by a dance, which the Grand Inquisitor interrupts.

He learns from Marco and Giuseppe about their plan of political equality, and tells them it won’t work, and gives an example, concluding with the statement “if everyone is somebody, then no ones anybody”.

The Grand Inquisitor tells Marco and Giuseppe about the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro and their beautiful daughter Casilda. They learn that one of them is wedded to her. The wives are most indignant. As they say about Casilda:

“And if I can catch her
I’ll pinch her and scratch her,
And send her away with a flea in her ear!”

Then Casilda and the Duke and Duchess enter. The Duke promptly teaches Marco and Giuseppe how to dance a gavotte (why?). Then they leave Casilda alone with Marco and Giuseppe. Casilda admits she is in love with Luiz, while Marco and Giuseppe admit they’re married. They are trying to sort everything out, when the prince’s foster mother is announced. She will tell them who the King is.

She says:

“ The Royal Prince was by the King entrusted to my fond care, ere I grew old and crusted; when traitors came to steal his son reputed, my own small boy I deftly substituted! The villain fell into the trap completely—I hid the Prince away—still sleeping sweetly: I called him “son” with pardonable slyness—his name, Luiz! Behold his Royal Highness!”

Casilda is happy that she married the man she loved. Tessa, Gianetta, Marco, and Giuseppe are happy as before. Everyone dances, and it ends.

Public Reception

The Gondoliers was very successful. It ran for 554 performances. All the papers blared its success. One paper called the Daily Telegraph wrote, “The Gondoliers conveys an impression of having been written con amore.” which must have made Gilbert and Sullivan proud. Gilbert had been annoyed when he noticed Sullivan always sided with Carte. He was also annoyed that Sullivan and Carte had a “special understanding”, like Sullivan's opera. Carte didn't do anything like that for Gilbert.

The Carpet Quarrel

Gilbert went on a trip, and when he came back, he found out that Carte had taken £ 500 ($2,500) out of everyone's profits to pay for new carpet. Carte thought it was part of their agreement, and saw the replacement of the carpet a necessary expense. Gilbert exploded at Carte and they had a stormy argument. Gilbert told Sullivan about the carpets, when Sullivan returned from a holiday. Sullivan sided with Carte as usual, albeit a bit uncomfortably. Gilbert terminated their agreement.

They had a three-way interview to try and settle things, but everyone only got more explosive. This interview concluded with Gilbert shouting that Carte and Sullivan were not gentlemen, and charging from the room, using "shocking language" as Carte put it.

Poor Sullivan was trying to work on Ivanhoe, his opera, all through this. When Gilbert took the quarrel to court, Sullivan made an affidavit that was false, unbeknownst to him, and Gilbert kept pestering him about it. The papers were having a field day.

At one point they tried to reconcile, but Gilbert kept badgering Sullivan about the affidavit. Gilbert declined Sullivan's offer of tickets to Ivanhoe because of the affidavit. The dispute went on for over a year and a half.

Finally in 1891, they shook hands, and became determined to produce more works.