The Gondoliers

The Mikado

The Sorcerer

The Martyr of Antioch

Ruddigore

The Yeomen of the Guard

Other works performed by St Davids Players

St Davids Players
past productions

HMS Pinafore

The Pirates of Penzance

Trial by Jury

Iolanthe

Princess Ida

Utopia (Limited)

The Grand Duke

Patience

Thespis

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THE SAVOY OPERAS

IOLANTHE

or, THE PEER AND THE PERI

Read more about IOLANTHE

 

#ExeterGandS

ST DAVID’S PLAYERS

Gilbert and Sullivan Society · Exeter · Devon

Written by W S Gilbert

Composed by Arthur Sullivan

Premièred at The Savoy Theatre, London 25th November 1882 running for 398 performances.

St David’s Players’ productions: (click to expand)

A brief synopsis:

 

Twenty-five years before the setting of this opera, Iolanthe,
a fairy, committed the cardinal sin of marrying a mortal. However, the Queen of the Fairies took
pity on her and commuted the death sentence to one of lifelong exile, on condition that Iolanthe left her husband and never saw him again. Iolanthe obeys, bringing up her half-fairy, half-mortal son, Strephon, in exile.

At the start of the opera Strephon has now grown up and is in love with Phyllis, a Ward of the Court of Chancery. However,  the Lord Chancellor has other  plans for Phyllis and Strephon’s suit is rejected.

The Queen of the Fairies is outraged at the Lord Chancellor’s treatment of Strephon. She and her band of fairies take revenge by sending Strephon to Parliament  and by casting a spell to make  all the peers pass any bills that Strephon chooses.

However, the fairies have one weakness and that is that they cannot resist men! Soon all thefairies are risking the death penalty by falling in love and marrying mortals, Iolanthe comes out of exile to protect her son, meets her husband again and suddenly the Queen of the Fairies finds that something must be done or she will have to sentence her entire band to death for breaking the most sacred fairy law…