Opera Chapter

About the Opera

Utopia, Ltd.

Although The Gondoliers was completed in a period of happy reconciliation, the cordial relationship was soon shattered by a bitter quarrel. It started out between Gilbert and Carte, but Sullivan was forced to take sides and chose to ally himself with Carte. The fight was sparked by a bookkeeping question relating to new carpeting in the theater. Gilbert believed that Carte’s allocation of the expense was unfair to both Sullivan and himself in that it reduced their rightful share of the profits. That was the start, and it led to other accusations and personal attacks. Gilbert, who always loved a battle, took the matter to court and won his case. This acutely embarrassing public brawl was extremely distasteful to Sullivan. The partnership lay shattered, and the composer turned his undivided attention to the grand opera which his Queen had suggested. Ivanhoe opened in Carte’s new Royal English Opera House early in 1891. The opus was well-received and enjoyed a long run. Unfortunately, Carte had not commissioned a replacement, so Ivanhoe failed to generate a lasting demand for English opera. Ironically, although Queen Victoria had suggested a grand opera, when she wanted entertainment at Windsor Castle it was The Gondoliers, not Ivanhoe, that she specified. Sullivan now felt compelled by sheer economic necessity to rejoin Gilbert. The latter, meanwhile, had in all probability learned about Kaiulani, a thirteen year old Hawaiian princess and heiress-elect to the Hawaiian throne, who in 1889 had been shipped off to England to be educated (37). The new opera, Utopia Limited, with its south sea island setting (and British-educated princess) opened at the Savoy on October 7, 1893. Although widely praised by the critics, the opera enjoyed only moderate success with the public and closed after 245 performances.

Utopia Limited satirizes many conventions of the Victorian age and, as such, is rather esoteric for American audiences. Worse yet, the wounds of the carpet quarrel were never completely healed, and the rapport between the two artists was awkward at best. The opera is rarely performed today; but given a few judicious cuts, imaginative direction, and a competent cast, Utopia Limited offers many delights.

Characters

Utopia
This was the name of Sir Thomas More’s imaginary island with its ideal (in his eyes at least) social and political systems (215). The name in Greek means “no place” or “nowhere” (25) and has come to mean any ideal system governing human existence.
Limited
A limited company is equivalent to an American corporation in that the shareholders cannot lose more than their investments if the enterprise becomes bankrupt. (The word “limited” implies limited liability.) What particularly galled Gilbert was that the entrepreneurs who form a limited company are thus overly protected, being required to pay debts only to the extent of their declared capital (as brought out by Mr. Goldbury near the end of the first act). Gilbert’s venom may have been inspired by the Gurneys, a wealthy family mentioned in Trial by Jury. In 1865, after several generations of Gurneys had grown rich in the banking business, they formed themselves into a limited-liability company, and then went into bankruptcy the following year, leaving unpaid debts of eleven million pounds sterling––something like sixty million dollars. The Gurneys themselves lost hardly a shilling. Wolfson (322) has a more intriguing target: Richard D’Oyly Carte, himself. At the time Gilbert was writing Utopia Limited, Carte was busily engaged in some maneuvers to sell shares in his money-guzzling Royal English Opera House. Although Gilbert and Carte had returned to some semblance of civilized relationship following the famous carpet quarrel, Gilbert still had an ax to grind––or at least that is Wolfson’s thesis. A remarkable sidelight to all this occurred during the D’Oyly Carte revival of the opera in 1975. Michael Rayner, playing the role of Mr. Goldbury (the exponent of limited liability) came on stage made up and dressed to look like the Vanity Fair cartoon of D’Oyly Carte, complete with cigar, cane, and roll of blueprints under his arm.
Paramount [King Paramount ]
Supremely important.
Tarara [Tarara (the Public Exploder) ]
Two years before the opening of Utopia Limited the song Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-Der-Ay became a great hit in English music halls and elsewhere (158, 161, 254, 283, 302). Tarara’s name thus teems with less-than-hidden meaning. Aurora (18) tells us that the song originally appeared in the French operetta Miss Heyett, composed by Edmond Audran. Stone (284) adds that the music was used as the theme song for TV’s Howdy Doody Show.
Vice-Chamberlain
Someone second in authority to the Lord Chamberlain, which see below.
Lord Chamberlain [Lord Dramaleigh’s position ]
In monarchies the Lord Chamberlain is a court official who manages the royal household and ceremonial affairs. In Gilbert’s day one of the Lord Chamberlain’s deputies was required to license plays and other theatrical productions. He was, in effect, a censor –– and, as such, an occasional thorn in Gilbert’s side. Huston (158) calls attention to the fact that since the Lord Chamberlain’s duty was to shelter the stage (from anything offensive) you might say that British drama was sheltered in his lee, hence the name Dramaleigh. Egad! See also The Mikado and The Gondoliers.
Life Guards [Captain Fitzbattleaxe’s regiment ]
Quoting Goodman (142): “One of the two cavalry regiments of the Household Division, the other being the Blues and Royals. They haven’t strictly been bodyguards since the sixteenth century, and if you asked the Queen who her military bodyguard was she would say ‘The Yeomen of the Guard.’ ” Prestige (245) sheds additional light, explaining that the two regiments perform ceremonial duties attending the sovereign on state occasions. They also do sentry duty at Whitehall. He concludes: “Both regiments are very tough soldiers; the officers are aristocratic and wealthy, and are much more than military bodyguards.” Brewer (56) says all these manly fellows have to stand at last six feet tall. Barker (25) adds that they wear a brass helmet, with long white plumes, and a red tunic over which a metal breastplate is worn when on mounted duty. See also Cox and Box.
Comptroller
An auditor in a government or other agency (in this case at the royal palace) –– the hard-hearted devil who controls spending and examines all accounts.
K.C.B. [Captain Sir Edward Corcoran, K.C.B. ]
Knight Commander of the Bath, one of Britain’s highest honors. Can this be the erstwhile captain of H.M.S. Pinafore? If so, he must be Josephine’s husband (formerly mistakenly called Ralph Rackstraw) and not her father (formerly mistakenly called Captain Corcoran). As Lady Blanche observes, “This sounds involved. It’s not. It’s right enough.” See also The Sorcerer and HMS Pinafore.
Bailey Barre [Sir Bailey Barre, Q.C., M.P. ]
Sir Bailey’s family name is pronounced BAR
This is Gilbert’s pun on London’s Central Criminal Court, usually referred to as “Old Bailey,” hence “the bar of Old Bailey.”
Q.C., M.P.
Queen’s Counsel and Member of Parliament. The Queen’s Counsel is a prestigious distinction conferred on eminent barristers. See also The Sorcerer.
County Council
Bradley (48) explains that the 1888 Local Government Act created democratically elected county councils in place of administration by justices of the peace.
Gouvernante [The Lady Sophy’s office ]
You guessed it: the French word for “governess.”

Act I

Lotus-eating [in lotus-eating fashion ]
In Greek legends, lotus plants bore fruit which, when eaten, caused dreamy forgetfulness. You may remember that some of Ulysses’s sailors succumbed to that treacherous temptation.
Poppydom [For visions come from Poppydom ]
As in opium dreams.
Lyre [with lyre and lute ]
An ancient stringed musical instrument somewhat like a small harp.
Lute
A musical instrument much like a mandolin, with six or more pairs of strings. It was popular in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. See also The Yeomen of the Guard.
Lowing [The lowing herds ]
Mooing.
Turtle doves
A kind of old-world pigeon, noted for soft cooing and devoted attachment to its mate The turtle is derived from the Latin turtur, which Shipley (266) says is echoic of the dove’s cooing call. See also The Yeomen of the Guard and Cox and Box.
Girton
The women’s college at Cambridge. It was founded by Emily Davies in 1869 as a college for women in Hertfordshire, but moved to Cambridge in 1873 (48). The concept of college education for women was still looked upon with misgivings at the time the opera was written.
Anglicized [to be completely Anglicized ]
“Make or become English in form, pronunciation, habits, customs, or character” (290).
Coruscation [a coruscation of impromptu epigram ]
That which emits vivid flashes of light.
Epigram
A witty statement, like everyday conversation in a play by Oscar Wilde.
Lalabalele, talala! (etc.)
Are these supposed swear words “based on the Polynesian or Oceanic languages” as Halton (147) states? Fifteen experts doubt it (33, 35, 80, 79, 152, 172, 176, 186, 188, 190, 221, 239, 248, 305, and 308). Collectively, they have carefully searched in vain through dictionaries in the following languages or dialects: Aniwa, Anuta, Cook Island, Easter Island, Fiji, Futuna, Gilbert islands, Hawaii, Kapingamaravange, Kusaie, Maori, Marquesses, Marshall Islands (Kiribiti), Namuea, Niue, Nukoro, Rennell & Bellona, Samoa, Tahiti, Tangan, Tikopia, Tonga, Tökelau, Tuamotuan, Tuvalu, and Woleaian.

A telling clue:Wolfson (322) shows a page from Gilbert’s plot-book in which the Utopian language is indicated as “gibberish.”

Explosive ‘cracker’
“A paper cylinder which explodes when pulled asunder” (75). These are what Americans used to call party poppers (274) and the English call Christmas crackers (294). They were invented in 1847 by a confectioner named Tom Smith of Finbury Square, London (284).
Let off steam
The allusion is to reducing excess pressure in a boiler by allowing some of the steam to escape directly into the atmosphere. The expression has come to mean relieving oneself of anger or frustration by complaining to anyone who will listen. Isn’t that what friends are for?
Autocrat
A ruler having absolute power over his subjects.
‘Society’ paper
A periodical devoted to news about the personal affairs of the upper crust.
Heliogabalian
Refers to the Roman emperor Heliogabolus (or Elagabolus). We are told (105) that he was born in a.d. 204 and was named Varius Avitus Bassianus. (Do you suppose that first name reflects on there being various possible fathers?) While a youth he was appointed high priest of the Syro-Phoenician sun god Elagabol, and thereupon assumed the name Elagabolus. Appointed emperor after a military revolt in a.d. 218, he imposed the worship of Elagabol upon his subjects. Historians believe his religious rites involved human sacrifice. He appointed obvious misfits to high office and sent more than his share of dissident generals to early graves. His reign was marked by openly held homosexual orgies. He was killed by the Praetorian Guard after only four years in office. But that was quite enough.
Profligates
People who might be described as dissolute, depraved, abandoned to vice, and shamelessly immoral. Individuals of this desription have never been known to form G&S societies.
Double-first [Double-first in the world’s university ]
Rees (254) explains the term in these words:

“The last year of study for a Baccalaureate (the ‘Honours’ year) ends with an examination in which the marks are not revealed. Instead the candidates are graded into First Class, Upper Second, Lower Second, Third Class and Unclassified. A double-first would mean receiving top grades in two Honours classes. Not bad!” The OED (228) defines double first as “A place in the first class in each of two final examinations in different subjects.” (“Subjects” here means a broad field such as theology or science.) Several authorities (116, 142, 173, 245, 257, 271) endorse the OED definition. Others (98, 314) aver that the examinations are not necessarily in two different fields, but occur in successive years––about equivalent to the junior and senior years in an American university. Everyone can agree, however, that “Double-first in the world’s university” means being a world-class intellectual wizard.

Cornucopia [Cornucopia is each in his mental fertility ]
Any abundant, overflowing supply. Based on classical mythology, it was “a horn containing food, drink, etc. in endless supply, said to have been a horn of the goat Amalathaea or of the goat belonging to the nymph Amalathaea, or of Achelous, who lost it when he fought in the form of a bull with Hercules” (250). Now there is a cornucopia of useless information.
Lore [In every mental lore ]
Knowledge or learning.
‘Utility’ [We’re wasted on ‘utility’ ]
Playing miscellaneous minor roles in theatrical productions.
Illicities [Upon our King’s illicities ]
Unlawful, dishonest, or immoral acts.
Auriculars [A pound of dynamite explodes in his auriculars ]
Ears.
P’s and Q’s [He minds his P’s and Q’s ]
A colloquialism: “To be careful or circumspect in behavior; to be exact” (115). Nobody knows the origin of the term.

Brewer (54) suggests four alternatives: (i) an admonition to children in learning the alphabet to be careful not to mix the lower-case P’s and Q’s, (ii) a similar admonition to printers’ apprentices when handling type, (iii) a saloon keeper’s accounting shorthand: P for pints, Q for quarts, and (iv) during the reign of Louis XIV dancing masters would warn their pupils to mind their P’s (i.e., pieds, feet) and Q’s (i.e., queues, wigs) lest the latter fall off when executing a deep bow. Atkinson (14) suggests that English lawyers are expected to appear in court properly fitted with perukes (wigs), and a century ago would also have needed quill pens to record the proceedings. If their work involved much travel, they had to take particular care that they damaged neither perukes (P) nor quills (Q), since replacements might be hard to find in the hinterlands. Had enough? Let’s move on.

Requited [is your affection requited? ]
Returned in like kind and equal measure.
Royal shoes
Presumably an allusion to King Paramount.
Cull [cull the roses ]
Select the best and leave the rest.
Poses [our King no longer poses ]
This is one of the tougher nuts to crack in the lexicographic vise. It is a word of many meanings. The one that seems best to fit the context is “to rest” (229). In short, the King is now up and about and ready to greet his subjects.
Far niente [Sing the songs of far niente! ]
Short for dolce far niente, the Italian expression for “sweet idleness.”
Ireland [some add––but others do not ––Ireland ]
This is presumably an allusion to the long-festering question of Irish independence. Huston (158) mentions that shortly before the opera was written the House of Lords defeated a bill that would have given Ireland some political autonomy.
Finished [who have been ‘finished’ by an English lady ]
Finish is used in the sense of perfecting something, as in a finishing school where girls learn the social graces.
Furlongs [By furlongs far ]
A furlong is one-eighth of a mile, or 220 yards. The term is archaic, but still used in horse racing (294).
Kodaks
George Eastman’s earliest cameras (which he named “Kodaks”) appeared in 1888 and were advertised with the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest” (89). This is why Gilbert has Nekaya and Kalyba sing, “
 you only need a button press –– and we do all the rest.”
Ranger [Bold-faced ranger ]
A rover or wanderer (228).
Settlements [Hints at settlements ]
Equivalent to marriage contracts, with clauses protecting the rights of both parties. In this case the emphasis is on the wife’s rights if she becomes a widow.
Dross
The formal meaning pertains to worthless matter. Stedman (273) points out, however, that the word was often used to mean money –– especially by Gilbert’s characters who pretended to despise it. Belinda in Engaged is such a one.
Toss [they toss! ]
Flip a coin.
Cogent [this cogent moral ]
Powerful and convincing, like this lexicon.
Moral
The underlying meaning of a story or lesson.
Manet King
A stage direction meaning the king stays on stage.
Junius Junior
See text under “Senex Senior” below.
Senex Senior
Senex is Latin for “old man.” Cameron (66) adds these comments: “Adding Senior is a pleonastic joke. The reference is to the pseudonymous letters to the Times (like the famous letters of Junius) signed with Latin designations.”
Ribald [“Ribald Royalty” ]
Indecent, scurrilous, vulgar, and irreverent –– all rolled into one.
Mephistopheles [Mephistopheles Minor ]
Faust’s devil or any other fiend.
Trenchant [Biting, trenchant sarcasm ]
Cutting.
Sub-acid [delicately sub-acid, are they not? ]
A bit tart, but not overdone.
Tuppence [“King Tuppence, or A Good Deal Less than Half a Sovereign” ]
Slang for two-pence, often used to describe something, or someone, of little significance.
Sovereign
This has a double meaning here: a king and also a gold coin worth twenty shillings or one pound sterling (229). (Over the years there were other coins with the same name, but of differing values. What they had in common was the reigning monarch’s likeness on the face.)
Wilkinson [the celebrated English tenor, Mr. Wilkinson ]
An assumed British-sounding name adopted by one of the natives, much as an aspiring young British or American opera singer named Jones might call himself Broccoli Spumoni. Shepherd (263) says that in searching through Gilbert’s plot books in the British Library he found that for a time Gilbert considered using a scene in which it would be revealed that Wilkinson was Paramount in disguise.
Antithetical [but consider the antithetical humour ]
Diametrically opposed.
Abject [with abject submission ]
Con-temptible.
Farce
A light, humorous play in which the plot revolves around ridiculous situations and cardboard characters.
De trop [You’re decidedly de trop ]
duh TRO
French for “superfluous.”
Teetotum
A teetotum is a many-sided (polygonal) top with a letter or number inscribed on each side. You spin it with the fingers and the number that is on the upper face after it comes to rest dictates your next move in whatever game you are playing. A teetotum was a socially acceptable substitute for dice (251).
Quotum [Gives its quotum once a minute ]
Quota, or share. In the context, Gilbert is saying that fateful things happen with considerable frequency.
I’ll go bail
I’ll guarantee. See also The Sorcerer, Princess Ida, and The Mikado.
Laces tightly
Pulls her tummy in with a constraining corset (hoping to transfer the displaced bulk to her bosom).
Inning [Till your inning ]
Your allotted time on this earth, akin to innings in cricket or baseball.
Rates [Rates are facts and so are taxes. ]
Local taxes. (In Britain, the term “tax” is reserved for levies paid to the crown.)
Soliloquizing
Talking to himself (but so the audience can overhear). A useful practice in stage productions.
Tivoli Gardens
This derives from the Renaissance garden of the Villa d’Este in the town of Tivoli, a few miles northeast of Rome. It was the name given to a famous park and amusement center in Copenhagen and subsequently adopted for similar parks elsewhere.
Exhibits [When our medical adviser exhibits rum-punch it is as a draught, not as a fomentation ]
Prescribes as a remedy.
Rum-punch
Sweetened and spiced fruit drink well fortified with rum and brandy.
Draught
Rhymes with daft
A dose of medicine.
Fomentation
A warm lotion or poultice.
Enormity [the enormity of the case ]
Villainy.
Ground plans
In architectural or civil engineering designs:the layout of the floor (or floors) of a building, viewed from above.
Sectional elevations
Cutaway views showing structure in cross-section.
Capital punishments
Executions. Gilbert seems to be making a far-fetched pun by mixing capital (as in punishment) and capitol (as in a government building) (25).
Rex
Latin for “king.”
Calculus [On calculus may we be fed ]
The calculus is a branch of mathematics that approaches problems by considering the behavior of small increments of the object under study. You can think of it simply as advanced algebra. Modern major-generals are known for their facile command of the subject.
Qualmish [Though a qualmish lot ]
Subject to nausea (sickness of the stomach).
Knightsbridge nursemaids –– serving fairies –– stars of proud Belgravian airies
Collectively, the local female domestic help with whom the royal guardsmen might naturally flirt. Knightsbridge and Belgrave Square are residential areas close to Buckingham Palace. The Belgrave area is a particularly prestigious district, hence the “proud.” Belgravian airies refers to the below-street-level areas surrounding the basements of the fine residences typical of the Belgrave district. The basements were used as servants’ working quarters.

The OED (229) gives as one definition of area: “a sunken court, shut off from the pavement by railings, and approached by a flight of steps, which gives access to the basement of a dwelling house.” The farce The Area Belle, by Brough and Halliday, is set in a household kitchen opening into such a court (42). We can be sure that a good deal of unofficial socializing between the unattached nubile servants and their military admirers took place in such settings, but I wonder if the aristocratic First Life Guards were only toying with the affections of those lower class females.

Trump cards [they’re all trump cards ]
Winners over all.
Horse Guards
A building in Whitehall, taking its name from the regiment that was once quartered there. In Gilbert’s time it was the headquarters of the London military district and the Household troops, including the Household Cavalry (see below) and the various Guards regiments. The term “Horse Guards,” then, applies to the building and to the headquarters (161).
Palsied [palsied with love ]
Trembling.
Ingrate [Out of my sight, ingrate! ]
Ungrateful wretch.
TĂȘte-Ă -tĂȘte
TET-ah-TET
French for “head-to-head,” generally implying a confidential, perhaps romantic, conversation. See also The Mikado.
Rival Admirers’ Clauses Consolidation Act
Fitzbattleaxe’s fictitious law invented to bamboozle the two Wisemen. Barker (25) comments that Gilbert is twitting Parliament’s actual readiness to enact legislation governing trivial activities.
Household Cavalry
The two regiments mentioned under “Life Guards” in Characters above. (Somehow the term conjures up visions of a house full of horse-mounted soldiers and bitter complaints from the maid.)
Tontine principle
Tonti was a seventeenth century Italian who originated a fund-raising scheme that came to be known as a “tontine.” Sponsored, usually by a government, tontines borrowed capital from individuals who were paid annuities until they died. Survivors benefited from increasing income as their numbers dwindled. When the last survivor died, the entire residual capital remained with the sponsoring organization. Tontines, which reached their peak in the eighteenth century, were used in France, Britain, and the United States (105).
Machinations [Their machinations we defy ]
Despicable plots.
Predilections [And all her predilections ]
Tastes.
Hypothesis
A tentative proposition assumed as a basis for reasoning.
Some crumpled roseleaf light
Knight (177) quotes Thackeray as saying, “A very little domestic roseleaf crumpled puts me off my work.” Fitzbattleaxe is saying perfect bliss is easily marred.
Epigrammatical
Presented in a brief and witty style, perhaps with some sarcasm.
Nominally [Nominally a despot ]
In name only.
Viviparians [Ye South Pacific Island viviparians ]
Viviparous refers to bringing forth living offspring rather than eggs. We may interpret viviparian as a creature so endowed. More specifically, any member of the human race will do. Gilbert was merely overreaching for a word to rhyme with barbarians and couldn’t twist the context to fit Rotarians. We shouldn’t try to read any deeper meaning into it.
Abstract [All, in the abstract, types ]
“In theory rather than in practice” (290).
Types [types of courtly grace ]
A meaning of the word that applies here is models of perfection (229).
Serried [In serried ranks assembles ]
Shoulder to shoulder. If the expression sounds familiar, it should. See The Mikado.
Ulahlica!
Hurrah! (This seems to be pure Gilbertese.)
Logician [An eminent Logician ]
An expert in logic, the science of reasoning.
Philologist [A marvellous Philologist ]
Someone who is an expert in the science of language and knows all the meanings of words. You, too, will be a philologist after you have studied this book.
Scout [on any subject I can scout ]
Reject with scorn, flout (250).
Solicitor [Depends on whose solicitor has given me my brief ]
In this context a solicitor is a lawyer who acts as a middleman between a person involved in a higher court case and the barrister who will represent him or her in court. For a more complete explanation, see the entry “Barrister” in Trial By Jury.
Brief
A written outline of the facts in a court case. See also Trial By Jury.
County Council
See under “Characters” above.
Lord High Chamberlain
See entry for “Lord Chamberlain” under “Characters” above.
Presentations [and presentations scrutinize ]
This can be interpreted in two ways: (i) any public showing, or (ii) formal introductions at the royal court. Lord Dramaleigh’s responsibilities (as already noted) include checking plays for moral content, but perhaps he also aspires to checking on the moral worth of individuals hoping to be presented at court.
County Rate
County tax.
Sanitate
Clean up.
And purify the Halls
Keep questionable entertainment out of the music halls.
Contango [Which teaches what Contango means and also Backwardation ]
“In Stock Exchange parlance, the sum paid by the purchaser of stock to the seller, for the privilege of deferring the completion of the bargain till the next, or some future settling day” (54, 250). (The buyer is in effect betting that the market price will drop.)
Backwardation
Backwardation is the opposite of Contango. That is, it is a sum paid by the seller for the privilege of postponing completion of the transaction.
Leaven [a grand financial leaven ]
One definition is: “Influence that, spreading silently and strongly, changes conditions” (290).
Ginger-pops
Ginger beer, a carbonated soft drink (257).
Floated [Successfully I’ve floated ]
Raised capital by selling stock or by other means.
Apple-stalls [And sudden falls in apple-stalls ]
Fruit stands.
Companification
A Gilbertian term meaning “to be incorporated.”
R.N. [Captain Sir Edward Corcoran, R.N. ]
Royal Navy.
Gauls [terrify the simple Gauls ]
Frenchmen.
Saxon [And how the Saxon and the Celt ]
Germanic people who invaded (and settled in) England in the fifth century.
Celt
Americans generally pronounce it SELT, but most Britishers prefer KELT. Either is acceptable.
The native people of Ireland, Scottish highlands, and Wales.
Maxim gun and Nordenfelt
Hiram Stevens Maxim and Torsten Nordenfelt (Anglicized to Thorsten Nordenfeldt) had much in common; both were immigrants living and working in England; both were prolific inventors; and both joined forces to establish the Maxim-Nordenfeldt Company in the early 1880s. Maxim, an American, invented the first fully satisfactory machine gun. It was water-cooled and employed the recoil of the barrel to eject the spent shell and reload cartridges from a belt (89). Nordenfelt, a Swede, also invented a machine gun, but of vastly different design, employing up to a dozen barrels. Nordenfelt was made a royal Chamberlain by Oscar II of Sweden in 1885. Maxim became a British citizen in 1900 and was knighted by Queen Victoria the following year (56). One of his less notable inventions was an airplane powered by twin steam engines. He never managed to make it fly, but aside from that it was an engineering triumph (89).

[Note: Older editions of the libretto spell the Swede’s name as “Nordenfelt,” while newer editions spell it “Nordenfeldt.” Either is correct.]

Unbend your sails
Remove your sails from the yards. See page 49.
Lower your yards
Take down the spars that hold up the sails.
Unstep your masts
Lift your masts out of the ship altogether.
Cut your canvas short
Place minimum reliance on sails.
Float it [I’ll float it as a Company Limited! ]
Set it on its way.
Company Limited
(See head of chapter.)
Peers [If possible, all Peers and Baronets ]
In the United Kingdom, all noblemen above the rank of baronet. See also HMS Pinafore, Iolanthe, The Gondoliers, and The Zoo.
Baronets
In the United Kingdom a baronet ranks above a knight but below a baron. It is the lowest rank of nobility that is hereditary, but it does not qualify the holder for a seat in the House of Lords. (These are useful things to know if you are ever made a baronet.) See also The Sorcerer and Ruddigore.
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal to which Mr Goldbury refers is not the one we know today. When Gilbert wrote the libretto the ill-fated canal venture started by Ferdinand de Lesseps (The Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique) had recently collapsed. The ensuing investigations were even then creating sensational international headlines as reports of incredible corruption surfaced almost daily. The now-existing Panama Canal was not seriously contemplated by the United States government until early in the 1900s (208, 282).
Twitted [with dishonesty be twitted ]
Reproached.
Perdition [that signifies perdition ]
Utter loss. (It can mean even worse, but I think that is all Mr. Goldbury has in mind.)
Monetary [monetary dunce ]
Pertaining to money.
Winding-Up Petition
The process of stopping a company from trading by reason of its insolvency (142).
Rothschild
Prominent family of wealthy bankers. For more details see Iolanthe.
Liquidators
Those who are sent in to manage the disposal of a company’s assets when it has gone bankrupt.
Joint Stock Company [The Joint Stock Company’s Act of Sixty-Two ]
A joint stock company is one in which the shareholders are free to sell their shares on the open market. Whaley (310) says Gilbert made a slight editorial error. (“Company’s” should read “Companies.” Tush!)
Act of Sixty-Two
The Parliamentary act (passed in 1862) establishing limits of liability for stockholders. Knight (177) argues that an act of 1856 was actually more instrumental in establishing such limits, to which Turnbull (294) replies that “fifty six” wouldn’t rhyme with “you.”
Verity [Henceforward, of a verity ]
In truth.
Pink [Of sovereigns all the pink! ]
Finest.
Temerity
Audacity, chutzpah.
Mercantile [this mercantile pact ]
Pertaining to commerce and merchandising.
Rue [we ne’er shall rue ]
Regret.

Act II

Chromatics
Sharps and flats on the musical scale.
Shake in vibrato
A shake is a trill. Vibrato is a musical “pulsating effect caused by rapid variations of stress on the one note” (75).
Agitato [Or never attempt agitato ]
“Agitated, hurried, restless” (102).
Palate [his sensitive palate ]
The roof of the mouth.
Cadence
An ornamental musical passage (102).
Sister services
Army and Navy.
Trammels [Freed from the trammels imposed upon them ]
Rigid constraints.
Prospectus
A brochure describing the attractive features of a proposed company.
Transmute [transmute by a word ]
Change from one substance, nature, or form to some other.
Drawing-Room
A formal reception at Court where ladies are presented to the sovereign (75). Terry (286) states that these were afternoon affairs in Victorian times, and with this Fitzbattleaxe concurs; but the Utopians plan to hold them in the evenings because the ladies look better by candle-light. Shipley (266) says the word was derived from the old practice in which, after a formal dinner, the ladies withdrew to another room.
Court train [my Court train has just arrived ]
An elongated part of a cloak or skirt trailing behind on the floor. For illustrations, see Wolfson (322). This explains why so few English ladies go to a royal reception on their bikes. Stedman (274) says that at court presentations trains were required, along with three feathers on the head.
Declamation [indulge in declamation ]
Formal speech-making, in oratorical style.
Knell
Ringing of a funeral bell.
Philomel [Soft the song of Philomel ]
This refers to Philomela. In Greek legend she was an Athenian princess and sister of Procne, who married Tereus. Tereus violently deflowered Philomela and cut out her tongue to prevent her from accusing him. Philomela, however, embroidered her tale on a swatch of cloth (what a collectors’ item that would be) and sent it to her sister. Procne’s revenge was to serve Tereus the flesh of their son, and then the sisters fled. Tereus gave chase, but the sisters were turned into birds by compassionate gods. Philomela flew away as a nightingale but, according to some versions of the tale, she never regained her tongue. That would more than explain why her song was soft. In the big transformation scene a better-organized god would have allowed her to regain her tongue and even possibly her virginity.​
Lay [the notes of lover’s lay ]
A short poem to be sung.
Clarions [his noisy clarions bray ]
Shrill trumpets.
Artless [Lovers tell their artless story ]
Unaffected and sincere.
Virelay [In a whispered virelay ]
“An ancient form of French verse, based on two rhymes; a roundelay” (75).
Field-Marshal
The highest ranking officer in the British army. “Marshal” was presumably derived from old High German marah, horse + scalh, servant, i.e., a groom. In the old Teutonic kings’ eyes the chief groom was a most important officer (266).
Statutory Cabinet Council
The OED (229) defines cabinet council as “that limited number of the ministers of the sovereign or head of state who are in a more confidential position and have, in effect, with the head of the state, the determination and administration of affairs.” The term “statutory” implies that the head of state is required to act in concert with such a council.
Christy Minstrels
A troupe of black-faced minstrels organized by the American Christy brothers (1815-62). Singing plantation songs and cracking bad jokes, they were a popular form of entertainment in Victorian England, as well as in America (54). Bradley (48) offers further details.
Court of St. James’s
St James’s Palace, in London, was the site of the British royal court and where Queen Victoria held royal receptions. The term “court” has many meanings. The pertinent ones here are: (i) the residence of the sovereign, (ii) the collective body of persons forming his or her retinue, (iii) a sovereign and his or her councilors as the political rulers of a state, and (iv) a formal assembly held by a sovereign.
Court of St. James’s Hall
St. James’s Hall was a London music hall known then for its minstrel shows. (The Piccadilly Hotel now occupies the site.) Music halls of the time combined a restaurant/bar with a stage for entertainment (136). Goodman (140) says the hall was an extremely large edifice. It contained not only the bar/restaurant/stage but also a much larger concert auditorium in which were presented the “Monday Pops” of Patience and Mikado fame. He adds, further, that the minstrel shows featured antics and lines that were considered less than respectable. That adds light to Gilbert’s irony in substituting the music hall for the palace.
Peeress [No peeress at our Drawing-Room before the Presence passes ]
Female member of the nobility, either a duchess, marchioness, countess, viscountess, or baroness.
Presence
Alludes to the sovereign. In short, she’ll not be introduced to the monarch. Goodman (140) mentions that Queen Victoria received dĂ©butantes in the “Presence Room” at St. James’s Palace.
Willy-nilly [we’ve done it willy-nilly ]
Without conscious effort. See entry for the same term in Princess Ida for etymology.
Belgrave Square [And all that isn’t Belgrave Square is Strand and Piccadilly ]
Belgrave Square was among the most prestigious residential areas of London. The Strand and Piccadilly are streets with smart shops and theaters. All fashionable areas.
Slummeries [We haven’t any slummeries in England! ]
Slums.
Labour question [We have solved the labour question ]
Probably refers to labor-management problems. Huston (158) says that 1893, the year the opera was produced, saw the formation in England of its first labor party. Prestige (245) believes the reference is to unemployment.
Risky [Of “risky” situation ]
Bordering on indecency, i.e., risqué.
Brewers and Cotton Lords
Businessmen who have grown rich in their trades (and who hope to be created peers in recognition of their public service). Bradley (48) explains that the Conservative Government had such strong links with the “drink trade,” that the honors bequeathed were referred to as “the beerage.” Goodman (143), on the other hand, believes it was the Whigs who were so dubbed.
Thackeray [Earl of Thackeray ]
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-63): English novelist. Like Gilbert, he was trained as a lawyer but then turned to literature. He wrote extensively for Punch and was the author of Vanity Fair. See also Patience.
Dickens [Duke of Dickens ]
Charles Dickens (1812-70): Probably England’s best-known novelist, the author of such famous novels as Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol. Gilbert adapted Great Expectations for the stage, and looked upon Dickens as one of his favorite authors (240). See also Patience and Ruddigore.
Fildes [Lord Fildes and Viscount Millais ]
Sir (Samuel) Luke Fildes, famous English painter (1843-1927). He was knighted in 1906 –– beating Gilbert by a year. He had the honor of painting the official portraits of King Edward and Queen Alexandra.
Millais
mill-A
Sir John Everett Millais (1829-96): Another famous English painter, who (with others) founded the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Baronetted in 1885, he was president of the Royal Academy at the time of his death. Goodman (140) states that Millais and Sullivan were good friends, so it is not surprising that Millais was called upon to paint the portrait of Sullivan that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
[Note on stage directions] [Dignitaries in presentation scene ]
The next nine entries occur in the stage directions pertaining to the dignitaries who appear in the big presentation scene.
Master of the Horse
“An official having charge of horses, hounds, etc., of a sovereign of England. He is there a member of the ministry and the third dignitary of the court” (105). In modern times the post is entirely ceremonial (142). Terry (286) says he is in charge of carriages, limousines, and mounted processions as well as the royal stables. We are unable to discover who is in charge of sweeping the street after the royal procession.
Lord Steward
The officer in charge of arranging state banquets and other important ceremonial events (154). Terry (286) adds that the appointment is only on an ad hoc basis.
Lord in Waiting
“A nobleman in attendance on a British monarch or the Prince of Wales” (250).
Groom in Waiting
“Any of several offices of the English royal household” (105). Terry (286) mentions that he is like a Lord in Waiting except that he is not a peer.
Field Officer in Brigade Waiting
Terry (286) defines him as the liaison officer between the household troops and the sovereign.
Gold and Silver Stick
George (123) explains that these are officers of the Court who, on major ceremonial occasions, carry distinctive gold and silver mounted batons, which are about the length of walking sticks. Gold Stick is usually honorary Colonel of one of the two Household Cavalry Regiments, while Silver Stick is taken in turn, on a monthly basis, by the two Commanding Officers. There are certain other officers who, depending on the nature and place of the occasion, are also eligible for the honor of being a Gold Stick. Bradley (48) offers further details. (Since Gilbert has left Stick in the singular form, we must assume that the two Utopian positions have been combined.)
Gentlemen Ushers
These are the officials who introduce people into the presence of the sovereign (75). Terry (286) says they have varied duties at Court and in Parliament.
Pages of Honour
Boys in the service of the Royal Court. According to Terry (286) these are sons of distinguished citizens (as we might have guessed) and may be called upon to serve as train-bearers to the king as well as queen or princesses.
Ladies-in-Waiting
Ladies “in Court circles appointed to attend on a Queen or Princess” (75).
Débutantes [to embrace all the débutantes ]
The young ladies being presented to the Court.
Undress wigs [dressed as judges in red and ermine robes and undress wigs ]
These are “forensic” wigs, the short periwigs worn in British courts of law, in contradistinction to the “full-bottomed,” shoulder-length numbers worn on ceremonial occasions. The judge in Trial by Jury is sometimes portrayed in a long wig, but that is professional license carried too far. In British law courts the barristers wear wigs with three horizontal curls running all the way round. The judges wear wigs that are similar except that they have one vertical curl just above the tail instead of the three horizontal curls (103). See two Gilbertian cartoons (129).
Blank verse
Unrhymed verse, often set down in iambic pentameter style. The libretto for Princess Ida is a lovely example.
Winding-up Act
The law governing procedures for going out of business as arranged by the Act of Sixty-Two (also in Utopia, Ltd.).
Temerity
Audacity.
Refractory
Disobedient.
Pas de trois [With pas de trois we will conclude ]
pah-d’TWAH
Dance step for three.
Bring the people about his ears
The expression “about one’s ears” means causing trouble. The allusion is to a nest of hornets buzzing about one’s head (54).
Put him to bed
This may be short for “Put him to bed with a pickaxe and shovel,” meaning to bury him (115). Stedman (274) says “Oh go to bed” is another way of saying “Shut up!” Here the meaning is “take him away.”
Drivelling [You’re a drivelling barndoor owl ]
Talking nonsense.
Barndoor owl
The standard references are silent on the subject of barndoor owls. The closest I have come is a reference as follows: “Barn-door fowl: a mongrel or cross-bred specimen of the common hen; a dunghill or barn-yard fowl” (70). Barker (25) suggests “a fatuous turkey.” My hypothesis is that a barndoor owl is a cross-bred bird, one-third barn owl, one-third wayward hen, and one-third Gilbertian imagination.
Vapid [You’re a vapid and vain old muff ]
Lifeless and insipid.
Muff
Bungler.
On the Tapis [It’s still on the tapis ]
tah-PEE
“On the table cloth, under discussion or consideration” (228). Notice how the meaning of the term “to table” a matter changes as it crosses the Atlantic. In England when you table a matter you bring it up for discussion. In the States when you table it you postpone discussion.
Sap [Well done, you sly old sap ]
This meaning of the word is related to the military process of undermining a wall: figuratively related to “stealthy or insidious methods of attacking or destroying something” (228). Walters (301) notes that the word is used as a mild form of abuse in a friendly, jocular manner. The word is derived from the French word sappe, shovel (266).
Mole [cunning old mole ]
The work of the military sapper involves burrowing underground much as a mole does under your lawn or garden. (The three conspirators are pleased with their undercover plan.)
Noddle [It’s safe in my noddle ]
A jocular expression for the head (75).
Redounds
Contributes.
Biscuits [plate of mixed biscuits ]
These are what Americans call cookies. Queen Victoria’s drawing rooms had been noted for their lack of victuals, but after this line appeared things at the palace improved, or so it is claimed.
Comeliness [In her magnificent comeliness ]
KUM-lee-ness
Grace, good-looks, and attractiveness.
Eleven stone two [an English girl of eleven stone two ]
A stone is a unit of weight equal to 14 pounds. Eleven stone two, then would be 14x11 + 2 = 156 pounds.
“Field” tails off and the muffs diminish
The poorer riders are left strung out behind and the worst drop out altogether.
Eleven maids out –– and eleven maids in –– and perhaps an occasional “maiden over!”
Let’s poke through this thicket one step at a time. In the game of cricket there are eleven players on each team. The “eleven maids out” are the ones whose turn it is to play defensively much as one baseball team is in the field trying to keep the other from scoring. The “eleven maids in,” then would be the team whose turn it is “at bat.” An “over” comprises a series of six bowls (equivalent to pitches in baseball). A “maiden over” is one in which no one manages to score. Gilbert puts the two words in quotation marks to call attention to his pun.
Punts [She golfs, she punts ]
Poles a boat along a river. (This often requires considerable skill and agility.)
Till all is blue
Until after dawn and the sky is blue again. See also The Grand Duke.
Drum [At ball or drum ]
“An assembly of fashionable people at a private house, held in the evening; much in vogue during the latter half of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century” (228). A ball, on the other hand, would be a public gathering. Brewer (54) claims that the term “drum” comes from the resemblance of the noise to that of drumming up recruits. Tea parties became “kettle drums,” and really wild affairs “drum majors.” On the other hand, Bradley (48) suggests the possibility that “tea” suggests “kettle,” which suggests “kettle drum,” and that suggests. “drum.” I confess I find neither explanation truly satisfying.
Rill [the mountain rill ]
A little stream.
Maxims [These maxims you endorse ]
Brief rules for behavior.
Unfurl [Your character true unfurl ]
Reveal.
Fusty [All musty, fusty rules despite ]
Stuffy and out of date. Derived from fust, meaning moldy and ill-smelling (165).
Short-petticoated
Victorian women wore full-length skirts, while little girls romped around in short skirts. That is the allusion here.
Bruited [through the city bruited ]
Rumored.
Toil [caught in Scaphio’s ruthless toil ]
Snare.
Deigned [my sovereign has deigned ]
Condescended.
Rosal [And the earth is red and rosal ]
An obsolete term for “rosy” (141).
Asinorum pons [For that asinorum pons I have crossed without assistance ]
ASS-eh-NORE-um PONS
This translates as “bridge of asses,” a Latin expression applied early in the sixteenth century to a diagram showing how to find the middle terms to arguments. The allusion seems to relate to the difficulty of getting asses to cross a bridge. The name is also given to the fifth proposition of Euclid, which sets forth that, if a triangle has two of its sides equal, the angles opposite to these sides are also equal (105). Maybe by now you are sorry you asked.
Paragons [of prudish paragons ]
Models of perfection.
Tarantella [Mentioned in the stage directions ]
A fast, whirling dance from southern Italy. It was originally thought to cure tarantula bites. Kravetz (182) says the concluding music of the nightmare song in Iolanthe is in the form of a tarantella.
Ogress [Like some remorseless ogress ]
A female ogre. Derived from the man-eating giant of fairy tales, ogre has also come to mean “a monstrously ugly, cruel, or barbarous person” (250).
Irruption [most unmannerly irruption ]
Violent invasion.
Boons
Good things given or asked for –– or even both; like this lexicon. See also Ruddigore, The Yeomen of the Guard, and Cox and Box.
Fico [A fico for such boons, say we! ]
FEE-ko
This is Italian for fig and the sentiment is much the same as “We don’t care a fig!” Snapping one’s fingers is an appropriate accompaniment. For the intriguing history of the word, see entry for “Fig” in The Yeomen of the Guard.
Government by Party
This has been standard operating procedure in England since around 1680, in the reign of Charles II (319).