Appearance
Excerpt
Excerpt from The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, by Arthur Sullivan
LUIZ. Nor His Grace's own particular drum
To Venetia's shores will come:
ALL. If ever, ever, ever
They get back to Spain,
They will never, never, never
Cross the sea again!
DUKE. At last we have arrived at our destination. This is<br />
the Ducal Palace, and it is here that the Grand Inquisitor
resides. As a Castilian hidalgo of ninety-five quarterings, I
regret that I am unable to pay my state visit on a horse. As a
Castilian hidalgo of that description, I should have preferred to
ride through the streets of Venice; but owing, I presume, to an
unusually wet season, the streets are in such a condition that
equestrian exercise is impracticable. No matter. Where is our
suite?
LUIZ (coming forward). Your Grace, I am here.
DUCH. Why do you not do yourself the honour to kneel when
you address His Grace?
DUKE. My love, it is so small a matter! (To Luiz.) Still,
you may as well do it. (Luiz kneels.)
CAS. The young man seems to entertain but an imperfect
appreciation of the respect due from a menial to a Castilian
hidalgo.
DUKE. My child, you are hard upon our suite.
CAS. Papa, I've no patience with the presumption of persons
in his plebeian position. If he does not appreciate that
position, let him be whipped until he does.
DUKE. Let us hope the omission was not intended as a
slight. I should be much hurt if I thought it was. So would he.
(To Luiz.) Where are the halberdiers who were to have had the
honour of meeting us here, that our visit to the Grand Inquisitor
might be made in becoming state?
LUIZ. Your Grace, the halberdiers are mercenary people who
stipulated for a trifle on account.
DUKE. How tiresome! Well, let us hope the Grand Inquisitor
is a blind gentleman. And the band who were to have had the
honour of escorting us? I see no band!
LUIZ. Your Grace, the band are sordid persons who required
to be paid in advance.
DUCH. That's so like a band!
DUKE (annoyed). Insuperable difficulties meet me at every
turn!
DUCH. But surely they know His Grace?
LUIZ. Exactly—they know His Grace.
DUKE. Well, let us hope that the Grand Inquisitor is a deaf
gentleman. A cornet-a-piston would be something. You do not
happen to possess the accomplishment of tootling like a
cornet-a-piston?
LUIZ. Alas, no, Your Grace! But I can imitate a farmyard.
DUKE (doubtfully). I don't see how that would help us. I
don't see how we could bring it in.
CAS. It would not help us in the least. We are not a
parcel of graziers come to market, dolt!
(Luiz
rises.)
DUKE. My love, our suite's feelings! (To Luiz.) Be so
good as to ring the bell and inform the Grand Inquisitor that his
Grace the Duke of Plaza-Toro, Count Matadoro, Baron Picadoro—
DUCH. And suite—
DUKE. And suite—have arrived at Venice, and seek—
CAS. Desire—
DUCH. Demand!
DUKE. And demand an audience.
LUIZ. Your Grace has but to command.
DUKE (much moved). I felt sure of it—I felt sure of it!
(Exit Luiz into Ducal Palace.) And now, my love—(aside to
Duchess) Shall we tell her? I think so—(aloud to Casilda) And
now, my love, prepare for a magnificent surprise. It is my
agreeable duty to reveal to you a secret which should make you
the happiest young lady in Venice!
CAS. A secret?
DUCH. A secret which, for State reasons, it has been
necessary to preserve for twenty years.
DUKE. When you were a prattling babe of six months old you
were married by proxy to no less a personage than the infant son
and heir of His Majesty the immeasurably wealthy King of
Barataria!
CAS. Married to the infant son of the King of Barataria?
Was I consulted? (Duke shakes his head.) Then it was a most
unpardonable liberty!
DUKE. Consider his extreme youth and forgive him. Shortly
after the ceremony that misguided monarch abandoned the creed of
his forefathers, and became a Wesleyan Methodist of the most
bigoted and persecuting type. The Grand Inquisitor, determined
that the innovation should not be perpetuated in Barataria,
caused your smiling and unconscious husband to be stolen and
conveyed to Venice. A fortnight since the Methodist Monarch and
all his Wesleyan Court were killed in an insurrection, and we are
here to ascertain the whereabouts of your husband, and to hail
you, our daughter, as Her Majesty, the reigning Queen of
Barataria! (Kneels.)
Explanation
This excerpt is from The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria (1889), one of the most popular Savoy Operas by the Victorian-era librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. The work is a comic opera—a genre blending witty dialogue, satire, and lighthearted music—known for its absurdity, social commentary, and playful inversion of class and political norms. This scene occurs in Act II, where the Duke of Plaza-Toro and his family arrive in Venice to claim the throne of Barataria for their daughter, Casilda, who was married in infancy to the lost heir.
Context & Summary of the Scene
The Duke, his Duchess, and their daughter Casilda have traveled to Venice to meet the Grand Inquisitor, who holds the key to locating Casilda’s long-lost husband—the rightful heir to Barataria. The Duke, a pompous but penniless Spanish nobleman, is obsessed with appearances of grandeur, yet his entourages (halberdiers, musicians) have abandoned him due to unpaid wages. His interactions reveal:
- His delusional aristocratic pride (e.g., lamenting he cannot ride a horse due to "wet streets").
- His family’s entitlement (Casilda’s disdain for the "plebeian" Luiz, the Duchess’s snobbery).
- The absurdity of their mission: They seek to install Casilda as queen based on a proxy marriage arranged when she was a baby, while the heir was kidnapped by the Inquisition.
The scene culminates in the revelation of Casilda’s royal marriage, which she greets with indignation ("Was I consulted?"), underscoring the opera’s themes of forced destiny and the absurdity of hereditary power.
Key Themes
Satire of Aristocracy & Class
- The Duke’s 95 quarterings (a joke about exaggerated noble lineage) and his insistence on kneeling rituals mock the empty pomp of nobility. His inability to pay for basic services (halberdiers, musicians) exposes the hollow finances behind his title.
- Casilda’s disdain for Luiz ("plebeian position") reflects the class prejudice Gilbert often skewered. Her suggestion to "whip" him for not kneeling parodies aristocratic cruelty.
Political & Religious Absurdity
- The Grand Inquisitor’s role in kidnapping the heir (to prevent a Wesleyan Methodist king) satirizes religious persecution and the Inquisition’s meddling in politics.
- The proxy marriage—a real historical practice—is treated as ridiculous, especially since Casilda had no say. This critiques arranged marriages and the disposability of individuals in dynastic schemes.
Theatricality & Performance
- The Duke’s obsession with "state visits" and his frustration over missing pomp ("Let us hope the Grand Inquisitor is a blind gentleman") highlight how power relies on spectacle. Without his entourage, he is powerless.
- The farce of the farmyard imitation (Luiz’s offer to replace a band with animal noises) underscores the collapse of dignity—a common Gilbertian trope where high status is undercut by absurdity.
Fate vs. Free Will
- Casilda’s unwilling royal destiny ("a most unpardonable liberty") questions whether birthright should dictate one’s life. The opera later explores this when the true heir (a gondolier) resists kingship, preferring his simple life.
Literary & Dramatic Devices
Irony & Understatement
- The Duke’s nonchalant reaction to Luiz’s lack of kneeling ("so small a matter") contrasts with his later insistence on protocol, revealing his hypocrisy.
- The Duchess’s casual remark ("That’s so like a band!") about mercenary musicians is a dry jab at artists’ exploitation.
Repetition for Comic Effect
- The triple repetition in the chorus ("If ever, ever, ever / They get back to Spain") mimics a sea shanty, reinforcing the nautical setting and the futility of the Spanish mission (they’re stranded in Venice).
- The escalating demands ("seek—desire—demand") parody bureaucratic pomposity.
Bathos (Anti-Climax)
- The Duke’s grand revelation of Casilda’s marriage is undercut by her prosaic objection ("Was I consulted?"), deflating the drama.
- The farmyard imitation proposal is a deliberately ridiculous solution to a "noble" problem.
Aside & Dramatic Irony
- The Duke’s whispered "Shall we tell her?" lets the audience in on the secret before Casilda, creating suspense and humor.
- The audience knows the heir is actually a gondolier (from Act I), making the Duke’s solemn quest seem even more absurd.
Wordplay & Puns
- "Cornet-a-piston": A brass instrument, but the phrase sounds like a nonsensical invention, fitting the opera’s mock-serious tone.
- "Ninety-five quarterings": A heraldic term (divisions in a coat of arms), exaggerated to ridicule obsession with lineage.
Significance in the Opera & Broader Works
Gilbert’s Social Critique
- The scene exemplifies Gilbert’s distrust of hereditary power. The Duke is comically incompetent, yet his rank grants him authority—a critique of Victorian class structures.
- The Inquisition’s interference reflects Gilbert’s skepticism of religious institutions (a recurring theme, e.g., The Mikado’s satire of bureaucracy).
Subversion of Romance & Marriage
- The proxy marriage trope (also used in The Pirates of Penzance) mocks romantic ideals. Casilda’s lack of agency highlights how women were often pawns in political marriages.
Music & Lyrics
- The chorus’s refrain ("If ever they get back to Spain") is a catchy, ironic tune—upbeat music contrasts with the bleak reality (they’re stuck in Venice).
- Sullivan’s light, dance-like score for this scene underscores the farce, making the absurdity more palatable.
Influence on Later Works
- The inversion of class roles (a gondolier as king) prefigures 20th-century satire (e.g., Monty Python).
- The self-important noble reduced to ridicule is a template for characters like Sir Joseph Porter (H.M.S. Pinafore).
Close Reading of Key Lines
"As a Castilian hidalgo of ninety-five quarterings..."
- The excessive "quarterings" (a real heraldic term) is absurd hyperbole, exposing the Duke’s insecurity—he clings to lineage because he has no real power or wealth.
"Let us hope the Grand Inquisitor is a blind gentleman."
- The Duke’s wishful thinking reveals his desperation to maintain illusions. The Inquisitor’s blindness would symbolize willful ignorance—a jab at authority’s refusal to see truth.
"Was I consulted?"
- Casilda’s modern-sounding protest is anachronistically feminist for 1889, challenging Victorian gender norms. Her indignation makes the audience sympathize with her, despite the opera’s comedic tone.
"A Wesleyan Methodist of the most bigoted and persecuting type."
- Gilbert, though himself not anti-Methodist, uses religious conflict for satire. The Inquisition vs. Methodists is a deliberately absurd clash, mocking dogmatic extremism.
Why This Scene Matters
This excerpt encapsulates The Gondoliers’ central tension: appearance vs. reality. The Duke acts royal but is penniless and powerless; Casilda is technically a queen but rejects the role. The scene’s humor arises from:
- The gap between expectation and reality (no band, no halberdiers).
- The absurdity of inherited power (a baby’s marriage deciding a nation’s fate).
- The collapse of dignity (farmyard noises as a substitute for a royal fanfare).
Ultimately, Gilbert uses this comic chaos to ask: What makes a ruler legitimate? Is it birth, wealth, or the consent of the governed? The opera’s answer—none of the above—is both hilarious and subversive.
Final Thought
Gilbert and Sullivan’s genius lies in making profound critiques feel like frivolous fun. This scene, with its pratfalls, puns, and pompous nobles, is a masterclass in satire disguised as entertainment—a hallmark of their enduring appeal.