 The
Sorcerer
An original comic opera in 2 acts: Libretto by W. S. Gilbert; Music
by Arthus Sullivan.
Opera Comique, London - 17 November,1877:
Broadway Theatre, New York - 21 February, 1879.
Synopsis
ACT 1
At Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre's Elizabethan mansion in the village
of Ploverleigh the engagement of the baronet's son, Alexis, to Aline,
the eligible and lovely daughter of Lady Sangazure, is to take place
with the whole village invited for the ceremony. For pretty little
Constance Partlet, however, there is no rejoicing; her heart has
gone out to the local vicar, Dr Daly. The vicar doesn't respond,
either to Constance or to Mrs Partlet's unsubtle attempts to interest
him in her daughter as a wife.
The principals in the day's matrimonial business come upon the scene
with Aline singing rapturously as she anticipates the joy the day will
bring her. It is at this time we discover that Sir Marmaduke and the
dragon-like Lady Sangazure had, in their youth, unfulfilled desires
on each other. The spark of love still burns even though they are outwardly
merely courteous.
Alexis and Aline sign the deed of betrothal before the notary and
are, at last, left alone wax lyrical their praises of true love In
fact, Alexis feels so strongly about the subject that he has resolved
to make a gift of love to all the village. He has ordered from a London
sorcerer a custom-compounded philtre which, in spite of Aline's reservations,
he resolves to administer that afternoon to the communal tea cup so
that all of Ploverleigh may experience the amorous joy which they themselves
know. The sorcerer, Mr John Wellington Wells, has come down from town
to supply the philtre in person. He calms Aline's qualms by assuring
her that it is a very proper philtre. Although those who take it fall
rapturously in love with the first person they see, it works only on
unmarried people.
As tea-time approaches, Wells prepares his potion with an Incantation
and when the townspeople gather for the celebratory banquet and partake
of the cup that cheers they soon begin to stagger about under the effects
of the philtre until, as the act ends, the entire unmarried population
of Ploverleigh is fast asleep on the ground.
ACT 2
It is evening and Wells, Alexis and Aline await the end of the
first phase of the philtre's action. Soon the people awake and, surely
enough, within minutes of waking the whole male chorus has proposed
to the whole female chorus. Unfortunately, the first single person
Constance has seen on her awakening is the very old, very deaf notary.
She tries, with great difficulty, and not a few tears, to make the
old man understand the extent of her affection.
Alexis is very proud of the results of his experiment but, when he
suggests to Aline that he and she should also partake of the philtre,
she is horrified that he should consider it needful to bolster their
love by artificial means. She refuses and he takes umbrage. A little
grey cloud comes over what should have been a wholly blissful day.
A further complication ensues when Sir Marmaduke enters with Mrs
Partlet and announces that he is planning to marry her. Alexis confesses
that Mrs Partlet is not quite the person he would have chosen to
be his mother.
John Wellington Wells is now aware of the effects his philtre can
have when administered en masse and he is worried. He has even more
worried when Lady Sangazure descends on him with all the effusion of
an amorous walrus. He attempts to repel her advances by denigrating
himself finally resorting to a lie; he declares he is engaged already
to a South Seas maiden.
Aline, upset by Alexis's attitude towards her over her refusal to
take the philtre, finally resolves that she will put aside her reservations
and do so. Unfortunately, having sipped the cup, she encounters Dr
Daly bewailing the fact that all the ladies in the village seem to
have become engaged before he got round to finding one for himself.
Now, he finds himself adored by the loveliest of them all - and Alexis
is in despair.
Things have certainly not worked out as intended. The sorcerer is
being dogged by the unwanted Lady Sangazure and Alexis has had his
betrothed alienated. Now that the effects of their tampering with nature
are rebounding on themselves, the two men decide that something must
be done to put an end to the effects of the philtre. Wells tells Alexis
that there is only one way out. One of them will have to deliver up
their life to the spirit under whose guidance the potion was concocted.
He would rather it were Alexis as he has stocktaking the next week
and it would be inconvenient not to be there.
Alexis agrees to pay the penalty for his folly, but Aline has a point
of law to press. If the effect of the philtre is to be reversed and
everyone restored to his or her old love, what, pray, will become of
her if Alexis has been sacrificed? Her logic is undeniable, and it
is decided that the victim will have to be Wells after all. As John
Wellington Wells is consumed in a flash of red fire, all the marital
mismatchings of Ploverleigh are solved. Alexis and Aline come back
together, Constance is paired off with her vicar, Sir Marmaduke finally
gets his Sangazure and Mrs Partlet makes do with the very old, very
deaf notary.
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Musical Numbers:
- OVERTURE
- CHORUS. " Ring forth, ye bells
- RECIT. (Mrs. Partlet and Constance)
- ARIA (Constance). " When he is here "
- RECIT. (Rev. Dr. Daly)
- BALLAD (Dr. Daly). " Time was, when Love and I were. well
acquainted "
- RECIT. AND MINUET (Sir Marmaduke, Dr. Daly, and Alexis)
- CHORUS OF GIRLS. "With heart and with voice"
- RECIT. (Aline)
- ARIA. "Happy young heart"
- RECIT. (Lady Sangazure)
- CHORUS OF MEN. "With heart and with voice"
- DUET (Lady Sangazure and Sir Marmaduke) "Welcome joy adieu
to madness"
- ENSEMBLE (Alitte, Alexis, Lauyer, and Chorus). "All is prepared"
- BALLAD (Alexis). " For Love alone"
- SONG (Mr. Wells). "My name is John Wellington Wells"
- INCANTATION (Aline, Alexis, Mr. Wells, and Chorus)
- FINALE ACT I. "Now to the Banquet we press"
- TRIO AND CHORUS (Aline, Alexis, Mr. Wells, Company) "'Tis
twelve I think, and at this mystic hour"
- ENSEMBLE (Constance, Notary, Aline, Alexis, and Chorus) "Dear
friends, take pity on my lot"
- BALLAD. (Alexis) "It is not Love"
- QUINTETT (Aline, Mrs. Partlet, Alexis, Dr. Daly, and Sir Marmaduke)
"I rejoice that it's decided"
- RECIT. AND DUET (Lady Sangazure and Mr. Wells) "Oh I have
wrought much evil with my spells"
- RECIT. AND AIR (Aline) "Alexis doubt me not"
- SONG (Dr. Daly). "Engaged to So-and-so"
- ENSEMBLE (Aline, Alexis, Dr. Daly, and Chorus)
- RECIT. (Alexis)
- FINALE ACT II
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