Princess Ida - History of Productions

History of Productions

Princess Ida was not as successful as the Gilbert and Sullivan operas that had preceded it. In the midst of the unusually hot summer of 1884, Richard D'Oyly Carte closed the Savoy Theatre for a month, starting in mid-August. The opera had been running for seven months, a short period by the partnership's past standards. The opera re-opened for just three weeks, starting in mid-September, before giving way to a revival of The Sorcerer (revised) and Trial by Jury.

A New York production ran briefly in 1884, and there was a second American production in 1887. In Australia, Princess Ida's first authorized performance was on 16 July 1887 at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, produced by J. C. Williamson.

Provincial tours of Princess Ida began in early 1884 and ended by mid-1885. The opera was revived on tour in December 1895, remaining in the touring repertory through 1896. It re-appeared in late 1897 or early 1898, and from then on was never out of the D'Oyly Carte touring repertory through the early years of the twentieth century. The first London revival, however, did not come until 30 December 1919. From then on, it was included in every D'Oyly Carte touring season until the company disbanded at the outbreak of war in 1939.

During World War II, the Company played a smaller repertory. The scenery and costumes for Princess Ida, which were in storage, were destroyed by enemy action over the winter of 1940–41. A new production was mounted at the Savoy Theatre on 27 September 1954. A guest artist, opera singer Victoria Sladen, was engaged to sing the title role for the London season. For the 1954 revival, the Act II line "And the niggers they'll be bleaching by and by," was changed to "And they'll practice what they're preaching by and by," to accommodate the sensibilities of modern audiences, following similar changes in other Gilbert and Sullivan works.

After the 1954 revival, Princess Ida was an irregular presence in the D'Oyly Carte repertory. While it never went unperformed more than two or three seasons at a time, it was usually performed only in London and a few other major cities. The demands of the title role were considered unusual by Gilbert and Sullivan standards, and often the Company brought in guest artists to play it. The Company's final performances of the opera were in February–April 1977. The Company's reduced repertory in its final five seasons did not accommodate it.

Other professional companies have produced Princess Ida, including American Savoyards in the 1950s and 1960s, Light Opera of Manhattan in the 1970s and 1980s, New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players since the 1980s, Ohio Light Opera (which recorded the piece in 2000), the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in 2003 and 2009, and others.

The following table shows the history of the D'Oyly Carte productions in Gilbert's lifetime: