#iolanthe

[basingstokemercury]

GUYS GUYS GUYS

CUT IOLANTHE MUSIC FULL ORCHESTRATIONS NOT A DRILL

Three Deleted Songs from Iolanthe

On a recent research trip to London, I found three deleted songs from Iolanthe, hiding in plain sight in the British Library.

[wolfword]

[batscrem]

Got to see a very fun performance of the play/musical?/light opera "Iolanthe" over the weekend! Got to do some figure sketches while watching too!

... Meaning yes, I was drawing in about 70-80% darkness. Still, think it turned out pretty well.

[respectablecapers]

for him, for her, for thee,

i yield my life!

behold! it may not be —

i am thy wife!

(aiaiah! aiaiah! willahalla, willaloo!)

[supercantaloupe]

have you ever wondered who/what you would be if you found yourself inside a gilbert & sullivan operetta? well wonder no more!

Wheel of Names

Enter names, spin wheel to pick a random winner. Customize look and feel, save and share wheels.

whether you will be the very model of a modern major-general, a dainty little fairy, or even an englishman, spin this wheel to find out now!

[bees-and-mice-and-frogs-and]

Ok, Iolanthe BUT the fairies are all Morris dancers, and Strephon is a Morris dancer. Introduce a Morris side that don't sing but they do a bit of dancing. During Tripping Hither Tripping Thither, dance Ilmington (or something similarly regal) before switching to Bledington at THAT bit.

I have a vision. Now I just need enough Morris dancers and an opera company crazy enough to listen to me.

[necarion]

I generally don't like "misunderstanding plots" where the (often) girlfriend/fiance of the protagonist sees him with another woman and assumes that there's an affair going on.

That said, Iolanthe has a fun one that doesn't make me want to punch any sort of wall. Strephon (25M) is caught cuddling with his mother, Iolanthe (??F), who looks like she's 17. And it is a meaningfully hard-to-beat case of "it's not what it looks like!" and I don't mind at all Phyllis not believing him.

And then the play ends with this glorious line:

Strephon. You know, my grandmother looks quite as young as my mother. So do all my aunts.

Phyllis. I quite understand. Whenever I see you kissing a very young lady, I shall know it’s an elderly relative.

Strephon. You will? Then, Phyllis, I think we shall be very happy!

[melancholy-lute]

*throws a violet into the nearest stream* for Iolanthe 💜