Summary
Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant, was produced at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, but for some reason it never attained the success of the other operas. Yet when it was revived at the Princes Theatre on 24 January 1922, after a lapse of thirty-eight years, it was received throughout with the thunderous applause it so richly deserves, for it is full of true Gilbertian humour, and contains also some of Sullivan’s most delightful music.
It is perhaps the least known of the operas now regularly performed, but not necessarily therefore the least interesting, and is the only one of the series written in three acts. (G&S Archive)
Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, for a run of 246 performances. The piece concerns a princess who founds a women’s university and teaches that women are superior to men and should rule in their stead. The prince to whom she had been married in infancy sneaks into the university, together with two friends, with the aim of collecting his bride. They disguise themselves as women students, but are discovered, and all soon face a literal war between the sexes.
The opera satirizes feminism, women’s education and Darwinian evolution, which were controversial topics in conservative Victorian England. Princess Ida is based on a narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson called The Princess (1847), and Gilbert had written a farcical musical play, based on the poem, in 1870. He lifted much of the dialogue of Princess Ida directly from his 1870 farce. It is the only Gilbert and Sullivan opera in three acts and the only one with dialogue in blank verse. (Wikipedia Princess Ida)
Cast
| King Hildebrand | Laurence Cox |
| Hilarion (Hildebrand’s son) | Aaron Lange |
| Cyril (Hilarion’s friend) | Carl Dahlquist |
| Florian (Hilarion’s friend) | David Ridley |
| King Gama (Ida’s father) | Ken Malucelli |
| Arac (Gama’s son) | James Montgomery |
| Guron (Gama’s son) | Lincoln Thomas |
| Scynthius (Gama’s son) | Marcos Galvez |
| Princess Ida (Gama’s daughter) | Gabrielle Widman |
| Lady Blanche (Prof. of abstract science) | Beatriz Abella |
| Lady Psyche (Prof. of humanities) | Lindsey Lefler |
| Melissa (girl graduate) | Mandee Light |
| Sacharissa (girl graduate) | Becca Stuhlbarg |
| Chloe (girl graduate) | Marianne Sadeé |
| Ada (girl graduate) | Bryna Montgomery |
| Queen, Hildebrand’s wife | Beth Kahlen |
Chorus
Women of the ensemble
| Anne Kolibaba Larkin |
| Beatriz Abella |
| Becca Stuhlbarg |
| Beth Kahlen |
| Bryna Montgomery |
| Cathrine Huard |
| Jan Rosenthal |
| Jaymie Sanfilippo-Sherrard |
| Lindsey Lefler |
| Mandee Light |
| Marianne Sadeé |
Men of the ensemble
| Bill Wuertz |
| Carl Dahlquist |
| David Ridley |
| Dennis Kelly |
| Harold Williams |
| James Montgomery |
| Lincoln Thomas |
| Marcos Galvez |
| Michael McGee |
| Thomas McAulay |
Crew
| Director | Dennis Britten |
| Asst. Director | Beth Kahlen and Laurence Cox |
| Musical Director | Dr. Linda Smith |
| Producer | David Smith |
| Production Technical Director | Dennis Freeze |
| Stage Manager/Prop Master | Amy Barnhart |
| Dance Captain | Cathrine Huard |
| Lighting Design | Dennis Britten |
| Lighting | Ian McCarthy |
| House Manager | Chuck Weed |
| Accompanist | Yvette Starkey |
| Costume Designer | Lucy Tait |
| Set | Dennis Britten |
| Publicity | Laurence Cox |
| Outreach | Gabrielle Widman |
| Membership | Dr. Linda Smith |
| Program and Web Site | Sheryl Wood |
| Posters | David Smith |
| Logo | Tony Smith |