United Kingdom International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival 2025 [1] – National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, Princess Ida: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company / John Andrews (conductor). Buxton Opera House, Derbyshire, 9.8.2025. (RW)
This opera company needs no introduction as it has been the mainstay of the Festival, now in its 31st year. This year the company has been performing three operas from its large repertoire.
Princess Ida was the eighth Gilbert & Sullivan opera in the canon and was the first where Gilbert based the plot on his previous play, The Princess, which in turn was based on a Tennyson poem, The Princess. In true Gilbertian fashion, witticisms and topsy-turvy situations abound under Jeff Clarke’s clever direction where extra twists provide a unique interpretation. It is worth noting that Gilbert was so taken with his character of King Gama, that he revisited an idea based on Gama for his final collaboration with Sullivan, The Grand Duke.
The curtain for Act I rose on a magnificent stage picture of rich reds where courtiers are looking from the battlements of Castle Hildebrand for the arrival of Princess Ida and her father King Gama. A formidable King Hildebrand (Ben McAteer) is expecting King Gama because his daughter was betrothed in babyhood to Hildebrand’s son, Hilarion. The couriers’ medieval costumes were eye-catching and the soldiers’ helmet plumes of bright red would be a match for any punk’s cockscomb and certainly complemented the red carpet and sunset. This vivid red setting of the scene nicely anticipates the blood and gore of Act III.
Act II contained some excellent stage business where a 20ft high curtain is pulled down, ripped, and sewn up as gowns for Hilarion and his two accomplices, Cyril and Florian — and this all done in sight of the audience. They delighted the audience by entering fully robed to disguise themselves as women in the university grounds where no man may enter, not even chessmen! Vocally they were excellent and nicely balanced in the singing of ‘Haughty, humble, coy or free’. King Hildebrand came across powerfully when leading Sullivan’s superbly written finale with Ida soaring on her top line. The effect was memorable.
Star of the show was Phoebe Smith as Ida. It is a taxing part, yet one Jean Hindmarsh, as Ida, told me was her favourite role when she played Ida in the D’Oyly Carte revival of 1954. Here, Phoebe was remarkable with her stage presence, purity of voice, and amazing breath control in holding a top B-flat over three bars. King Gama looked convincing and acted admirably in his Gilbertian part of a grisly, rude and irritating man, yet maybe was too relaxed to project his voice adequately. Sadly, I missed the content of a witty encored verse to his patter song.
I liked the action-freeze openings with their tasteful groupings and appropriate lighting. A third act fight between Hilarion and Gama’s three hunky sons was amusing and well staged, with huge and imaginably weighty swords attacking feeble culinary weapons from Castle Adamant’s kitchen.
The singing was glorious and chorus interaction both sincere and believable throughout. John Andrews took the score at a lively pace, very much as Isidore Godfrey would have done. (I do remember that Sargent’s plodding pace in numbers of his Princess Ida recording were somewhat laboured.) Here the familiar Festival Orchestra led by Sally Robinson gave its usual excellent support.
The opera is performed again at Buxton on August 15th, otherwise you can still catch it in Malvern on September 5th.
Raymond Walker
Featured Image: Phoebe Smith as Princess Ida © Charles Smith
Production:
Director – Jeff Clarke
Lighting designer – Matthew Cowan
Costume & Scenery designer – Jeff Clarke
Cast:
King Hildebrand – Ben McAteer
Hilarion – Alex Aldren
Cyril – Alfred Mitchell
Florian – Felix Kemp
King Gama – Philip Cox
Arac – Carl Sanderson
Guron – James Connolly
Scythius – William Costello
Princess Ida – Phoebe Smith
Lady Blanche – Gaynor Keeble
Lady Psyche – Kelli-Ann Masterson
Melissa – Samantha Price
Sacharissa – Eleanor O’Driscoll