Trial by Jury

: "This article is about the comic opera. For the legal institution, see jury trial. For the TV drama series, see .""Trial by Jury" is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its popular companion piece, Jacques Offenbach's "La Périchole". The story concerns a "breach of promise of marriage" lawsuit in which the judge and legal system are the objects of lighthearted satire.

Gilbert based the libretto of "Trial by Jury" on an operetta parody that he had written in 1868. The opera premiered more than three years after Gilbert and Sullivan's only previous collaboration, "Thespis", an 1871–72 Christmas season entertainment. In the intervening years, both the author and composer were busy with separate projects. Beginning in 1873, Gilbert tried several times to get the opera produced before the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte suggested that he collaborate on it with Sullivan. Sullivan was pleased with the piece and promptly wrote the music.

As with most Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the plot of "Trial by Jury" is ludicrous, but the characters behave as if the events were perfectly reasonable. This narrative technique blunts some of the pointed barbs aimed at hypocrisy, especially of those in authority, and the sometimes base motives of supposedly respectable people and institutions. These themes became favourites of Gilbert through the rest of his collaborations with Sullivan. Critics and audiences praised how well Sullivan's witty and good-humoured music complemented Gilbert's satire. [Stedman, pp. 129–30] The success of "Trial by Jury" launched the famous series of 13 collaborative works between Gilbert and Sullivan that came to be known as the Savoy Operas.

After its original production in 1875, "Trial by Jury" toured widely in Britain and elsewhere and was frequently revived and recorded. It also became popular as a part of charity benefits. The work continues to be frequently played, especially as a companion piece to other short Gilbert and Sullivan operas or other works. According to theatre scholar Kurt Gänzl, it is "probably the most successful British one-act operetta of all time".

Background

Before "Trial by Jury", W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan had collaborated on one previous opera, "Thespis; or, The Gods Grown Old", in 1871. Although reasonably successful, it was a Christmas entertainment, and such works were not expected to endure.Rees, p. 78] Between "Thespis" and "Trial by Jury", Gilbert and Sullivan did not collaborate on any further operas. Gilbert wrote several short stories, edited the second volume of his comic "Bab Ballads", and created 11 theatrical works, including "The Happy Land" (1873), "Charity" (1874) and "Sweethearts" (1874). [Stedman, pp. 99–127] At the same time, Sullivan wrote various pieces of religious music, including the "Festival Te Deum" (1872) and an oratorio, "The Light of the World" (1873), and edited "Church Hymns, with Tunes" (1874), which included 45 of his own hymns and arrangements. He also wrote many parlour ballads and other songs, including three in 1874–75 with words by Gilbert: "The Distant Shore", "Sweethearts" (inspired by Gilbert's play) and "The Love that Loves Me Not".Ainger, p. 106]

Genesis of the opera

The story of "Trial by Jury" started in 1868, when Gilbert wrote a single-page illustrated comic piece for the magazine "Fun" entitled "Trial by Jury: An Operetta". Drawing on Gilbert's training and brief practice as a barrister, it detailed a "breach of promise" trial going awry, in the process spoofing the law, lawyers and the legal system. (In the Victorian era, a man could be required to pay compensation should he fail to marry a woman to whom he was engaged.) The outline of this story was followed in the later opera, and two of its numbers appeared in nearly their final form in "Fun". The skit, however, ended abruptly: the moment the attractive plaintiff stepped into the witness box, the judge leapt into her arms and vowed to marry her, whereas in the opera, the case is allowed to proceed further before this conclusion is reached. [ [http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/bab_ballads/html/trial.html "Trial by Jury: An Operetta"] , from "Fun", 11 April 1868; Also [http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/trial/libretto.txt "Trial by Jury".] (Gilbert and Sullivan Archive editions, accessed 11 October 2007)] [Bradley, pp. 6, 24, 36]

In 1873, Gilbert arranged with the opera manager and composer, Carl Rosa, to expand the piece into a one-act libretto. Rosa was to write the music, and Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa, his wife and an old friend of Gilbert's, was to sing the role of the Plaintiff, as part of a season of English opera that Rosa planned to present at the Drury Lane Theatre. [Ainger, pp. 101–02 and 105] Rosa's wife died in childbirth in 1874, and the despondent Rosa dropped the project. [Stedman, pp. 120–21] Later in the same year, Gilbert offered the libretto to the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte, but Carte knew of no composer available to set it to music. [Stedman, p. 125]

Meanwhile, Sullivan may have been considering a return to light opera: "Cox and Box", his first comic opera, had received a London revival (co-starring his brother, Fred Sullivan) in September 1874. In November, Sullivan travelled to Paris and contacted Albert Millaud, one of the librettists for Jacques Offenbach's operettas. However, he returned to London empty-handed and worked on incidental music for the Gaiety Theatre's production of "The Merry Wives of Windsor". [Ainger, pp. 107–08] By early 1875, Carte was managing Selina Dolaro's Royalty Theatre, and he needed a short opera to be played as an afterpiece to Offenbach's "La Périchole" (in which Dolaro starred). Carte asked Sullivan to compose something for the theatre and advertised in "The Times" in late January: "In Preparation, a New Comic Opera composed expressly for this theatre by Mr. Arthur Sullivan in which Madame Dolaro and Nellie Bromley will appear."Ainger, p. 108] [Apparently, this refers to another opera that Sullivan was working on for the Royalty, since an advertisement in "The Era" on 14 March 1875 stated that "In consequence of the continued success of "La Périchole", the production of Mr. Sullivan's two-act opera is postponed" (McElroy, p. 40). A gossip column in the "Athenæum", dated 13 March 1875, stated that Sullivan was working on new music for a piece at the St. James's Theatre. From this, McElroy speculates that Sullivan had already begun writing musical numbers for "The Zoo" before he shifted his energies to "Trial by Jury" and decided "to salvage them by telling [his librettist] to boil the libretto down to one act and [transfer] the project to another theatre." (McElroy, pp. 51–52)] But around the same time, Carte also remembered Gilbert's "Trial by Jury" and knew that Gilbert had worked with Sullivan to create "Thespis". He suggested to Gilbert that Sullivan was the man to write the music for "Trial".

Gilbert read the libretto to Sullivan on 20 February 1875. Sullivan was enthusiastic, later recalling, " [Gilbert] read it through... in the manner of a man considerably disappointed with what he had written. As soon as he had come to the last word, he closed up the manuscript violently, apparently unconscious of the fact that he had achieved his purpose so far as I was concerned, inasmuch as I was screaming with laughter the whole time."Ainger, p. 109] "Trial by Jury", described as "A Novel and Original Dramatic Cantata" in the original promotional material, [See [http://www.library.rochester.edu/index.cfm?page=4089&Print=21 this First edition libretto cover] on exhibition at the University of Rochester Libraries. In 1871, Sullivan had composed his only other "dramatic cantata", "On Shore and Sea".] was composed and rehearsed in a matter of weeks. [Stedman, pp. 128–29]

Production and aftermath

The result of Gilbert and Sullivan's collaboration was a witty, tuneful and very "English" piece, in contrast to the burlesques and adaptations of French operettas that dominated the London musical stage at that time.Stedman, 129–30]

Initially, "Trial by Jury", which runs only 30 minutes or so, was played last on a triple bill, on which the main attraction, "La Périchole" (starring Dolaro as the title character and Fred Sullivan as Don Andres), was preceded by the one-act farce "Cryptoconchoidsyphonostomata". The latter was immediately replaced by a series of other curtain raisers.Ainger, p. 110] [The fashion in the late Victorian era was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so Carte preceded his savoy operas with curtain raisers. See Lee Bernard, [http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/classical/Swashbuckling-Savoy-curtainraiser-.4348391.jp "Swash-buckling Savoy curtain-raiser",] "Sheffield Telegraph", 1 August 2008] Arthur Sullivan conducted the first night's performance, and the theatre's music director, B. Simmons, conducted thereafter. [Gänzl, p. 95] The composer's brother, Fred Sullivan, starred as the Learned Judge, with Nellie Bromley as the Plaintiff. One of the choristers in "Trial by Jury", W. S. Penley, was promoted in November 1875Ainger, p. 114] to the small part of the Foreman of the Jury and made a strong impact on audiences with his amusing facial expressions and gestures.Walbrook, pp. 38–40] In March 1876, he temporarily replaced Fred Sullivan as the Judge, when Fred's health declined from tuberculosis. [Ainger, pp. 113, 120] With this start, Penley went on to a successful career as comic actor, culminating with the lead role in the record-breaking original production of "Charley's Aunt". Fred Sullivan died in January 1877. [Ainger, p. 128]

Offenbach's works were then at the height of their popularity in Britain, but "Trial by Jury" proved even more popular than "La Périchole","The Times", 29 March 1875, quoted and discussed in Ainger, p. 109] becoming an unexpected hit.Stedman, pp. 129–30] "Trial by Jury" drew crowds and continued to run after "La Périchole" closed. [Ainger, p. 117] While the Royalty Theatre closed for the summer in 1875, Dolaro immediately took "Trial" on tour in England and Ireland. [Ainger, p. 111] The piece was revived for additional London seasons in 1876 at the Opera Comique and in 1877 at the Strand Theatre. [Ainger, pp. 118 and 130]

"Trial by Jury" soon became the most desirable supporting piece for any London production, and, outside London, the major British theatrical touring companies had added it to their repertoire by about 1877. The original production was even given a world tour by Opera Comique assistant manager Emily Soldene, which travelled as far as Australia.Gänzl, pp. 89–90] Unauthorised "pirate" productions quickly sprang up in America, taking advantage of the fact that American courts did not enforce foreign copyrights.Gänzl, p. 95] It also became popular as part of the Victorian tradition of "benefit concerts", where the theatrical community came together to raise money for actors and actresses down on their luck or retiring. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company continued to play the work for a century, licensing the piece to amateur and foreign professional companies, such as the J. C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company. [ [http://www.nla.gov.au/collect/prompt/jcwill.html "J.C. Williamson Opera Programs",] (1906 programme), "National Library of Australia", Retrieved on 23 June 2008] Since the copyrights to Gilbert and Sullivan works ran out in 1961, [http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/gondoliers/html/67docprod.html "The 1968 D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Production of "The Gondoliers"] , reprinted from theatre programme of 29 January 1968, "The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive", Retrieved on 17 June 2008] the piece has been available to theatre companies around the world free of royalties. The work's enduring popularity since 1875 makes it, according to theatrical scholar Kurt Gänzl, "probably the most successful British one-act operetta of all time".

The success of "Trial by Jury" spurred several attempts to reunite Gilbert and Sullivan, but difficulties arose. Plans for a collaboration for Carl Rosa in 1875 fell through because Gilbert was too busy with other projects,Stedman, p. 132] [Ainger, p. 112] and an attempted Christmas 1875 revival of "Thespis" by Richard D'Oyly Carte failed when the financiers backed out. [Ainger, pp. 113–14] Gilbert and Sullivan continued their separate careers, though both continued writing light opera, among other projects: Sullivan's next light opera, "The Zoo", opened while "Trial by Jury" was still playing, in June 1875; and Gilbert's "Eyes and No Eyes" premièred a month later, [Gänzl (1986), p. 90] followed by "Princess Toto" in 1876. [Crowther, p. 211] However, Gilbert and Sullivan would not be reunited until "The Sorcerer" in 1877.

Roles

*The Learned Judge (comic baritone)
*The Plaintiff (soprano)
*The Defendant (tenor)
*Counsel for the Plaintiff (lyric baritone)
*Usher (bass-baritone)
*Foreman of the Jury (bass)
*Associate ("silent")
*First Bridesmaid
*Chorus of Bridesmaids, Gentlemen of the Jury, Barristers, Attorneys and Public.

ynopsis

The copyrights to "Trial by Jury" and the other Gilbert and Sullivan operas were held by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company until their expiration in 1961, 50 years after Gilbert's death, and no other professional company was authorised to present the Savoy operas in Britain until that date. The following tables show the casts of the principal original productions and D'Oyly Carte companies at approximately 10-year intervals through to the 1975 centenary season. [Rollins and Witts (and supplements). An examination of Rollins and Witts and Gänzl shows that a ten-year interval is sufficient to indicate the bulk of the notable performers who portrayed these roles in authorized productions during that period.]

Benefit performances

Starting in 1877, "Trial by Jury" was often given at benefit performances, usually for an actor or actress who had fallen on hard times, but occasionally for other causes. These were glittering affairs, with various celebrities appearing in principal roles or as part of the chorus. [Burgess, pp. 52–54] Gilbert himself played the silent role of the Associate on at least four occasions. [Burgess, pp. 52–53; Gänzl, pp. 96–98]

Arthur Sullivan conducted the 1877 benefit for actor Henry Compton. At the Compton benefit, Penley and George Grossmith were members of the Jury, and a number of other famous actors and actresses were in the chorus. [Ainger, p. 130]

At the Nellie Farren benefit, many of the performers listed below sat in the jury or the gallery, and "Trial by Jury" was followed by a six-hour long concert. Performances were given by Henry Irving, Ellaline Terriss, Marie Tempest, Hayden Coffin, Arthur Roberts, Letty Lind, Edmund Payne and many others. [ Davis (1995), Chapter X, letter of March 20, 1898.]

The Ellen Terry benefit in 1906 was also a particularly well-attended affair, with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle numbered among the jury and Enrico Caruso singing, among many star performances. [Burgess, pp. 56–61 reproduces the programmes for several of these benefits in facsimile. Others are listed in Gänzl, pp. 95–98.]

¹The role of the Associate's Wife was especially created for the disabled soldiers' benefit performance and does not appear in any standard performances. [Ainger, pp. 380–81]

Recordings

"Trial by Jury" has been recorded many times. Of the recordings by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, those recorded in 1927 and 1964 are ranked the best, according to "A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography", edited by Marc Shepherd. The 1961 Sargent and the 1995 Mackerras recordings are also rated highly by the Discography. [cite web|url=http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/tbj.htm |title=Recordings of Trial By Jury (1995)|author=Shepherd, Marc|publisher=A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography|accessdate=2008-06-01]

;Selected recordings
*1927 D'Oyly Carte – Conductor: Harry Norris [cite web|url=http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/tbj1927.htm|title=The 1927 D'Oyly Carte Trial By Jury|author=Shepherd, Marc|publisher=A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography|accessdate=2008-06-01|year=2008]
*1961 Sargent/Glyndebourne – Pro Arte Orchestra, Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, Conductor: Sir Malcolm Sargent [cite web|url=http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/tbjsarg.htm|title=The Sargent/Glyndebourne Trial By Jury (1961)|author=Shepherd, Marc|publisher=A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography|accessdate=2008-06-01|year=2008]
*1964 D'Oyly Carte – Conductor: Isidore Godfrey [cite web|url=http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/tbj1964.htm|title=The 1964 D'Oyly Carte Trial By Jury|author=Shepherd, Marc|publisher=A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography|accessdate=2008-06-01|year=2008]
*1975 D'Oyly Carte – Conductor: Royston Nash [cite web|url=http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/tbj1975.htm|title=The 1975 Trial By Jury|author=Shepherd, Marc|publisher=A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography|accessdate=2008-06-01|year=2008]
*1982 Brent Walker Productions video – Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Conductor: Alexander Faris [cite web|url=http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/tbjwalk.htm|title=The Brent Walker Trial By Jury (1982)|author=Shepherd, Marc|publisher=A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography|accessdate=2008-06-01|year=2008]
*1995 Mackerras/Telarc – Orchestra and Chorus of the Welsh National Opera, Conductor: Sir Charles Mackerras [cite web|url=http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/tbjmack.htm|title=The Mackerras/Telarc Trial By Jury (1995)|author=Shepherd, Marc|publisher=A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography|accessdate=2008-06-01|year=2008]

Textual changes

Of the material cut before the first performance of "Trial by Jury", the most significant were two songs and a recitative: a song for the foreman of the jury, "Oh, do not blush to shed a tear", which was to be sung just after "Oh, will you swear by yonder skies"; and a recitative for the Judge and song for the Usher, "We do not deal with artificial crime" and "His lordship's always quits", which came just before "A nice dilemma". [Bradley, pp. 20, 32] The melody for "His Lordship's always quits" is known, and it was reused in "I loved her fondly" in "The Zoo" and later modified into the main tune from "A wand'ring minstrel, I" in "The Mikado". [cite web|author=Tillett, Selwyn|coauthors=Roderick Spencer|year=2002|title=Forty Years of "Thespis" Scholarship|url=http://www.chimesmusicaltheatre.co.uk/Thespis.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2006-05-25 p. 11] A few changes were made to the end of "I love him, I love him!" after the first night. [Bradley, p. 34] A third verse for "Oh, gentlemen, listen I pray" was sung, at least on the first night, and part was quoted in a review in the "Pictorial World". [Allen (1975a), p. 42]

"Trial by Jury" underwent relatively minor textual changes after its first run, mainly consisting of insignificant amendments to wording. [Bradley, pp. 6–38] The most significant changes involve the ending. The original stage directions set up a simple pantomime-style tableau:

This became much more elaborate in the 1884 revival, with the entire set being transformed, and the plaintiff climbing onto the Judge's back "à la fairy". However, in the 1920s, the plaster cupids were evidently damaged on a tour, and the transformation scene was abandoned completely.

Notes

References

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* cite book|last=Dark|first=Sidney and Rowland Grey|year=1923|title=W. S. Gilbert: His Life and Letters|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=BpCMTsYMjy0C&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=%22Trial+by+Jury%22+Fisher+Sullivan+Bromley&source=web&ots=Hh_q225P8z&sig=Vvt0R9G6rRX3nnddkHvdxjtGEKk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result|accessdate=2008-06-17|publisher=Ayer Publishing
isbn=0405084307
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*cite book|last=Lawrence|first=Arthur|year=1899|title=Sir Arthur Sullivan: Life-Story, Letters, and Reminiscences|location=London|publisher=James Bowden
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* Also, five supplements, privately printed.
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*cite book|last=Walbrook|first=H. M.|title=Gilbert & Sullivan Opera: A History and A Comment|location=London|publisher=F. V. White & Co.|year=1922|url=http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/books/walbrook/index.html|accessdate=2008-06-01
*cite book|last=Young|first=Percy M.|title=A History of British Music|location=London|publisher=Ernest Benn, Ltd.|year=1967

External links

* [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/trial/html/index.html "Trial by Jury" at The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive]
* [http://www.concentric.net/~Oakapple/gasdisc/tbj.htm "Trial by Jury" at The Gilbert & Sullivan Discography]
* [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/whowaswho/index.htm Site containing biographies of the people listed in the historical cast and benefit cast tables]