Opera Guide– Trial by Jury

One Act Comic Opera by Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert

Oct 25, 2009

Judge's Song from Trial by Jury., W.S. Gilbert

Trial by Jury is the earliest surviving comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan. The story concerns a breach-of-promise case.

The first collaboration of the composer Arthur Sullivan and the librettist William S. Gilbert was the comic opera Thespis, whose music is now lost. Trial by Jury, a short comic opera in one act, was an even bigger success.

Gilbert had written the libretto in 1873 and offered it to the Carl Rosa Opera Company. But Mrs. Rosa, the opera's intended star, passed away in 1874, and the libretto was never used. Gilbert then offered the libretto to the Richard D'Oyly Carte, who thought it perfect for a triple bill of short operas including La Périchole by Offenbach.

Sullivan loved the libretto and composed music in under three weeks. Trial by Jury premiered at the Royalty Theatre on March 25, 1875 and ultimately ran for three hundred performances over a period of two years.

Characters in Trial by Jury

The Learned Judge (Baritone)
Counsel for the Plaintiff (Tenor)
The Defendant, Edwin (Tenor)
Foreman of the Jury (Baritone)
Usher (Bass-baritone)
The Plaintiff, Angelina (Soprano)

Synopsis of Trial by Jury

Scene: A courtroom. The clock strikes ten, and the usher leads the members of the jury to their places. He instructs them to remain free of bias, but also instructs them to listen to the plaintiff and disregard the defendant's claims.

Edwin enters with a guitar and tells them his side of the story ("When first my old, old love I knew"): he fell in love with Angelina, but gradually found her more and more boring, until he fell in love with a new woman. The jury members, although they have experienced the same problem themselves, deny their sympathy.

The Judge enters and tells the story of how he rose from a lowly barrister to a learned judge: he promised an influential attorney that he would court his "elderly, ugly daughter," then ignored her as soon as he found success.

The jury is sworn in, and Angelina enters with her bridesmaids. The Judge is immediately attracted to her, but the jury scolds him. Edwin defends himself, saying that its is normal for his affection to change because "nature is constantly changing." As a compromise, he suggests that he "marry one lady today... the other tomorrow."

The Judge and jury find this reasonable, but the Counsel points out that bigamy is illegal. Angelina dramatically declares her love for Edwin, but he claims that he is a terrible person and she can't possibly love him.

The Judge suggests that they get Edwin drunk to see if he really is a terrible person, to which everyone objects but Edwin himself. Frustrated, he declares that he will resolve the case by marrying Angelina himself, a decision which pleases everyone.

Other Operas by Gilbert & Sullivan

Sources:

Libretto of Trial by Jury from the Internet Archive
D'Oyly Carte Recording of Trial by Jury from the Internet Archive
Jefferson, Alan. The Complete Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Guide. New York: Facts On File, 1984.

The copyright of the article Opera Guide– Trial by Jury in Opera is owned by Amelia Hill. Permission to republish Opera Guide– Trial by Jury in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.