Aestheticism? It's hardly a major discussion these days, but in the 1870's and '80s it was powerful enough for Gilbert to parody it as empty, self-indulgent and laughable.
"You must lie upon the daisies and discourse in novel phrases of your complicated state of mind," sings Bunthorne, the (current) aesthetic object of the Maidens' love. His conclusion may ring bells for those involved in past graduate philosophy discussions....
The meaning doesn’t matter if it’s only idle chatter of a transcendental kind.
And ev’ry one will say,
As you walk your mystic way,
“If this young man expresses himself in terms too deep for me,
Why, what a very singularly deep young man this deep young man must be!”
The plot thickens when we move from the complicated state of mind of the aesthete convinced of their true beauty and the maidens committed to loving it. The situation is resolved by the much less complicated attitudes of Patience, the down to earth milkmaid, and the chorus of dragoons to whom the lovesick maidens were previously engaged.
Full plot and synopsis here. As Wikipedia puts it neatly, 'The opera is a satire on the aesthetic movement of the 1870s and '80s in England and, more broadly, on fads, superficiality, vanity, hypocrisy and pretentiousness; it also satirises romantic love, rural simplicity and military bluster.' (And, I would add, graduate philosophy discussions!)
We're watching the star-studded 1995 production by Australian Opera. Christine Douglas is Patience, Dennis Olsen is Bunthorne and Anthony Warlow his rival in beauty, Archibald. Heather Begg steals the show as aesthete-tragic Lady Jane. (Dame Heather Begg's career is outlined here.) Here's her hilarious duet with Olsen.
Did you miss our Zoom-Patience? Never mind - there's a full production option on YouTube. Click this link for the 2004 production by the splendid amateur group in Dunedin.
As always, with G&S, the libretto is crucial, and often inaudible given the pace of delivery. You can follow on the complete libretto here in pdf format. If you just want the words of the most splendid songs, print out the brief Word format version from my email.
Here's some history. In 1882, George Musgrove teamed up with J C Williamson and Arthur Gamer as a theatre production team, pooling their skills and funds for the premiere Australian production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience at Melbourne’s Theatre Royal. The production was illustrated in The Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil – 15 July 1882.
Lyn 28 Sep 2021