Fairy lights
Encyclopedia
In the United Kingdom
, a common name for Christmas lights. A string of electrically powered lamps usually used for decoration and for special effect are known as fairy lights. These miniature lamps featured in the stage production of the Gilbert and Sullivan
operetta Iolanthe
in 1882.
In 1881, the Savoy Theatre
, London was the first building the world to be lit entirely by electricity. Sir Joseph Swan, inventor of the incandescent light bulb
, supplied about 1,200 of his lamps, and a year later, the Savoy owner Richard D'Oyly Carte
equipped the principal fairies with miniature lighting supplied by the Swan Electric Lamp Company, for the opening night of Iolanthe on 25th November 1882.
British physicist, William Thomson
(Lord Kelvin) had been asked if it was possible to add miniature lighting to the costumes of some of the cast. The electric star lights which the principal fairies wore on top of their heads aroused much excitement. The incandescent star lights, made by Swan's Company, were chosen because of the success Swan's lamps had been in illuminating the theatre. These miniature carbon filament lamps were worked intermittently by a small battery carried on the shoulder and hidden by the fairies' long flowing hair. The archive of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
states that the term 'fairy lights' subsequently came into common use after this stage production.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, a common name for Christmas lights. A string of electrically powered lamps usually used for decoration and for special effect are known as fairy lights. These miniature lamps featured in the stage production of the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operetta Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
in 1882.
In 1881, the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
, London was the first building the world to be lit entirely by electricity. Sir Joseph Swan, inventor of the incandescent light bulb
Incandescent light bulb
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halogen lamp, a chemical process...
, supplied about 1,200 of his lamps, and a year later, the Savoy owner Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
equipped the principal fairies with miniature lighting supplied by the Swan Electric Lamp Company, for the opening night of Iolanthe on 25th November 1882.
British physicist, William Thomson
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin OM, GCVO, PC, PRS, PRSE, was a mathematical physicist and engineer. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging...
(Lord Kelvin) had been asked if it was possible to add miniature lighting to the costumes of some of the cast. The electric star lights which the principal fairies wore on top of their heads aroused much excitement. The incandescent star lights, made by Swan's Company, were chosen because of the success Swan's lamps had been in illuminating the theatre. These miniature carbon filament lamps were worked intermittently by a small battery carried on the shoulder and hidden by the fairies' long flowing hair. The archive of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
states that the term 'fairy lights' subsequently came into common use after this stage production.