The Beauty Stone
Encyclopedia
The Beauty Stone is an opera
, billed as a "romantic musical drama" in three acts, composed by Arthur Sullivan
to a libretto by Arthur Wing Pinero
and J. Comyns Carr
. The medieval Faustian story concerns an ugly, crippled girl, who dreams of being beautiful and meeting a handsome prince. The Devil offers her a magical stone that confers perfect beauty to anyone who wears it. The stone is passed from one character to another, but eventually the prince recognizes the girl's beautiful soul, the stone is discarded, and the disappointed Devil leaves the town.
It premiered at the Savoy Theatre
on 28 May 1898, closing on 16 July 1898 after a run of just 50 performances, making it the least successful of Sullivan's operas. Reviewers criticised the lyrics and lengthy dialogue scenes and the lack of humour in the story. Savoy audiences, accustomed to more comic and satiric pieces, did not find the opera attractive. The cast of The Beauty Stone included Savoy regulars Walter Passmore
, Rosina Brandram
, Ruth Vincent
, Emmie Owen
and Henry Lytton
, as well as opera singer Pauline Joran
.
The opera was revived by the Carl Rosa Opera Company
in 1901–02 on tour in a cut version.
partnership collapsed after the production of The Gondoliers
in 1889, their producer Richard D'Oyly Carte
struggled to find successful new works to show at the Savoy Theatre
. Carte produced Sullivan's grand opera, Ivanhoe
at another theatre, and afterwards, he turned to Sullivan to create more comic opera
s for the Savoy. With Sydney Grundy
, Sullivan wrote the nostalgic and sentimental Haddon Hall
(1892) then, reunited with W. S. Gilbert
, he produced Utopia, Limited
(1893). He next returned, with his earlier collaborator F. C. Burnand, with The Chieftain
(1894) and collaborated for the last time with Gilbert on The Grand Duke
(1896). None of these had proved to be more than modestly successful, and Carte's other new pieces for the Savoy in the 1890s had done no better. Following the success of Sullivan's ballet Victoria and Merrie England
in 1897, Carte asked Sullivan to work on another new opera for the Savoy.
Carte assembled a high quality team for The Beauty Stone, hoping for a hit. J. Comyns Carr
had earlier written the text for Henry Irving
's grand production of the King Arthur
legend, for which Sullivan had provided the incidental music
score in 1895. Sullivan had in the past considered the idea of an opera on the same subject and was pleased when Carr offered him a similarly romantic work with a medieval setting. The eponymous beauty stone was a magical item that would transform its holder's appearance but would have unanticipated consequences. Sullivan seemed not to notice that this major element of the plot was simply a variant of the "magic lozenge" plot that Gilbert had so often proposed to the composer, and that he had repeatedly rejected. A. W. Pinero was at the height of his career in 1898, having produced several enduring successes in the 1890s, including The Second Mrs. Tanqueray (1893) and The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith
(1895), and the same year as The Beauty Stone he would produce Trelawny of the 'Wells'
(1898). One of the most important, prolific and popular British playwrights, Pinero was later knighted for his services to dramatic authorship. Carr conceived of the basic idea of the libretto, that true beauty is an inner quality. Carr confined himself to writing the lyrics, however, and Pinero was brought in to work out the plot and write the dialogue. Having brought together three such eminent talents, Carte had high expectations, and there was much anticipation in the press.
The Beauty Stone was conceived as a musical drama different in style from the productions that had preceded it at the Savoy Theatre. Sullivan's intention was to create a work halfway between the romantic flights of his grand opera
Ivanhoe
and the familiar humour of the earlier Savoy opera
s. The composer, however, soon found that Carr's lyrics were unwieldy and difficult to set to music. In mid-December 1897, he wrote in his diary that his collaborators were difficult; when he asked for changes in the construction of the piece, they refused to make the alterations. He was forced to involve Helen Carte to mediate the disagreements with his collaborators. Rehearsals began early in April 1898. Moreover, the Savoy was not the best place to produce such a drama, because its audience was used to seeing comic operas focused on wit, humour and Gilbertian satire. To provide them with a romantic piece consisting of pseudo-medieval dialogue and lengthy grand-operatic musical numbers turned out to be a grave mistake. In addition, The Beauty Stone is a very long piece – it played for nearly four hours on opening night; several items were cut soon after opening night. At the same time, competition from the new theatrical art form of George Edwardes
-style musical comedy
produced at other London theatres offered more lighthearted entertainment choices to the Savoy audience.
(349 performances); and A Runaway Girl
(593 performances). The cast of The Beauty Stone included Savoy regulars Walter Passmore
, Rosina Brandram
, Ruth Vincent
, Emmie Owen
and Henry Lytton
. Some of the music is more challenging than the typical Savoy Opera
, and so Sullivan insisted on casting several opera singers, including Covent Garden opera soprano
Pauline Joran
as Saida (at an increased salary), and the size of the chorus was increased. Choreography was by John D'Auban
. Costumes by Percy Anderson
and sets by William Telbin, Jr. (d. 1931) were universally praised by the critics.
Savoy Theatre audiences were not enthusiastic about the piece. "The Savoy is in the minds of the public so essentially identified with a light after-dinner entertainment that romantic opera is not to the taste of its patrons". Reviewers noted that the opera was "mounted with the artistic finish, completeness, and liberality customary at this popular theatre. Sir Arthur has had to deal with a subject differing widely from those which, at the Savoy, his dainty and humorous muse is so thoroughly identified. This, and the inferiority of the lyrics … must be taken into account. … Speaking for ourselves, we confess freely to disappointment." They found it too long, disjointed and dull, disliked the pseudo-archaic dialogue and nearly all condemned the lyrics. They noted its lack of humour and the satire for with Savoy pieces had been famous. A few critics found much to like in the story, and many praised most of the cast (except for Philip and Guntran) and Sullivan's music, or at least some of it.
In The Saturday Review
, Max Beerbohm
wrote, "Lyrics written by gentlemen who have had no experience in the difficult art of writing words for music, and sung in a theatre which one associates with Mr. W. S. Gilbert, are not likely to charm the most amenable audience." He said of Carr and Pinero, "I am sure that the indisputable dulness of their Beauty Stone comes, mainly, from their pseudo-archaic manner." Pinero commented, many years later: "I doubt whether any of us had much faith in The Beauty Stone, as likely to attract the Savoy public in large numbers, but we – Sullivan, Carr and I – did what we wanted to do; and, though it doesn't pay the butcher's bill, there lies the artist's reward. Sullivan disagreed, hoping "that one day The Beauty Stone may be revived, with about half the libretto ruthlessly cut away".
The opera was revived on tour by the Carl Rosa Opera Company
in 1901–02, which drastically cut the dialogue, reducing the running time of the piece to about 2½ hours. When Sullivan died, his autograph scores passed to his nephew, Herbert Sullivan
, and then to Herbert's widow. After her death, the collection was broken up and sold by auction at Sotheby's
in London on 13 June 1966. Some items were sold for considerable sums (the score of Trial by Jury
sold for £9,000), but the manuscript of The Beauty Stone sold for a mere £110 to a dealer and eventually was acquired by the collector Colin Prestige. Upon his death, almost forty years later, the manuscript was bequeathed to Oriel College, Oxford, and in December 2005 scholars from the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society were able to examine the manuscript, along with other Sullivan autograph manuscripts. They discovered, at the back of The Beauty Stone, the items that had been cut after opening night, which were completely unknown to that time. Since then, these items have been performed in concert, although no full professional productions of the opera have been given since Carl Rosa's over a century ago.
The Beauty Stone received its first recording in 1983 by Edinburgh
's The Prince Consort, which was remastered and released by Pearl in 2003.
The scene takes place at the home of Simon Limal, a weaver. It is a sombre, wretched-looking dwelling. Simon and his wife, Joan, sing a duet about their dreary lives. Joan has sent their daughter, Laine, into the town to buy bread and draw water. Simon fears that Laine, who is ugly and crippled, will be mocked by the town folk. On her way home, Laine is accosted by townsfolk, who try to force her to kiss a dwarf. They all burst into Simon's home. Laine's water pitcher is broken, but Jacqueline rescues her from further harm.
Philip, Lord of Mirlemont, has announced a beauty contest, which is to be held in the market-place later that day, and has drawn beautiful girls from many adjoining towns. Laine dreams of getting a close look at the gallant Philip and his companion, Saida, but her mother discourages her. When her parents leave, Laine sings a prayer to the Virgin Mary: she wishes for beauty, so that she can experience love; otherwise, she wishes to die.
The Devil arrives, although she mistakes him for a holy friar. He offers his sympathy, and says that he has an answer to her prayers in the form of a magical stone that confers perfect beauty to anyone who wears it. Laine's parents return. Though initially surprised to find a stranger in their midst, they too believe that the Devil is a holy man. The Devil further explains the stone's magical powers. Simon eagerly accepts the stone and gives it to Laine, who goes to her chamber to put it on. Joan fears that the stone may bring bad luck with it. The Devil explains that he has often given the stone away, but it always comes back. However, all of their doubts are overlooked when Laine re-enters, wondrously beautiful.
Scene 2
In the market-place of Mirlemont, the people of the town gather for the beauty contest. A competitor crowned with lilies enters with her supporters, but most of the townspeople doubt that she will win.
The Devil, now posing as a nobleman, has a letter of introduction to Lord Philip, which he presents to Guntran, Philip's loyal friend. Guntran complains that Philip is distracted by the pursuit of beauty, and is not sufficiently attentive to warfare. The Devil comments that Mirlemont is a more "vastly interesting" place than he had expected. He recruits Jacqueline, disguising her as a boy, Jacques, to serve as his page.
Philip and his entourage enter for the beauty contest. Several maidens vie for his attention, but he is not impressed with any of them. The Devil suggests that, as there is "so little beauty" in Mirlemont, the Prince should instead order the ugliest man, the dwarf Peppin, to marry the ugliest woman. The Burgomaster suggests the weaver's daughter, Laine. The chorus call for Laine, but when she enters, she is now transcendently beautiful. Philip is entranced, but the rest of the townsfolk suspect she is a witch. Philip is convinced that anyone so beautiful must be innocent, and he anoints her as fairest of the fair.
In a hall in Castle Mirlemont, Philip plays cards with a party of knights and ladies. A messenger from the Duke of Burgundy arrives, requesting Philip's presence in battle, but Philip refuses, saying that he is no longer a man of war. Saida, Philip's former favourite, tells the Devil that Laine must be burned at the stake for witchcraft. The Devil advises her that she should instead try to learn for herself the mysterious secret behind Laine's sudden transformation. Saida dances for Philip. She briefly recaptures his attention, but he transfers it immediately to Laine when she enters, now richly dressed in fine robes.
Philip is enchanted by Laine's beauty. She explains that a holy man is responsible for the miracle, but her parents have forbidden her from saying any more. Philip insists that he loves her. She suspects that his attentions are fleeting, but says that she loves him in return. Laine's elderly parents, Simon and Joan, arrive at the castle, seeking to join their daughter. The Devil tells Philip that he will get rid of them, and he leads them away. He has guards beat them and drive them from the castle. Doubting Philip's honour, Laine asks to leave, but Philip locks the doors. Laine begs to be released, saying that she no longer wishes to be beautiful. Philip relents, and she rushes out. Encouraged by the Devil, Saida follows her, hoping to acquire Laine's magical beauty.
Knights en route to battle arrive at Philip's castle for a brief rest, but Philip refuses to greet them. Guntran is disgusted at Philip's lack of interest, recalling heroic deeds of Philip's youth. The knights urge Philip to join the battle, and when he refuses, Guntran names Philip as a coward. Stirred by this, Philip changes his mind and says that he will join the battle after all.
Scene 2
Back in the weaver's home, Joan and Simon have escaped the ruffians that chased them from Philip's castle. Laine returns. She is still in her rich clothes, but she has decided to relinquish the stone that has made her beautiful. She removes it from her neck, throws it on the ground, and hurries into her bed-chamber.
Joan and Simon debate what to do with the stone. Joan fears that it brings evil to those to wear it, but she puts the stone around Simon's neck. He is transformed into a handsome, younger man. Saida and the Devil arrive, looking for the stone. When they see Simon, the Devil realizes what has happened. He encourages Saida to seduce him, so that she may gain the stone for herself.
Scene 3
In an open field near the Gate of Mirlemont, the Devil interrogates Jacqueline, whom he has directed to spy on Simon and Saida. She says that she observed the two of them walking arm in arm in a meadow, with Saida trying desperately, but unsuccessfully, to coax the secret from him. When Saida arrives, the Devil encourages her to take Simon to the castle and continue her seduction. While Simon and Saida are together, they encounter Joan and Laine, but he will have nothing to do with them.
To the sound of trumpets, Philip enters, dressed for battle. He announces that he has wearied of beauty, and is going to war. Joan and Laine beg Philip to intercede with Saida, whom they believe has abducted Simon. Philip dismisses their tale as gossip, and does not recognize Laine, who is once again ugly and crippled. The townsfolk raise Philip on their shoulders, and they go off to battle, leaving Laine trampled and senseless.
On a terrace in the castle, with the voice of Laine heard singing dolefully in the distance, Saida enters with Simon. He is enchanted with her, but he is still unwilling to confess the secret. When he hears Laine singing again, he is overcome with guilt. A servant announces that Philip has been victorious in battle. Simon presumes that he will be expelled from the castle, but Saida promises to keep him there. At last, Simon tells her the secret of the stone.
The Devil enters with Jacqueline. He frets that Saida needs to extract the stone from Simon before Lord Philip returns. In the meantime, he orders Jacqueline to sing a song. When she admits that she is in love with him, he dismisses her from service, saying that she is no longer of any use. Saida comes in and stands boldly facing the Devil; having taken the stone from Simon, she is now restored to youthful beauty. After she sings a triumphant aria, Simon follows, once again a bent old man. She crassly orders him to leave, and the Devil threatens him with a charge of witchcraft should he complain.
Philip and Guntran return from the war. Philip has fought heroically, but has lost his eyesight, and is now blind. Although Saida is now the most beautiful maid in Mirlemont, he is unable to see her. Laine's voice is heard once again outside, and Philip asks to speak with her. Saida warns that she is a cripple once again, but Philip replies that her soul is beautiful. The defeated Saida throws the stone away, and the Devil picks it up, noting ruefully that the stone always comes back.
Scene 2
At the market-place, the townsfolk assemble once again to greet the victorious Philip. Simon, who is once again dressed in rags, is reunited with Joan. Jacqueline enters in a daze and runs into the Devil, who is once again dressed as a holy friar. She has no memory of her week of service to the Devil, and she asks for the friar's blessing.
Philip enters and announces that he has chosen Laine, "the humblest among you," as his betrothed. "Though heaven hath set a veil upon these eyes," he says, "love's one star ... Shows clear the way that leads me to thy heart." The Devil quits the town, disappointed that his joke did not turn out as he had intended.
Scene 1
Scene 2
Act II
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Act III
Scene 1
Scene 2
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, billed as a "romantic musical drama" in three acts, composed by Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
to a libretto by Arthur Wing Pinero
Arthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
and J. Comyns Carr
J. Comyns Carr
Joseph William Comyns Carr was an English drama and art critic, gallery director, author, poet, playwright and theatre manager....
. The medieval Faustian story concerns an ugly, crippled girl, who dreams of being beautiful and meeting a handsome prince. The Devil offers her a magical stone that confers perfect beauty to anyone who wears it. The stone is passed from one character to another, but eventually the prince recognizes the girl's beautiful soul, the stone is discarded, and the disappointed Devil leaves the town.
It premiered at 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,...
on 28 May 1898, closing on 16 July 1898 after a run of just 50 performances, making it the least successful of Sullivan's operas. Reviewers criticised the lyrics and lengthy dialogue scenes and the lack of humour in the story. Savoy audiences, accustomed to more comic and satiric pieces, did not find the opera attractive. The cast of The Beauty Stone included Savoy regulars Walter Passmore
Walter Passmore
Walter Henry Passmore was an English singer and actor best known as the first successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
, Rosina Brandram
Rosina Brandram
Rosina Brandram was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for creating many of the contralto roles in the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
, Ruth Vincent
Ruth Vincent
Ruth Vincent was an English opera singer and actress, best remembered for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1890s and her roles in the West End during the first decade of the 20th century, particularly her role as Sophia in Tom...
, Emmie Owen
Emmie Owen
Emmie Owen was an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company...
and Henry Lytton
Henry Lytton
Sir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century...
, as well as opera singer Pauline Joran
Pauline Joran
Pauline Joran was an American-born opera singer and violinist. She was the wife of William Ernest Bush, the first and last Baron de Bush, and mother of Paulise de Bush, the "Baby Baroness"...
.
The opera was revived by the Carl Rosa Opera Company
Carl Rosa Opera Company
The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl August Nicholas Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company survived Rosa's death in 1889, and continued to present opera in English on tour until 1960, when it was...
in 1901–02 on tour in a cut version.
Background
When the Gilbert and SullivanGilbert 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...
partnership collapsed after the production of The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances , closing on 30 June 1891...
in 1889, their producer 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...
struggled to find successful new works to show at 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,...
. Carte produced Sullivan's grand opera, Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe (opera)
Ivanhoe is a romantic opera in three acts based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott, with music by Sir Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Julian Sturgis. It premiered at the Royal English Opera House on 31 January 1891 for a consecutive run of 155 performances, unheard of for a grand opera...
at another theatre, and afterwards, he turned to Sullivan to create more comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
s for the Savoy. With Sydney Grundy
Sydney Grundy
Sydney Grundy was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world...
, Sullivan wrote the nostalgic and sentimental Haddon Hall
Haddon Hall
Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye at Bakewell, Derbyshire, one of the seats of the Duke of Rutland, occupied by Lord Edward Manners and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it has been described as "the most complete and most interesting house of [its]...
(1892) then, reunited with W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
, he produced Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a run of 245 performances...
(1893). He next returned, with his earlier collaborator F. C. Burnand, with The Chieftain
The Chieftain
The Chieftain is a two-act comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and F. C. Burnand based on their 1867 opera, The Contrabandista. It consists of substantially the same first act as the 1867 work with a completely new second act...
(1894) and collaborated for the last time with Gilbert on The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel, is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on March 7, 1896, and ran for 123 performances...
(1896). None of these had proved to be more than modestly successful, and Carte's other new pieces for the Savoy in the 1890s had done no better. Following the success of Sullivan's ballet Victoria and Merrie England
Victoria and Merrie England
Victoria and Merrie England is an 1897 ballet by Arthur Sullivan, written to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee – a remarkable sixty years on the throne. The ballet became very popular and ran for nearly six months.-Background:...
in 1897, Carte asked Sullivan to work on another new opera for the Savoy.
Carte assembled a high quality team for The Beauty Stone, hoping for a hit. J. Comyns Carr
J. Comyns Carr
Joseph William Comyns Carr was an English drama and art critic, gallery director, author, poet, playwright and theatre manager....
had earlier written the text for Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
's grand production of the King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
legend, for which Sullivan had provided the incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
score in 1895. Sullivan had in the past considered the idea of an opera on the same subject and was pleased when Carr offered him a similarly romantic work with a medieval setting. The eponymous beauty stone was a magical item that would transform its holder's appearance but would have unanticipated consequences. Sullivan seemed not to notice that this major element of the plot was simply a variant of the "magic lozenge" plot that Gilbert had so often proposed to the composer, and that he had repeatedly rejected. A. W. Pinero was at the height of his career in 1898, having produced several enduring successes in the 1890s, including The Second Mrs. Tanqueray (1893) and The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith
The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith
The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith is a play by Sir Arthur Wing Pinero. It was first produced on 13 March 1895, with Mrs Patrick Campbell playing the lead role of Agnes Ebbsmith. The theme of the play is social radicalism...
(1895), and the same year as The Beauty Stone he would produce Trelawny of the 'Wells'
Trelawny of the 'Wells'
Trelawny of the 'Wells' is an 1898 comic play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It tells the story of a theatre star who attempts to give up the stage for love, but is unable to fit into conventional society.-Synopsis:...
(1898). One of the most important, prolific and popular British playwrights, Pinero was later knighted for his services to dramatic authorship. Carr conceived of the basic idea of the libretto, that true beauty is an inner quality. Carr confined himself to writing the lyrics, however, and Pinero was brought in to work out the plot and write the dialogue. Having brought together three such eminent talents, Carte had high expectations, and there was much anticipation in the press.
The Beauty Stone was conceived as a musical drama different in style from the productions that had preceded it at the Savoy Theatre. Sullivan's intention was to create a work halfway between the romantic flights of his grand opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe is a historical fiction novel by Sir Walter Scott in 1819, and set in 12th-century England. Ivanhoe is sometimes credited for increasing interest in Romanticism and Medievalism; John Henry Newman claimed Scott "had first turned men's minds in the direction of the middle ages," while...
and the familiar humour of the earlier Savoy opera
Savoy opera
The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
s. The composer, however, soon found that Carr's lyrics were unwieldy and difficult to set to music. In mid-December 1897, he wrote in his diary that his collaborators were difficult; when he asked for changes in the construction of the piece, they refused to make the alterations. He was forced to involve Helen Carte to mediate the disagreements with his collaborators. Rehearsals began early in April 1898. Moreover, the Savoy was not the best place to produce such a drama, because its audience was used to seeing comic operas focused on wit, humour and Gilbertian satire. To provide them with a romantic piece consisting of pseudo-medieval dialogue and lengthy grand-operatic musical numbers turned out to be a grave mistake. In addition, The Beauty Stone is a very long piece – it played for nearly four hours on opening night; several items were cut soon after opening night. At the same time, competition from the new theatrical art form of George Edwardes
George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
-style musical comedy
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
produced at other London theatres offered more lighthearted entertainment choices to the Savoy audience.
Production, reception and aftermath
The Beauty Stone premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 28 May 1898. Sullivan conducted the premiere, as he always did with his operas. It closed on 16 July 1898 after a run of just 50 performances, making it the least successful of Sullivan's operas. In contrast, the most successful shows that opened in London in 1898 had far longer runs: The Belle of New York (697 performances); A Greek SlaveA Greek Slave
A Greek Slave is a musical comedy in two acts, first performed on 8 June 1898 at Daly's Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes and ran for 349 performances. The score was composed by Sidney Jones with additional songs by Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Harry Greenbank and Adrian Ross. The...
(349 performances); and A Runaway Girl
A Runaway Girl
A Runaway Girl is a musical comedy in two acts written in 1898 by Seymour Hicks and Harry Nicholls. The composer was Ivan Caryll, with additional music by Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Aubrey Hopwood and Harry Greenbank...
(593 performances). The cast of The Beauty Stone included Savoy regulars Walter Passmore
Walter Passmore
Walter Henry Passmore was an English singer and actor best known as the first successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
, Rosina Brandram
Rosina Brandram
Rosina Brandram was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for creating many of the contralto roles in the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
, Ruth Vincent
Ruth Vincent
Ruth Vincent was an English opera singer and actress, best remembered for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1890s and her roles in the West End during the first decade of the 20th century, particularly her role as Sophia in Tom...
, Emmie Owen
Emmie Owen
Emmie Owen was an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company...
and Henry Lytton
Henry Lytton
Sir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century...
. Some of the music is more challenging than the typical Savoy Opera
Savoy opera
The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
, and so Sullivan insisted on casting several opera singers, including Covent Garden opera soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Pauline Joran
Pauline Joran
Pauline Joran was an American-born opera singer and violinist. She was the wife of William Ernest Bush, the first and last Baron de Bush, and mother of Paulise de Bush, the "Baby Baroness"...
as Saida (at an increased salary), and the size of the chorus was increased. Choreography was by John D'Auban
John D'Auban
Frederick John D'Auban was an English dancer, choreographer and actor of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Famous during his lifetime as the ballet-master at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, he is best remembered as the choreographer of many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.After performing as a...
. Costumes by Percy Anderson
Percy Anderson
Percy Anderson was an English stage designer and painter, best known for his work for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree's company at His Majesty’s Theatre and Edwardian musical comedies.-Life and career:...
and sets by William Telbin, Jr. (d. 1931) were universally praised by the critics.
Savoy Theatre audiences were not enthusiastic about the piece. "The Savoy is in the minds of the public so essentially identified with a light after-dinner entertainment that romantic opera is not to the taste of its patrons". Reviewers noted that the opera was "mounted with the artistic finish, completeness, and liberality customary at this popular theatre. Sir Arthur has had to deal with a subject differing widely from those which, at the Savoy, his dainty and humorous muse is so thoroughly identified. This, and the inferiority of the lyrics … must be taken into account. … Speaking for ourselves, we confess freely to disappointment." They found it too long, disjointed and dull, disliked the pseudo-archaic dialogue and nearly all condemned the lyrics. They noted its lack of humour and the satire for with Savoy pieces had been famous. A few critics found much to like in the story, and many praised most of the cast (except for Philip and Guntran) and Sullivan's music, or at least some of it.
In The Saturday Review
Saturday Review (London)
The Saturday Review of politics, literature, science, and art was a London weekly newspaper established by A. J. B. Beresford Hope in 1855....
, Max Beerbohm
Max Beerbohm
Sir Henry Maximilian "Max" Beerbohm was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist best known today for his 1911 novel Zuleika Dobson.-Early life:...
wrote, "Lyrics written by gentlemen who have had no experience in the difficult art of writing words for music, and sung in a theatre which one associates with Mr. W. S. Gilbert, are not likely to charm the most amenable audience." He said of Carr and Pinero, "I am sure that the indisputable dulness of their Beauty Stone comes, mainly, from their pseudo-archaic manner." Pinero commented, many years later: "I doubt whether any of us had much faith in The Beauty Stone, as likely to attract the Savoy public in large numbers, but we – Sullivan, Carr and I – did what we wanted to do; and, though it doesn't pay the butcher's bill, there lies the artist's reward. Sullivan disagreed, hoping "that one day The Beauty Stone may be revived, with about half the libretto ruthlessly cut away".
The opera was revived on tour by the Carl Rosa Opera Company
Carl Rosa Opera Company
The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl August Nicholas Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company survived Rosa's death in 1889, and continued to present opera in English on tour until 1960, when it was...
in 1901–02, which drastically cut the dialogue, reducing the running time of the piece to about 2½ hours. When Sullivan died, his autograph scores passed to his nephew, Herbert Sullivan
Herbert Sullivan
Herbert Thomas Sullivan was the nephew, heir and biographer of the British composer Arthur Sullivan. After his uncle's death, Sullivan became active in charitable work...
, and then to Herbert's widow. After her death, the collection was broken up and sold by auction at Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
in London on 13 June 1966. Some items were sold for considerable sums (the score of Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury
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...
sold for £9,000), but the manuscript of The Beauty Stone sold for a mere £110 to a dealer and eventually was acquired by the collector Colin Prestige. Upon his death, almost forty years later, the manuscript was bequeathed to Oriel College, Oxford, and in December 2005 scholars from the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society were able to examine the manuscript, along with other Sullivan autograph manuscripts. They discovered, at the back of The Beauty Stone, the items that had been cut after opening night, which were completely unknown to that time. Since then, these items have been performed in concert, although no full professional productions of the opera have been given since Carl Rosa's over a century ago.
The Beauty Stone received its first recording in 1983 by Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
's The Prince Consort, which was remastered and released by Pearl in 2003.
Roles and original cast
- Philip, Lord of Mirlemont (tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) – George Devoll - Guntran of Beaugrant (baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
) – Edwin Isham - Simon Limal (a Weaver) (baritone) – Henry LyttonHenry LyttonSir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century...
- Nicholas Dircks (Burgomaster of Mirlemont) (bass-baritoneBass-baritoneA bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
) – Jones HewsonJones HewsonJohn Jones Hewson , credited as Jones Hewson, was a Welsh singer and actor known for his creation and portrayal of baritone roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1896 to 1901.... - Peppin (a dwarf) (non-singing) – D'Arcy Kelway
- A Seneschal (non-singing) – Leonard Russell
- A Lad of the Town (non-singing) – Charles Childerstone
- Baldwyn of Ath (non-singing) – J. W. Foster
- The Lords of Serault (tenor), Velaines (baritone) and St. Sauveur (bass) – Cory James, N. Gordon and J. Ruff
- The Devil (baritone) – Walter PassmoreWalter PassmoreWalter Henry Passmore was an English singer and actor best known as the first successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
- Laine (the Weaver's daughter) (sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
) – Ruth VincentRuth VincentRuth Vincent was an English opera singer and actress, best remembered for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1890s and her roles in the West End during the first decade of the 20th century, particularly her role as Sophia in Tom... - Joan (the Weaver's wife) (contraltoContraltoContralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
) – Rosina BrandramRosina BrandramRosina Brandram was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for creating many of the contralto roles in the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.... - Jacqueline (mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
) – Emmie OwenEmmie OwenEmmie Owen was an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company... - Loyse, from St. Denis (soprano) – Madge Moyse
- Isabeau, from Florennes (mezzo-soprano) – Minnie Pryce
- Blanche, from Bovigny (mezzo-soprano) – Ethel Jackson
- A Shrewish Girl (non-singing) – Mildred Baker
- A Matron (non-singing) – Ethel Wilson
- Saida (soprano) – Pauline JoranPauline JoranPauline Joran was an American-born opera singer and violinist. She was the wife of William Ernest Bush, the first and last Baron de Bush, and mother of Paulise de Bush, the "Baby Baroness"...
Synopsis
The story is laid in the Flemish town of Mirlemont in the beginning of the 15th century.Act I
Scene 1Philip, Lord of Mirlemont, has announced a beauty contest, which is to be held in the market-place later that day, and has drawn beautiful girls from many adjoining towns. Laine dreams of getting a close look at the gallant Philip and his companion, Saida, but her mother discourages her. When her parents leave, Laine sings a prayer to the Virgin Mary: she wishes for beauty, so that she can experience love; otherwise, she wishes to die.
The Devil arrives, although she mistakes him for a holy friar. He offers his sympathy, and says that he has an answer to her prayers in the form of a magical stone that confers perfect beauty to anyone who wears it. Laine's parents return. Though initially surprised to find a stranger in their midst, they too believe that the Devil is a holy man. The Devil further explains the stone's magical powers. Simon eagerly accepts the stone and gives it to Laine, who goes to her chamber to put it on. Joan fears that the stone may bring bad luck with it. The Devil explains that he has often given the stone away, but it always comes back. However, all of their doubts are overlooked when Laine re-enters, wondrously beautiful.
Scene 2
In the market-place of Mirlemont, the people of the town gather for the beauty contest. A competitor crowned with lilies enters with her supporters, but most of the townspeople doubt that she will win.
Philip and his entourage enter for the beauty contest. Several maidens vie for his attention, but he is not impressed with any of them. The Devil suggests that, as there is "so little beauty" in Mirlemont, the Prince should instead order the ugliest man, the dwarf Peppin, to marry the ugliest woman. The Burgomaster suggests the weaver's daughter, Laine. The chorus call for Laine, but when she enters, she is now transcendently beautiful. Philip is entranced, but the rest of the townsfolk suspect she is a witch. Philip is convinced that anyone so beautiful must be innocent, and he anoints her as fairest of the fair.
Act II
Scene 1In a hall in Castle Mirlemont, Philip plays cards with a party of knights and ladies. A messenger from the Duke of Burgundy arrives, requesting Philip's presence in battle, but Philip refuses, saying that he is no longer a man of war. Saida, Philip's former favourite, tells the Devil that Laine must be burned at the stake for witchcraft. The Devil advises her that she should instead try to learn for herself the mysterious secret behind Laine's sudden transformation. Saida dances for Philip. She briefly recaptures his attention, but he transfers it immediately to Laine when she enters, now richly dressed in fine robes.
Philip is enchanted by Laine's beauty. She explains that a holy man is responsible for the miracle, but her parents have forbidden her from saying any more. Philip insists that he loves her. She suspects that his attentions are fleeting, but says that she loves him in return. Laine's elderly parents, Simon and Joan, arrive at the castle, seeking to join their daughter. The Devil tells Philip that he will get rid of them, and he leads them away. He has guards beat them and drive them from the castle. Doubting Philip's honour, Laine asks to leave, but Philip locks the doors. Laine begs to be released, saying that she no longer wishes to be beautiful. Philip relents, and she rushes out. Encouraged by the Devil, Saida follows her, hoping to acquire Laine's magical beauty.
Knights en route to battle arrive at Philip's castle for a brief rest, but Philip refuses to greet them. Guntran is disgusted at Philip's lack of interest, recalling heroic deeds of Philip's youth. The knights urge Philip to join the battle, and when he refuses, Guntran names Philip as a coward. Stirred by this, Philip changes his mind and says that he will join the battle after all.
Scene 2
Back in the weaver's home, Joan and Simon have escaped the ruffians that chased them from Philip's castle. Laine returns. She is still in her rich clothes, but she has decided to relinquish the stone that has made her beautiful. She removes it from her neck, throws it on the ground, and hurries into her bed-chamber.
Scene 3
In an open field near the Gate of Mirlemont, the Devil interrogates Jacqueline, whom he has directed to spy on Simon and Saida. She says that she observed the two of them walking arm in arm in a meadow, with Saida trying desperately, but unsuccessfully, to coax the secret from him. When Saida arrives, the Devil encourages her to take Simon to the castle and continue her seduction. While Simon and Saida are together, they encounter Joan and Laine, but he will have nothing to do with them.
To the sound of trumpets, Philip enters, dressed for battle. He announces that he has wearied of beauty, and is going to war. Joan and Laine beg Philip to intercede with Saida, whom they believe has abducted Simon. Philip dismisses their tale as gossip, and does not recognize Laine, who is once again ugly and crippled. The townsfolk raise Philip on their shoulders, and they go off to battle, leaving Laine trampled and senseless.
Act III
Scene 1On a terrace in the castle, with the voice of Laine heard singing dolefully in the distance, Saida enters with Simon. He is enchanted with her, but he is still unwilling to confess the secret. When he hears Laine singing again, he is overcome with guilt. A servant announces that Philip has been victorious in battle. Simon presumes that he will be expelled from the castle, but Saida promises to keep him there. At last, Simon tells her the secret of the stone.
The Devil enters with Jacqueline. He frets that Saida needs to extract the stone from Simon before Lord Philip returns. In the meantime, he orders Jacqueline to sing a song. When she admits that she is in love with him, he dismisses her from service, saying that she is no longer of any use. Saida comes in and stands boldly facing the Devil; having taken the stone from Simon, she is now restored to youthful beauty. After she sings a triumphant aria, Simon follows, once again a bent old man. She crassly orders him to leave, and the Devil threatens him with a charge of witchcraft should he complain.
Philip and Guntran return from the war. Philip has fought heroically, but has lost his eyesight, and is now blind. Although Saida is now the most beautiful maid in Mirlemont, he is unable to see her. Laine's voice is heard once again outside, and Philip asks to speak with her. Saida warns that she is a cripple once again, but Philip replies that her soul is beautiful. The defeated Saida throws the stone away, and the Devil picks it up, noting ruefully that the stone always comes back.
Scene 2
At the market-place, the townsfolk assemble once again to greet the victorious Philip. Simon, who is once again dressed in rags, is reunited with Joan. Jacqueline enters in a daze and runs into the Devil, who is once again dressed as a holy friar. She has no memory of her week of service to the Devil, and she asks for the friar's blessing.
Philip enters and announces that he has chosen Laine, "the humblest among you," as his betrothed. "Though heaven hath set a veil upon these eyes," he says, "love's one star ... Shows clear the way that leads me to thy heart." The Devil quits the town, disappointed that his joke did not turn out as he had intended.
Musical numbers
Act I- Introduction
Scene 1
- No 1 - Click, clack - Duet - Simon and Joan
- No 2 - Hobble, hobble, and now we've caught her - Simon, Joan, Chorus
- No 2a - Maidens and men of Mirlemont town - Soprano chorus
- No 3 - Dear Mary Mother - Prayer - Laine
- No 4 - Who stands within? - Quartet (Laine, Joan, Simon, The Devil)
- No 5 - Since it dwelt in that rock - Recit and Song - The Devil
Scene 2
- No 6 - The bells are ringing o'er Mirlemont Town - Chorus
- No 7 - My Name is Crazy Jacqueline - Jacqueline, The Devil
- No 7a - Entrance of the Burgomaster and Crowd - Chorus
- No 8 - Songs of the Competitors
- No 9 - Finale Act I
- - Go, Bring Forth Old Simon's Daughter - Company
- - O turn thine eyes away - Saida (Note: The melody of this song is used in the 1971 ballet film1971 in filmThe year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
, The Tales of Beatrix PotterThe Tales of Beatrix PotterTales of Beatrix Potter is a 1971 ballet film with a plot based on the children's stories of English author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. The film was directed by Reginald Mills, choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton , and starred artists of the Royal Ballet...
)
Act II
Scene 1
- No 10 - With cards and dice - Chorus
- No 10a - Lute music
- No 11 - Though she should dance - Scene with Eastern Maidens - Saida, Philip, Chorus
- No 12 - I Love Thee - Duet - Laine and Philip
- No 13 - I'll tell them what thou wast - Laine, Saida, Philip, The Devil, Guntran, Three Lords, Chorus of Men
Scene 2
- No 14 - Look Yon - Laine, Joan, Simon
- No 15 - I would see a maid - Simon and Joan
- No 16 - Haste thee! haste thee! - Simon, Joan, Saida, Laine, The Devil
Scene 3
- No 17 - Up and Down - Jacqueline, The Devil
- No 18 - Finale Act II - There He Stands - Company
Act III
Scene 1
- No 19 Part 1- An hour agone 'twas the moon that shone - Laine
- No 19 Part 2 - The White Moon Lay on the Ruined Hay - Laine
- No 20 - Why dost thou sigh and moan? - Jacqueline
- No 21 - Mine, mine at last! - Saida
- No 21a - Offstage Song - With roses red they crowned her head - Laine
- No 22 - So all is lost for ever! - Scena - Saida and the Devil
Scene 2
- No 23 - O'er Mirlemont City the banners - Chorus and Dance
- No 24 - Finale Act III - Hail to the lord of our land - Company
Further reading
- Bernasconi, John G. (ed). The Beauty Stone: Percy Anderson’s Costume Designs for the 1898 D’Oyly Carte production of Sullivan’s opera, at the Savoy Theatre, University of Hull Art Collection Exhibition Catalogue, 26 October – 20 November 1992.
- Bridgeman, Cunningham and François Cellier. Gilbert, Sullivan, and D’Oyly Carte. 2nd Ed. London: Pitman & Sons, 1927.
- Dunhill, Thomas F. Sullivan’s Comic Operas. London: Edward Arnold and Co., 1928.
- Eden, David. The Beauty Stone. Sir Arthur Sullivan Society magazine, No 13, Autumn 1982.
- Hyman, Alan. Sullivan and his Satellites: A Survey of English Operettas 1800–1914. London: Chappell & Co. Limited, 1978.
- Joseph, Tony. The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company 1875 – 1982. Bristol: Bunthorne Books, 1994.
- Sullivan, Herbert and Newman Flower. Sir Arthur Sullivan. London: Cassell & Company, Ltd, 1927.
- Wearing, J. P. (ed). The Collected Letters of Sir Arthur Pinero. Minneapolis: University of Minneapolis Press, 1974.
- Young, Percy. Sir Arthur Sullivan. London: J M Dent & Sons, 1971.