Iolanthe

Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri [1] is a 1882 comic opera by W.S. Gilbert (1836–1911)[2] and Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900)[3]

The original text

It is one of the so-called Savoy Operas.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1882-3: Performed for the first time in South Africa in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town, by Mabel Hayes and her company, with vocal work supervised by Henry Harper, as part of a season that not only included the premieres of two more comic operas - Manteaux Noirs (Parke and Paulyon) and Olivette (Farnie) - but also a range of plays.

1893: Performed in the Opera House Cape Town by the Lyric Opera Company, as part of their repertoire while touring the country at the time.

1902-3: Performed in South Africa by the visiting D'Oyly Carte Opera Company as part of their repertoire of Gilbert and Sullivan works, presented over the course of two seasons.

Staged by the Port Elizabeth Gilbert & Sullivan Society in 1932, 1937, 1939, 1945 and 1956.

Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society in 1949, 1953, 1958, 1964, 1971, 1976, 1987, 1998 and 2004.

2004: Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society in the Maynardville Open-air Theatre, directed by Helen Houghton, with Ian Kirkwood (The Lord Chancellor), Simon Speck (Earl of Mountararat), Lance Kotze (Earl of Tolloller), Peter Kramer (Pvt Willis), Niel Roux (Strephon), Rita Zmuro (Queen of Fairies), Fiona Weir (Iolanthe), Sian Atterbury (Celia), Lorna Hansen (Leila), Charlene Persence (Fleta), Annette Hamilton (Phyllis) and others. Musical direction by Ivan Meredith and choreography by Zeff Anderson-Attieh.

Sources

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iolanthe)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._S._Gilbert

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Sullivan

Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society theatre programme (undated).

D.C. Boonzaier. 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1923. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 375, 389-390, 410-411,

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