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Synopsis
Act 1, An Arcadian Landscape
According to law, Iolanthe's crime-that
of marrying a mortal-should have been punished by death. The Fairy Queen,
rather than let so dire a punishment be visited on a beloved fairy, banished
Iolanthe.
The fairies beg the Queen to restore Iolanthe to them, and the Queen summons
her and asks why she chose to live at the bottom of a stream. Iolanthe replies
that she wished to be near her son, Strephon, who was born shortly after her banishment.
Strephon arrives and tells Iolanthe that he intends to marry Phyllis, even
though The Lord Chancellor, whose ward she is, withholds his consent.
Phyllis enters and recalls that the punishment for marrying a ward of Chancery
without consent is life in prison.
The Lords who approach now have petitioned the Chancellor to bestow her upon
whichever one she will select.
The Lord Chancellor is himself so attracted by the girl that he is wasting away. If he were to award her to himself, his action might be wrongly
interpreted and he waives all claims for himself.
The Lord Chancellor asks Strephon how he dares disobey an order of the Court of Chancery. Strephon replies that he knows
only Nature's acts of parliament, and since he loves Phyllis, Nature has commanded that he marry her.
His pleas are in vain and the Lord Chancellor
rushes away, leaving Strephon in tears at his fate.
Iolanthe enters and says she will seek help from the Fairy Queen. Lords Mountararat and Tolloller lead Phyllis in, who listens in horror. Phyllis rushes
forward and reveals herself.
Iolanthe and Strephon are much confused. Strephon's claim that Iolanthe is his mother is laughed at, and Phyllis believes him unfaithful.
Phyllis is distressed, and gives her heart to one of two Lords. Strephon calls the Fairies to his aid.
The Peers and Lord Chancellor attempt to dismiss them but the daring Fairy Queen will not budge until she has pronounced sentence on their stupidity.
She threatens them and tells them their fate. Strephon shall be sent to Parliament, and every bill he wishes shall be passed by magic. But the Peers are defiant...
Act 2, Palace yard, Westminster. Private Willis muses upon politics and it's stupidity. The fairies enter, singing of the mischief Strephon has caused in parliament.
Meanwhile the peers are upset because Strephon is about to carry his bill to throw the peerage open to competitive examination.
Lord's Mountararat and Tolloller remain with the fairies to plead with them to stop
their mischief. The latter refuse, although Leila and Celia have been much attracted by the peers. The Fairy Queen enters and scolds the fairies for their faithlessness to the fairy law,
reminding them of the death penalty for those who marry a mortal. The Queen admits that she herself is not insensible to the effect of manly beauty. The fairies go away sorrowfully, lead by the Fairy Queen.
Phyllis enters in tears, for she finds herself engaged to two noblemen at once, neither of whom she loves. Strephon explains to Phyllis that he is only half mortal.
She bursts into tears, saying that she would rather have half a mortal she loves than half a dozen that she does not love. They agree to get married at once.
Iolanthe enters and they ask her to intercede for them with the Lord Chancellor.
He also arrives on the scene, exulting that he has at last succeeded in persuading himself to give his consent to his marriage with Phyllis!
The young people withdraw, and Iolanthe appeals to the Chancellor.
The plot begins to clear. The peers and Strephon enter. The queen threatens Iolanthe with death. The Lord Chancellor and Strephon implore her mercy. Leila and Celia rush forward. Leila cries "hold! If Iolanthe must die,
so must we all, for as she has sinned, so have we". And so it is revealed that all the fairies have now married peers. The Queen is forced to admit that she cannot "slaughter the whole company". Yet, she says as she unrolls a scroll,
the law is clear: Every fairy must die who marries a mortal! The Lord Chancellor, with his keen legal mind, is equal to the emergency....
Producer Mike Simpson
Musical Director Mike Crofts
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