The Gondoliers
or
The King of Barataria
Book by W. S. Gilbert
Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan
Performances at
Good Shepherd Parish House
June 2, 4 and 6, 1959
(Saturday performance sponsored by Nashua Council of Girl Scouts, Inc.)
On-Line program is here! Please support our sponsors !
RESUME OF “THE GONDOLIERS”
A chorus of contadine (peasant girls) are awaiting the arrival of the two leading gondoliers- -Marco and Giuseppe, to come and choose their brides. By a sort of blindman’s buff they choose Tessa and Gianetta. Meanwhile, the Duke of Plaza Toro and suite have arrived in Venice. The Duke tells his daughter, Casilda about her childhood marriage to the infant heir to the throne of Barataria; (the heir disappeared shortly after this, supposedly abducted to Venice by the Grand Inquisitor, Don Alhambra). Thus the royal suite have come in search of the heir for Casilda to marry and thus make her a queen. Luiz (the drummer boy) and Casilda are in love (unknown to her parents) and because of her royal background, they renounce their love. The Grand Inquisitor appears and tells that the heir to the throne is either Marco or Giuseppe, he is not sure which. He will send for the nursemaid who took care of the infant and she will be able to tell which is which. In the meanwhile the two gondoliers are to go to Barataria and rule jointly, until the matter is straightened out.
ACT II
Marco and Giuseppe are ruling jointly, but without their wives- -until the Grand Inquisitor is sure which one will be the queen. The whole realm, under the new rule of the gondoliers, is quite happy. The scene is interrupted by the sudden appearance of the contadine, who could stand it in Venice no longer without their husbands. Happiness reigns supreme and a cachucha is danced. The scene is dimmed somewhat by the appearance of Don Alhambra who points out the great weakness of the gondoliers’ government. He is further annoyed when he finds Tessa and Gianetta here in Barataria ahead of him. He informs the four of the infant marriage and Tessa and Gianetta are quite saddened by the story and its coming effect on them. Since neither of them is to be a queen, and one is not married really at all, they leave most despondently. To further dampen the scene, the Duke of Plaza Toro enters and finds more fault with the gondoliers’ court. He tries to teach them some court etiquette. Finally the old nurse, Inez, arrives and discloses that neither Marco nor Giuseppe is the heir, but Luiz. Thus Casilda is reunited with the man she really loves, and the contadine and gondoliers return to their happiness in Venice!
Synopsis of Scenes
ACT I — The Piazzetta, Venice
ACT II — Pavilion in the Palace of Barataria
(An interval of three months is supposed to elapse between Acts I and II)
DATE — 1750
