Princess Ida is a
comic opera with music by
Arthur Sullivan and a
libretto by
W. S. Gilbert. It was
Gilbert and Sullivan's eighth operatic collaboration, preceding
The Mikado.
Princess Ida opened at the
Savoy Theatre in 1884 and ran for 246 performances. Based on the narrative poem
The Princess by
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the opera concerns a princess who founds a women's university and teaches that women are superior to men and should rule in their stead. Prince Hilarion, to whom she had been betrothed, sneaks into the university, and a war erupts between the two sexes.
Princess Ida satirizes feminism, women's education and Darwinian evolution, controversial topics in conservative
Victorian England.
Princess Ida was only a modest success, and after its initial run, it was not revived in London until 1919. Nevertheless, the piece is performed regularly today by both professional and amateur companies. This watercolour-and-pencil-on-card image by
C. Wilhelm shows his costume design for the characters of Arac, Guron and Scynthius in the 1884 production of
Princess Ida.
Costume design credit: C. Wilhelm; restored by Adam Cuerden
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