CHARACTERS:
This opera satirizes snobbery at all levels of society, from the gondoliers up through the nobility. The two groups of characters which represent these two levels do not appear together on stage until almost the end of the opera. 1) The gondoliers and contadine and 2) The Duke, Duchess, Casilda and Luiz. Don Alhambra connects the two, acting with each group in turn.

An unusual feature of The Gondoliers is that fact that there are so many big and equal parts. One of the D'Oyly Carte stalwarts, Jesse Bond reports that they were the most important players. Gilbert decided to make all the parts equal, except for Inez, and emphasized this with the line in the Act I finale, "They all shall equal be".

Marco and Giuseppe: These two young men think of themselves as republicans, hate kings and believe all people are equal. When they find out that one of them might actually be a king they change their tune somewhat. However, when they start to rule they continue their ideas of equality in a very unusual court where they are the servants of their underlings. For more see Songs.

Tessa and Gianetta: Happy as peasants, they however, embrace the idea that one is a queen with all of a queens possessions and perks. This is in contrast to their husband who continue their plebeian activities. For more see Songs

Duke of Plaza-Toro: A made up title: Plaza dos Toros means "place of the bulls" or bull-ring, a name no Spanish nobleman would acknowledge. (His other titles are Count Matadoro and Baron Picadoro). He is particularly proud of his quarterings or divisions on his shield or coat-of-arms. For more on quarterings see the Notes for Candide. He is hen-pecked by his wife and no one pays much attention to him, but this doesn't keep him from being proud and pompous. The only time we see him naturally happy is when he teaches the gondoliers how to dance (I am an Courtier). Finally someone is listening to him.

Duchess: She is the typical Gilbert harridan similar to Katisha in The Mikado. It is clear she wears the trousers in the family. In spite of their poverty, she is very conscious of their rank and insists all the niceties of court etiquette be shown. In her song On the Day When I Was Wedded, in she describes how she changed from a submissive bride to the ruler of the household and thus found a happy marriage.

Casilda: She is her mother's daughter and will probably play the same role in the royal household. Poor Luiz! In comparison with most of Gilbert's young heroines, she is very shallow. On learning that she is a queen, all she can thing of is that she does not have anything suitable to wear.

Luiz: Is the Duke's "suite" or "private drum" or drummer. The fact that the Duke has only one servitor or attendant emphasizes his poverty. This is a very difficult role to play and to sing since it includes sections in both the tenor and baritone ranges.

Don Alhambra Del Bolero, The Grand Inquisitor: The Alhambra in Granada Spain was the palace built between 1248-1354 by the Moorish rulers of Spain and they lived there until they were expelled in 1492. Today it is one of the main tourist attractions in Granada. In contrast, the bolero is a rapid Spanish dance and not very aristocratic for a Spanish name.

The presence of the Spanish Grand Inquisitor in Venice is strictly an invention of Gilbert's and is quite unlikely in reality. If he went to Italy at all it would probably be the then Spanish colony of Naples. He may have visited but not stayed very long or in the Ducal Palace if he did. It could not be in a professional capacity as Venice was under the Papal Inquisition. (During the entire time of the Inquisition, there was not a single execution by the Inquisition.) The Spanish Inquisition was a completely different and independent organization. The opera is set in 1750, at which time the Spanish Grand Inquisitor was Francisco Pérez de Prado y Cuesta who only held the office from 1748-1755. Thus he could not have been the Inquisitor when the young Prince was kidnapped in 1730. As usual, Gilbert was playing fast and loose with history, but it makes as good story. The Last Spanish Grand Inquisitor served from 1818-1820, but by then the Inquisition was essentially over.

GENERAL:
Gilbert uses a number of Italian words and their English equivalents interchangeably. Usually English is used in the spoken dialogue, while Italian is used in the songs unless the English fits the cadence and rhyme better.

Piazzetta: This means "little piazza" or plaza. The main plaza of Venice is L shaped. The main part is the Plaza San Marco. The small side piazzetta which leads down to the lagoon is the setting of Act I of The Gondoliers. For pictures see the article on Venice.

Ducal Palace: The Ducal Palace was the the residence of the Duke, or Doge. For more see the article on Venice.

Contadine: A contadino is a male peasant. The plural is contadini. The corrersponding words for females are contadina and contadine.

Unseemly: It would not be proper for the girls to express their love directly to Marco and Giuseppe so they do it symbolically with the flowers

Dolce far niente: A popular Italian saying meaning "It's sweet to do nothing".

Contradicente: This is the Italian equivalent of the English "contradict"

Blind-man's bluff: A game in which one player is blindfolded and then tries to catch one of the others who are constantly moving about. It two five hours a day for three days of rehearsal for Gilbert to get this scene, with its complicated movements. And he was working with chorus members who had worked together for years and were used to Gilbert's direction. It must have been a very complicated choreography.

Streets are flooded: This shows the Duke's ignorance. He doesn't even know that Venice consists of many small island and has few real streets. That being said, after heavy storms and during very high tides, the area around the Ducal palace does flood.

Plebeians: Common people, i.e. those not of gentleman or noble classes.

Castilian hidago: Spanish hidalgos were gentlemen of the lower nobility, above the plebeians but not members of the true nobility. Hidalgo comes from a Spanish word which means "son of someone", i.e. someone who can trace his ancestry. Castile was the most important of the Spanish states, the seat of the capital. It was where Ferdinand and Isabella had held court, and it was from Castile that the Reconquest which drove out the Moors began. Thus the Castilians, such as the Duke of Plaza-Toro, were the proudest of all the Spaniards, but a real Duke would not refer to himself as a hidalgo but as a Grandee (Great one). Gilbert was probably poking fun at him by allowing him to do so.

Band: When Luiz says that the band members are sordid characters who insisted on being paid in advance, it is customary for actress playing the Duchess to look haughtily into the orchestra pit as she says, "That's so like a band".

Halberdiers: A soldier who carried a halberd, a combination of a pike and an ax. It was an army weapon in the 14th and 15th centuries. By 1750 it was obsolete but is still carried in ceremonies by the members of the Swiss Guard of the Vatican. The Duke wished he could have such a guard when greeting the Inquisitor.

Barataria: This may have been the island which Don Quixote gave Sancho Panza for his service to him. It is a make believe land like Shangri-La. The name may have come from the Spanish word barato given to several other places such as Barataria along with Barataria Bay and the Barataria Preserve, all in Louisiana. It has also been the name of several United States Navy and Coast Guard ships.

Wesleyan Methodism: About 1730, John Wesley found the branch of Protestant known as Methodism. Since English Protestants were one of the main targets of the Inquisition, Don Alhambra could not allow this to take root in the Spanish possession of Barataria and took steps to insure that the next King would be brought up as a proper Catholic. Gilbert is introducing a Topsy-Turvey touch here; in reality the Inquisition prosecuted, not the Methodists

Kneel: Kneeling is a sign of great respect. The proud Duchess, although impoverished, reprimands Luiz for not kneeling before her husband. As things turn out it is the Duke who should have knelt to Luiz as they do for their daughter when they disclose that she is a Queen.

Respectable: Gilbert shows an unusual understanding of respectability. Not only is the husband of the nurse a respectable brigand, but the drunken gondolier to whom the kidnapped baby is entrusted is also called respectable.

Gondolier: This gondolier obviously did not have a wife, at least not now. A wife would certainly been able to tell the new child from her own son.

Cordoba: A city in the south of Spain.

Torture: This reflects the common impression that the Inquisitors universally and frequently used torture. This was not the case, certainly not by 1750. Why should the Nurse recognize the child since she has not seen him since he was kidnapped.

Jimp: A Scottish adjective meaning slender, trim, or delicate

Republicans: This is not like today's American Republican Party. A republic is a country in which the people elect those who then make the laws. In contrast, in a democracy all citizens vote on all the measures without any go-betweens. The United States today and the Venice of 1750 are examples of republics. The United States is not a true democracy. The closest thing to a democracy here today is the New England Town meeting in which all the citizens meet and vote on any measures or Californias Propositions which are enacted by a vote of the people.

Acceptable: This is a remarkable change of heart by the gondoliers. In spite of their vehement statement that they are Republicans heart and soul and detest kings, as soon as they discover that one of them is a king, they change their tune. However, as we shall see, they maintain their republican values.

Xebeque or Xebec: A three-masted ship used on the Mediterranean Sea.

Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes? Some have said this is the finest song Gilbert and Sullivan ever wrote.

Cachucha, Fandango, Bolero: The Bolero is a brisk Spanish dance in 3/4 time with lots of foot-stamping,usually accompanied by castanets, sometimes by the dancers themselves. The Cachucha is a Andalusian dance also in 3/4 time. It was originally sung accompanied by a guitar. The fandango is also Andalusian in 3/8 or 3/4 time.

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Revised November 2010
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