Note: Gilbert himself was a barrister although, like the Judge at first, not a very successful one, so he was very familiar with courtroom proceedings and jargon. While its legal system is one of the most serious and revered of English institutions, Gilbert and Sullivan managed to make something comic and Topsy-Turvy out of it but all in good fun. In Trial by Jury the Court goes through all the motions but there is no justice and no real resolution.

The English Judicial System:

The Judicial system of England and its former colonies is based on common law (based largely on previous court cases) as opposed to civil law (based on laws) in the rest of Europe with its former colonies and dependency. Thus Scotland and Louisiana use civil law, but the rest of the United States, Canada, India, Australia and others use common law. Most of Central and South America are also civil law countries. For more on this see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system)

The Courts: The English Court system has a long history, and its composition changed over the years. For example, the Court pictured in Trial by Jury The Court of the Exchequer no longer exists. This Court was a very ancient institution, dating from about the time of Henry II in the 13th century. It started as a government department to deal with the King's debts and later turned into a Court which dealt with financial matters. In 1873 a law was passed which abolished it in England. As a result many have claimed it was a mistake to use it in Trial by Jury in 1875. Besides, why would a Breech of Promise case be tried in a Court which dealt with money matters. However, those who object don't know as much about the British Courts of the time as Gilbert did. While the law was passed in 1873, it did not go into effect until the end of 1875 while Trial by Jury opened in March, 1875. Moreover, such cases were often held there because the large amount of damages which could be awarded had tax implications. For more see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts_of_England_and_Wales
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchequer_of_Pleas

Attorney: The title of Attorney was also dropped in 1873. Until recently there were two separate kinds of lawyers in England but the distinction has become blurred. The Solicitor (hired by the client) did the initial work on the case, working closely with the client, gathering the evidence and preparing the Brief which sets down the facts of the case with suggestions for the trial. The brief was then turned over to a Barrister, one who had been admitted to the bar, and thus entitled to conduct the trial of the case in court. The solicitor, in the interest of his client would attempt to find the best possible barrister. Thus young men, just starting as barrister, would have trouble finding cases to try until they established a reputation. Gilbert, himself, was never able to get good cases and left the profession. Note: Scotland does not have barristers as a separate category.

The Jury: Like the court system itself, the Jury functions differently in England and its former colonies than in the rest of the world where juries seldom decide guilt of innocence. The English jury is an ancient institution with roots going back to Saxon and Danish times. For more see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_trial

Breech of Contract: A breech of contract is the breaking of any legal contract. At the time of this opera, most engagements involved the signing of a contract by both parties which was considered to be as legally binding as the actual wedding itself. Thus breaking an engagement for any reason (Breech of Promise) could result in legal action and possible damages to the "injured" party.

The Characters
The Learned Judge is not very learned. As his aria tells, he did not become a rich barrister because of his ability, but because he was willing to engage himself to an elderly, ugly woman to have her father's support in getting cases to try and thus becoming wealthy. He had no compunction in throwing her over once his goal was reached. In court he mainly sleeps or reads his newspaper and has no familiarity with the fine points of law. (No test like the present-day bar exam was necessary to be admitted to the bar. Gilbert himself received his "call" for £100.) While a comedic figure in the opera, he is a bitter condemnation of some of the worst in the British legal system of the time. The first Judge was Fred Sullivan (left), the elder brother of the composer, who also appeared in the opera La Perichole which preceded Trial by Jury every evening. Trained as a draftsman, he turned to acting and had already appeared in several burlesques, including Gilbert and Sullivan's Thespis. His health deteriorated during the run of Trial and he died of liver disease and tuberculosis before the run of the show ended. Sullivan composed The Lost Chord in his memory.

The Plaintiff, Angelina: Angelina is introduced as a poor "broken flower" after being jilted by Edwin. However, she is really a shallow, money-hungry golddigger who uses her beauty and dramatic ability to sway the members of the court, even to appearing in her wedding gown and with her full bridal party. In spite of her words, she is really mostly interested in the damages she might get from Edgar and, in the end, is quite happy to marry the wealthy Judge even though he is definitely not a matrimonial prize.

The Defendant, Edwin: He is no hero either, admitting that he smokes and drinks and has a wandering eye, easily switching from one girl to another.

The Counsel: The Counsel is a barrister, i.e. he represents clients at the bar. He is good at oratory but not very bright or well educated since he confuses bigamy with burglary.

The Usher: The Usher's job is to give orders in court but he is of low rank and is not allowed to approach the bar. He is probably old and bitter and not very bright as illustrated by his attempt to sway the jury against Edwin even as he tells them to act without bias.

The Jury: At the time only men could serve on a jury. Furthermore, their names were taken from the electoral rolls. To vote, a man had to be a property owner who paid a significant amount of taxes. Thus they were men of substance.

The Music
Guitar: Sullivan also played many jokes. As Edwin tunes his guitar, the orchestra mimics with the tuning of a violin! This would sound quite different. (The business of the guitar is frequently cut today.) As Angelina pretends to faint, the music imitates is being by strings and in a minor key. The misuse of the work "burlaree" is accented by the comic bassoon. The entrance of the Judge and the greeting by the chorus is a parody of a Handel fugue.

Many of the musical features became standard in later Gilbert and Sullivan operas including: opening with a chorus, using meditative arias, patter songs, tenor arias in 6/8 time, and very short ensemble finales. The chorus is always essential to the action, not just observing from the sidelines, and the songs don't stop the action but move the plot forward.

The ensemble about the dilemma is an imitation with oom-pah-pah accompaniment of the sextets with embellishment in the Italian bel canto operas of Bellini and Donizetti (such as that in Lucia di Lamermoor).

Miscellaneous

Gilbert loved nonsense syllables and plays on words and used them often. As Edwin tells his story he accompanies himself on the guitar and imitates its sound as Tink-a-Tank. In their response the Jurymen end their chorus with Trial-la-law instead of tra-la-la. In describing the early romance of Edwin and Angelina which turned the ordinary suburbs of London into the idyllic country depicted by Watteau he really stretches the language when he needs a rhyme for the painter's name and substitutes "otto" for attar. In another instance he uses "do so" as a rhyme for "trousseau"

M'Lud: In court, the Judge is always addressed as My Lord, but this is usually pronounced M'Lud.

Water: The Counsel is not calling for ordinary water to be brought all the way from Germany but is asking for Eau de Cologne or Kölnisches Wasser, originally developed by an Italian living in Cologne, Germany. The term is still used today for any diluted form of perfume.

Beat: Would Edwin really beat Angelina? This has caused much discussion of wife-beating at the time but he is probably only hypothesizing that he might beat her to plead his case.

Return to The Trial By Jury Home Page

Revised January 2009
Please credit Lyric Opera San Diego when using this material.