Utopia Limited

Creation

Sullivan hated Gilbert's way of making cruelly amusing fun at elderly ladies. He asked that in the future Gilbert would be kinder with such characters. Gilbert obliged. He wrote a libretto, basically making fun of the English. Lady Sophy, the elderly lady, was treated with much more respect than Lady Jane or Katisha.

Sullivan settled down in the summer of 1893 to write the music for this new operetta, called Utopia Limited. D'Oyly Carte spent £ 7,200 ($36,000) to put Utopia on. Utopia Limited opened on October 7, 1893.

Plot Synopsis

Utopia Limited opens its curtains on… you guessed it, a chorus. A bunch of ladies are lazily strewn about the stage. You learn that the King’s eldest daughter, Princess Zara is about to return from England, “the greatest, the most powerful, the wisest country in the world…” where she had been five years at a college. Apparently, this means in a few months Utopia will be completely Anglicized. Some young ladies decide they like things as they are, but most believe Anglicizing Utopia will be the best thing that has ever happened to them.

In walks Tarara, in a great rage. He was recently appointed the Public Exploder, which means he’s next in succession to the throne. His job is to blow up the King if the two wise men think the King has made a lapse from wisdom. He has found in the Palace Peeper, the palace newspaper, long lists of the abominable faults of the King. He is angry, because the Wise Men haven’t denounced the King to him, so Tarara isn’t allowed to blow him up. Tarara and the ladies leave, as the Wise Men Scaphio and Phantis enter.

Phantis admits that he is in love with the Princess Zara, who is to return today. Scaphio assures him that Phantis only needs to ask the King, and he’ll consent to his marrying Zara, because the King will be blown up if he doesn’t. They leave, heartened.

King Paramount enters. He announces that the kind Lady Sophy has finished his younger daughters Nekaya and Kalyba. They have the wonderful joy of posing for everyone, to show people how English ladies act. They are extremely modest and demure. They “get” to act out what Lady Sophy describes in her lecture on the way men court maidens in England. Then everyone leaves except the King.

The King then converses with Scaphio and Phantis. It becomes clear that they have a considerable power over him, seeing as they only need to say the word and he would die. The King shows them the Palace Peeper, and remarks how funny it is that all of the articles that lever severe criticism at the King are written by the King himself. But, as he says “it’s a quaint world,” and he writes the articles because the Wise Men suggest it, and it appeals to his sense of humor. He also mentions that the burlesque he wrote about himself is being performed, but “As a rule I’m pretty quick at detecting latent humor – but I confess I do not quite see where it comes in, in this particular instance. It’s so horribly personal!” Scaphio manages to show the King the humorous side.

In private, the King admits he doesn’t think it’s right for him to write these things. He would be very ashamed if Zara or Lady Sophy (who he is in love with) got a hold of the Palace Peeper. Just then, in walks Lady Sophy.

In fact she has gotten a hold of the Palace Peeper, through Tarara. She is shocked about the contents of the articles. The King admits that they are not true. She can’t believe that the author is still living. The King awkwardly replies that he hasn’t thought of a good punishment for them yet. Lady Sophy says that as long as the statements made in the articles remain uncontradicted, she can never be his.

The Princess Zara enters with her escort. She is in love with Captain Fitzbattleaxe, the leader of her escort. Zara leaves with her father and sisters, and the chorus leaves in the other direction. Scaphio becomes in love with Zara also.

Scaphio and Phantis are arguing over who should marry her, when she enters with Fitzbattleaxe. The Wise Men tell her about their argument. Fitzbattleaxe suggests that they solve the problem the English way by entrusting the woman to a nearby member of the cavalry (himself) while they discuss and endeavor to kill each other. They agree to this proposal. They leave, and Zara is alone with her father, who comes in.

She too has seen the Palace Peeper. The King admits that he is not a free agent. Zara says that she has a plan. She brought “six Representatives of the principal causes that have tended to make England the powerful, happy, and blameless country which the consensus of European civilization has declared it to be.” She tells them to put himself in their hands, and they will help him defy his persecutors.

The King brings his entire court out, to introduce the Representatives, called the “Flowers of Progress”. Fitzbattleaxe represents the British army, Sir Bailey Barre represents the law, Lord Dramleigh is a Lord Chamberlain, Mr. Blushington is a County Councillor, Mr. Goldbury is a Company Promoter, and Sir Edward Corcoran (remember the H.M.S. Pinafore?) represents the Navy. They are going to reform Utopia, and fix all the laws so they are like the laws in England. The first thing they do is make Utopia into a limited company.

Act Two opens on Fitzbattleaxe trying to sing to Zara. Zara has to leave to dress for the first Drawing Room. The King enters, prepared for the First Statutory Cabinet Council of Utopia Limited. The Flowers of Progress determine that Utopia has been completely Anglicized. Then they hold Utopia’s first Drawing Room.

Scaphio and Phantis are absolutely furious because they have no power over the King anymore. They put their heads together with Tarara, and come up with a “capital plot” to make the King accessible to them again. They exit to execute their “capital plot”, whatever it is.

Lord Dramaleigh and Mr. Goldbury are discussing how timid Nekaya and Kalyba are, and determine that it will “wear off”. Nekaya and Kalyba come in because “Lady Sophy has sent us [them] in here, because Zara and Captain Fitzbattleaxe are going on, in the garden, in a manner which no well-conducted young ladies ought to witness.”

The two men find out that Nekaya and Kalyba think that English girls are as ridiculously demure and modest as they are, and tell them “an English lady of the highest type is the best, most beautiful, the bravest, and the brightest creature that Heaven has conferred upon this world of ours. She is frank, open-hearted, and fearless, and never shows in so favorable a light as when she gives her own blameless impulses full play!” Nekaya and Kalyba are shocked, then happy. They can shout and play. They dance out with Lord Dramaleigh and Mr. Goldbury.

Lady Sophy enters. She admits that she is in love with the King. The King overhears this, and is surprised. Lady Sophy won’t marry him because of the Palace Peeper. The King admits that he wrote all the articles himself, and they can be united.

The court enters in a fury. “Down with the hated Flowers of Progress!” Scaphio, Phantis, and Tarara lead them. Scaphio complains that everything is going so well that there is nothing to do. The lawyers starve to death because everyone follows the law. The jails are empty. War is impossible because all the neighboring countries have disarmed. All the doctors are dying because no one is sick. They want things back the way they were. Then Zara remembers something they’ve omitted – government by party. That way nothing will get done, just like in England. Ulahlica! Everyone is satisfied, and the curtain falls.

Public Reception

Utopia Limited was enthusiastically received the first day, but not so afterwards. It only ran for 245 performances. Part of the reason for this, is that Utopia is dreadfully long, even longer than Princess Ida which had three acts. People just couldn't sit in the theatre that long. Also, Gilbert's satire is almost unrestrained. His barbs fly from all directions. Somewhat disappointed with Utopia's failure, the collaborators went back to work. They were not very excited about working together, anymore.