235:"One night – the babes were three weeks old, and were wonderfully alike – the peasant's babe crept from his clothes basket, quietly removed the sleeping Baron from his sumptuous cradle, placed the Baron's son in the clothes basket, and creeping into the Baron's cradle, covered himself up and went to sleep. The cheat was never discovered! The peasant's son was brought up as the young Baron – the young Baron as the peasants son."
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can immediately regain his baronial station. By 13 September, he says, "I shall destroy the paper, and prove by the fact that I am twenty years older than he is, it's utterly impossible we could have been changed at birth – I shall return to my rank, and he will be punished as an impostor." But an announcement is made before the Baron puts his plan into action:
251:"Proclamation! Whereas certain irregularities have crept into the calendar in the course of the last 1584 years, and whereas these irregularities (although in themselves unimportant), constitute in the aggregate a considerable space of time, be it enacted, and it is hereby enacted, that from this date forward,
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After the souls are transferred, Hans notices that Bertha is attracted to his former body, which now contains the Baron's soul. Hans is now rich, but he is old and ugly, with a large family. To the Baron, the attention of Bertha and the advantages of a younger body are not sufficient compensation for
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Hans signs a contract agreeing to these facts and stipulating that they should resume their original social positions immediately. So Hans becomes a peasant in the old Baron's body but assumes that he will be a youthful Baron beginning on 13 September. However, this is all a trick so that the Baron
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Otto von
Schlachenstein, who is strangely attractive to women. The Baron woos Bertha. Bertha pretends to be in love with the Baron to teach Hans a lesson. Depressed by this, Hans wishes that he could swap places with the Baron. At the same time, the Baron, realising that Bertha is just using him,
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on 26 May 1870. It played for 26 performances, until the theatre closed at the end of the season. The plot involves body-switching, facilitated by the magical title character. It also involves two devices that
Gilbert would re-use: baby-switching and a calendar oddity.
208:) has the power to transfer souls. He offers to make the two men's wishes come true by exchanging their souls and bodies for one month. The date is 13 August 1584, and so the souls will revert to their original bodies on 13 September. He utters this spell:
147:(1870). At the same time, he was developing his unique style of absurdist humour, described as "Topsy-Turvy", made up of "a combination of wit, irony, topsyturvydom, parody, observation, theatrical technique, and profound intelligence". The opera
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Bertha
Pompopplesdorf, who considers herself the prettiest girl in the village, is engaged to Hans Gopp, a handsome, kindly, but simple villager (Gopp was originally played by a woman). Hans is jealous of the rich, but ugly, old and unpleasant
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The result of this imperfectly calculated proclamation is that the Baron and Hans find themselves immediately in their original bodies. Hans and Bertha begin a life of youthful nobility, and the Baron is left an ugly, old peasant.
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Baron: "I am now – but when I was three weeks old, of course I was the same age as you were when you were three weeks old. ... You see I am naturally quicker than you are – besides, I'm ashamed to say I've lived a very fast
151:, one of Gilbert's most absurdist pieces, dates from the middle of this period, when Gilbert was trying different styles and working towards the mature comic style of his later work, including the famous series of
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the life of poverty that he now must live. He devises a cunning plan. He tells Hans that, as babies, they were both nursed by Hans's mother, and that the peasant baby was jealous of the young Baron.
182:" vein, and the story is a "dramatic variation of the pseudo-German supernatural tale, such as Dickens's 'The Baron of Grogswig'", "The Metapsychosis" or Gilbert's own "The Triumph of Vice".
79:. The music was not published and is now lost. The piece was never revived in Gilbert's lifetime, although modern performances have been given, some adapting Sullivan music.
134:; and various other short stories, comic pieces, and reviews appearing in various periodicals and newspapers. In 1871 he was even busier, producing seven plays and operas.
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was extremely productive, writing a large quantity of comic verse, theatre reviews and other journalistic pieces, short stories, and dozens of plays and
141:. Some of his work during this period exhibited a more restrained style, exemplified by a series of successful "fairy comedies", such as
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The opera is set in 1584 with Act I in the Market Place of a German
Village and Act II at the Gates of Castle Schlachenschloss.
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contains early glimpses of some of the "Topsy Turvy" ideas that
Gilbert would later use in his more famous works written with
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envies Hans and wants to swap places with him. The
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Hans: "But I think you must be mistaken, for you are twenty years older than I am."
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172:) and plot devices that depend on technical errors involving the calendar (as in
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61:, but before the two had collaborated, Gilbert's first full-length comic opera,
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Gilbert's dramatic writing during this time was evolving from his early
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106:. His output in 1870 alone included dozens of his popular comic
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Gilbert & Sullivan: a selling exhibition of memorabilia
401:, The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 16 June 2015
86:, in the fourth volume in the series (1911) published by
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W. S. Gilbert, A Classic
Victorian & His Theatre
548:, by Chatto and Windus: London, Fourth Series (1911)
269:The Baron Otto von Schlachenstein – Edward Danvers
65:, was based on the theatrically popular theory of
392:Gilbert's Plays – Annotated chronological listing
421:, W. S. Gilbert Society, accessed 3 January 2011
73:had collaborated previously on a one-act opera,
546:Original Plays by W. S. Gilbert in Four Series
84:Original Plays by W. S. Gilbert in Four Series
563:Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
309:The Baroness von Schlachenstein – Helen Maxse
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289:The Gentleman in Black – Charles P. Flockton
98:From the mid-1860s through the early 1870s,
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253:thirteen days be omitted from the calendar
49:. The "musical comedietta" opened at the
467:. W. S. Gilbert Society. Archived from
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581:Gilbert and Sullivan, a Dual Biography
366:, c20th.com, accessed 16 November 2009
57:Produced soon after Gilbert first met
348:The Guide to Light Opera and Operetta
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306:Bertha Pomopplesdorf – Emmeline Cole
583:. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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603:. Associated University Presses.
215:Shrine young Hans's simple soul;
453:, 19 April 1871, p. 8, col. 2.
412:"Gilbert's Non-Dramatic Works"
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218:Otto's soul, of moral shoddy,
654:by Philip Sternenberg (2008)
212:Otto's body, grim and droll,
112:; two blank verse comedies,
82:The libretto is included in
622:. Oxford University Press.
524:, Amsterdam, 1 January 2001
23:W. S. Gilbert in about 1870
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294:Syndic of Schlachenschloss
618:Stedman, Jane W. (1996).
599:Crowther, Andrew (2000).
518:"William Schwenk Gilbert"
465:"A Life of W. S. Gilbert"
463:Crowther, Andrew (1998).
380:Grove Dictionary of Music
221:Occupy young Hans's body!
579:Ainger, Michael (2002).
522:Operetta Research Center
397:15 November 2011 at the
360:"The Gentleman in Black"
178:). The music was in an "
693:Operas by Frederic Clay
688:English-language operas
175:The Pirates of Penzance
37:written in 1870 with a
678:Plays by W. S. Gilbert
673:Works by W. S. Gilbert
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652:Synopsis of the opera
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471:on 30 September 2007
276:– William M. Terrott
153:Gilbert and Sullivan
124:; two comic operas,
449:"Court Theatre" in
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144:The Palace of Truth
121:The Palace of Truth
498:Stedman, chapter 8
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139:musical burlesques
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668:1870 operas
378:, entry in
296:– F. Robson
279:Hans Gopp,
274:his steward
109:Bab Ballads
90:of London.
35:comic opera
662:Categories
595:Chapter 6.
573:References
319:Gretchen,
299:Schlipps,
281:a Villager
94:Background
451:The Times
272:Grumpff,
435:Archived
415:Archived
395:Archived
186:Synopsis
155:operas.
76:Ages Ago
39:libretto
312:Maria,
683:Operas
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565:(2006)
475:21 May
242:life".
226:Act II
206:Gnomes
331:Notes
201:Baron
194:Act I
624:ISBN
605:ISBN
585:ISBN
477:2008
130:and
118:and
362:at
41:by
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