The Summer Savoyards return to the stage this July with Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta Iolanthe, a fantasy that combines romance, fairies, and pointed political satire. Music director and conductor Heather Worden says the story centers on the title character, a fairy who broke the rules by falling in love with a mortal.
"The battle lines are between some feisty fairies and the peers of Parliament," Worden said. "Iolanthe was cast out of fairy society for falling in love with one of the peers and having a son. Twenty-four years later she's brought back into the fold, we meet her half-fairy son Strephon and his love, Phyllis, and all chaos ensues from there."
Although the story borrows the familiar comic plot of an older suitor competing with a younger man for a young woman's affection, Worden says Gilbert adds an unmistakably whimsical twist.
"It's very comical, especially when we find out which half of Strephon is the fairy," she said. "There are some really good comedic moments built around that, but I won't spoil them."
This year's production features Julia Adams in the title role while also serving as co-director with Charles Berman. Richard Aton portrays Strephon, Janet Kucera is Phyllis, Jessica Pullis appears as the Queen of the Fairies, John Starks plays the Lord Chancellor, Annie McNulty is Lord Tolloller, River Pullis is Lord Mountararat, and Robert Kovak joins the cast in Act Two as Private Willis.
Beneath the fantasy, Iolanthe is one of Gilbert's sharpest political satires, poking fun at Britain's hereditary House of Lords. Worden believes its humor still resonates today.
"We definitely play on that idea that Gilbert and Sullivan put into the show—that the peers are rather useless," she said. "Julia and Charles have really leaned into that in the staging, and I think our production brings some relevance to what we're seeing today in our own country, much as Gilbert and Sullivan were reflecting what they were seeing in Britain during Queen Victoria's reign."
Worden also describes Iolanthe as one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most musically demanding works, particularly for the chorus.
"The Act Two finale is about 27 minutes long," she said. "It just keeps going and going. There are quartets singing one thing while the chorus is doing something completely different underneath. We've had many music-intensive rehearsals, and both the fairy chorus and the peers are doing a fantastic job. I'm so pleased with how it's coming along."
The Summer Savoyards present Iolanthe Friday and Saturday, July 10 and 11, at 7:30 p.m., with a Sunday matinee on July 12 at 3 p.m. Performances take place in Chamber Hall at the Anderson Center on the Binghamton University campus. More information is available at summersavoyards.org.