Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, … See more

• King Hildebrand (bass-baritone)
• Hilarion, King Hildebrand's Son (tenor)
• Cyril, Hilarion's Friend (tenor) See more

• Overture (includes "We are warriors three" and "Minerva! oh, hear me")
Act I
• 1. "Search throughout the panorama" (Florian and Chorus) See more

Princess Ida was not as successful as the Gilbert and Sullivan operas that had preceded it. In the midst of the unusually hot summer of 1884, Richard D'Oyly Carte closed the Savoy … See more

The opera satirizes feminism, women's education and Darwinian evolution, all of which were controversial topics in conservative Victorian England. In the 15 years between the time that Gilbert wrote The Princess and the premiere of Princess Ida, the movement … See more

Act I
In a pavilion at King Hildebrand's palace, courtiers wait expectantly for the arrival of King Gama and his … See more

Princess Ida was not revived in London during the authors' lifetimes, and there were no substantive changes to the text after the premiere. The one alteration was purely cosmetic: the first act had originally been called a "Prologue." It was re-designated Act I, … See more