THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD - Gilbert and Sullivan

In the same way that the Verdi has layer and layer of disguise this opera has layer upon layer of people being trapped and bound either by themselves or their situations. The whole thing is actually set in a prison. The picture is at the moment of the collapse of Jack Point. Like the picture of Madam Butterfly there is meant to be a certain ambiguity as to his condition, and in fact this ambiguity exists in the opera itself. Is he dead of a broken heart, or just unconscious? A sense of the rough wooden feel of Tudor England, which is when the opera is set, can be felt. The warm brown of the wood, but the rough-hewn nature of it seemed a good balance between scenes of imprisonment in the Tower.
The jesters cap on the chair behind him reveals his identity, but it is thrown aside. The clown has always had the obverse side of seriousness, and here he is no exception. The real man behind the facade is the one collapsed on the table. On the cap only two horns are visible, tying to that other great ancient comic figure - the sign of the cuckold. Above the cap a bell hangs. At once the symbol of institutions - a life that is without freedom, bound by rung divisions - but also a symbol of death - ‘ask not for whom the bell tolls'.
Both in front of and behind the figure of Jack there are chains. The chains come in all forms from decorative neck chains to heavier links that can pull or bind. Beside the candlestick is a heavy old lock. All of these are emblematic of the way in which the characters are trapped in a series of situations from which they cannot escape. To add to this Jack holds a locket in his right hand, and another lies on the table in front of his left.

 

Synopsys

Sergeant Meryll of the Yeomen of the Guard at the Tower of London, and his daughter Phoebe decide to help the unjustly imprisoned Colonel Fairfax. Meryll owes Fairfax his life, and Phoebe secretly loves him. The two decide to pass Fairfax off as Phoebe's brother Leonard who is due to join the Guard.
Not knowing of the plan Fairfax asks only that before he dies he is married to a blindfold bride to preserve his estate from his relations who have framed him. Two strolling players, Elsie and Jack Point arrive, and Elsie consents to being a blindfold bride.
The gaoler Shadbolt loves Phoebe, enabling her to get the keys from him, and Fairfax reappears as Leonard. Point, who secretly loves Elsie cannot court her since Fairfax has ‘disappeared' and not been executed, so he persuades Shadbolt to say he saw him in the river and shot him. Elsie, not knowing who she has married, finds herself falling in love with Leonard, but is constrained from doing anything about it since she is married to a man she has never even seen. A shot is heard and Shadbolt tells his tale. Fairfax now being assumed dead Point tries to court Elsie, but does it so badly Fairfax offers to help him. Instead he pursues his own suit, and Elsie finally succumbs to her feelings. Phoebe shows her jealousy, and Shadbolt realises Leonard is no brother. To buy his silence Phoebe is forced to agree to marriage. Her father, who has long been courted by Dame Carruthers, the Tower housekeeper, is equally forced to buy her silence by marriage.
A reprieve comes for Fairfax, and he joyfully claims his bride. The happiness is complete when Elsie realises her husband is the man she really loves - Leonard. Their happiness is complete, and as they are united the jester, Jack Point falls insensible to the floor.

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All images and text Copyright © 2003 Caroline Blackburn.