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Overview
Synopsis
Although Ruddigore’s 1887 premiere did not enjoy the same success as its predecessor, The Mikado (1885), it is now regarded as one of the gems of the Gilbert and Sullivan canon. A satirical take on the Victorian Melodrama genre, Ruddigore’s zany plot has it all--ghosts, witches, curses, disguises, and even a wicked villain who tries to make off with the fair maiden. All of the Baronets of the locale of Ruddigore are under a terrible curse enacted by a witch long ago--each of the successive Baronets must commit some kind of a crime every single day, or else they will die in terrible agony. Robin Oakapple has been living as a farmer for years, working up the courage to ask the beautiful village maiden Rose Maybud for her hand, but he is hiding a secret--he is actually Sir Ruthven, the Baronet of Ruddigore, and has been hiding in disguise while his younger brother Despard assumed the title--and the curse. Betrayed by his foster-brother Richard, Robin is discovered and must take on the responsibility of committing a crime every day in order to appease the curse--and the ghosts of all his ancestors past, who are none too happy with his attempt to shirk his title. Robin must somehow find a way to lead the honest life he loves--but how? Ruddigore is an ensemble tour de force with a wealth of fun character roles.
Show Information
- Book
- W.S. Gilbert
- Music
- Arthur Sullivan
- Lyrics
- W.S. Gilbert
- Category
- Operetta
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1887
- Genres
- Comedy, Parody, Satire
- Settings
- Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- early 1800s, the town of rederring, near cornwall
- Cast Size
- large
- Orchestra Size
- Medium
- Dancing
- Some Dance
- Ideal For
- Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult, Young Adult, Late Teen Characters, Large Cast
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Bass |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
|
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
|
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Bass |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
|
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|
Featured |
Male |
|
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|
Featured |
Male |
|
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|
Featured |
Male |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Bass |
|
|
Ensemble |
Either Gender |
|
Songs
Overture
Act I
- 1. "Fair is Rose" (Chorus of Bridesmaids)
- 2. "Sir Rupert Murgatroyd" (Hannah and Chorus)
- 3. "If somebody there chanced to be" (Rose)
- 4. "I know a youth" (Rose and Robin)
- 5. "From the briny sea" (Chorus of Bridesmaids)
- 6. "I shipp'd, d'ye see, in a revenue sloop" (Richard and Chorus)
- 6a. Hornpipe
- 7. "My boy, you may take it from me" (Robin and Richard)
- 8. "The battle's roar is over" (Rose and Richard)
- 9. "If well his suit has sped" (Chorus of Bridesmaids)
- 10. "In sailing o'er life's ocean wide" (Rose, Richard, and Robin)
- 11. "Cheerily carols the lark" (Margaret)
- 12. "Welcome, gentry" (Double Chorus)
- 13. "Oh, why am I moody and sad?" (Sir Despard and Chorus)
- 14. "You understand? I think I do" (Richard and Sir Despard)
-
- Finale Act I:
- "Hail the bride of seventeen summers" (Ensemble)
- Madrigal, "When the buds are blossoming" (Ensemble)
- "When I'm a bad Bart, I will tell taradiddles!" (Robin and Chorus)
- "Oh, happy the lily" (Ensemble)
Act II
- 16. "I once was as meek" (Sir Ruthven and Adam)
- 17. "Happily coupled are we" (Rose and Richard)
- 18. "In bygone days" (Rose with Chorus of Bridesmaids)
- 19. "Painted emblems of a race" (Sir Ruthven, Sir Roderic, and Chorus of Ancestors)
- 20. "When the night wind howls" (Sir Roderic and Chorus)
- 21. "He yields, he yields" (Chorus)
- 22. "For thirty-five years I've been sober and wary" (Robin)
- 23. "I once was a very abandoned person" (Margaret and Despard)
- 24. "My eyes are fully open" (Margaret, Sir Ruthven, and Despard)
- 25. "Melodrame"
- 26. "There grew a little flower" (Hannah with Sir Roderic)
- 27. Finale Act II: "When a man has been a naughty baronet" (Ensemble)
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
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