Antiquated Language
During auditions for Gilbert & Sullivan’s Gondoliers, one of the stalwarts of the organization, a septuagenarian, announced, “I’m auditioning for Giuseppe.” The music director and I exchanged looks, and I said, “You know the character Giuseppe is 23, right?” Unflinching, he responded, “Wait till you hear me sing.”
His voice truly blew us away, but we also had another baritone knock our socks off, and, well, not to be ageist, but the second man fit the bill vocally, physically, and demographically.
While the elder gentleman did not work out for the character, he has lent that spectacular voice to our ensemble and has been an invaluable cast member. As a bonus, he and several others bring years of experience with Gilbert & Sullivan, and with that comes expertise in the archaic language of the show.
The Story
First performed in 1889, Gondoliers is a comic light opera set in 1750 Venice and the imaginary tropical kingdom of Barataria. Leaving her home in Spain, the beautiful Casilda arrives in Venice with her parents and their servant Luiz. She learns that she was married in infancy to the then-child King of Barataria, but there are two problems: Casilda loves someone else, and nobody is certain of the identity of the king. Don Alhambra of the local Spanish Inquisition reveals that he hid the child-groom from enemies with a family of gondoliers. Only the old woman who hid him can identify the child-now-adult monarch. Meanwhile, two young gondoliers, Marco and Giuseppe Palmieri, one of whom is possibly the unknowing king, have just married two lovely young women, Gianetta and Tessa. Despite their protestations, Don Alhambra takes the brothers off to Barataria to rule as one until the king’s identity can be revealed.
It's a silly show, but the music is delightful, and our cast is fabulous to rehearse with, listen to, and watch onstage. Every now and then, the language stumps us, but we have our elder states folk to guide us through. Here are just a few examples of vintage words and phrases that have required explanation.
Jimp
Casilda’s father, the Duke of Plaza Toro (played with Castilian suavity by James Ring-Howell), describes his daughter thusly:
DUKE: Jimp, isn’t she?
DON ALHAMBRA: Distinctly jimp.
From the context, it seemed to mean pretty or attractive. Hold on! Nope! It means slender and neat. We should have researched that before auditions, but, luckily, our Casilda (the lovely and talented Sarah Brown) is indeed slender and neat.
“Tuck in his tuppenny.”
Our Don Alhambra (Greg Suss, dripping with comic condescension) is frustrated with the two gondoliers’ manner of running Barataria, as they have done away with rank and hierarchy in the kingdom. He desperately tries to school them.
DON ALHAMBRA: For instance, you wouldn’t have a Lord High Chancellor play leapfrog with his own cook.
MARCO: Why not?
DON ALHAMBRA: Why not! Because a Lord High Chancellor…should never…place himself in the position of being told to tuck in his tuppenny, except by noblemen of his own rank.
Our Marco and Giuseppe (the multi-talented Elias Levy and Allan Briones, pictured) pantomimed tucking in their shirts, thinking the description was to neaten up—perhaps to become a bit more “jimp.”
This time, the context and our G&S experts helped us realize that “tuck in his tuppenny” means “protect your head.” It certainly changed the scene!
Graziers
When Luiz (the golden-throated Tyler Panek) volunteers to “imitate a farmyard” as a substitute for a musical fanfare upon their arrival in Venice, the Duke and Casilda berate him.
DUKE: I don’t see how that would help us.
CASILDA: It would not help us in the least. We are not a parcel of graziers come to market, dolt!
We easily made the connection that “graziers” have something to do with farmyard animals. Specifically, though, it is the people who take cattle or goats out to graze in the field. Not very jimp, and while one’s tuppenny would be just fine, graziers are not appropriate for heralding a duke, duchess, and future queen’s arrival.
Deportment, Carriage
Duke Plaza-Toro endeavors to teach Marco and Giuseppe how to carry themselves like kings—to little avail.
DUKE: You must impress your Court with your importance. You want deportment—carriage—
GIUSEPPE: We’ve got a carriage.
DUKE: Manner—dignity.
The gondoliers completely misunderstand his intention, forcing the duke to demonstrate proper royal movements, including how to walk and how to pose imperiously. As one might expect, this comes with comic consequences as our gondoliers carry themselves a bit more like graziers than kings.
Get Your Historic Language Right
Whether you are proofreading, writing, performing, or directing, it is important to understand and implement out-of-date terms and phrases correctly. Use all the tools at your disposal, such as online resources or books on antiquated language. Lacking access to those, find yourself a septuagenarian Gilbert & Sullivan virtuoso!