Trial by Jury

This article is about the comic opera. For the legal institution, see jury trial. For the TV drama series, see Law & Order: Trial by Jury.

Contemporary drawing from the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News of 1 May1875

Trial by Jury is a comic opera (described as "A Dramatic Cantata" in the original promotional material) in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered on March 25 1875 in London at the Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, outrunning its companion piece, Jacques Offenbach's La Périchole. Trial then toured and was frequently revived. The comic story concerns a "breach of promise of marriage" lawsuit where the judge and legal system are the objects of lighthearted satire.

The opera came four years after Gilbert and Sullivan's only previous collaboration (Thespis, an 1871–72 Christmas season entertainment). In the intervening years, the author and composer each became even more eminent in his field. The success of Trial launched the series of works (twelve more after Trial) that came to be known as the Savoy Operas, named for the theatre that Carte later built for them.

Trial is the only Gilbert and Sullivan opera played in one act, and the only theatrical work by W. S. Gilbert, with or without Sullivan, without spoken dialogue. As it is only about 30 minutes long, it is usually coupled with another work — often one of the shorter two-act Savoy Operas, such as The Sorcerer or H.M.S. Pinafore, or presented as a triple bill with Cox and Box and The Zoo. As with all the G&S operas, the plot of Trial is ludicrous, but by behaving as if everything were perfectly reasonable, the characters in this satire of the legal system (a favourite target of Gilbert's, who had a brief legal career) reveal truths about common foibles and follies of men, women and society at large.

Background

The original "Bab Ballad" version of Trial by Jury

Before Trial by Jury, Gilbert and Sullivan had collaborated on one previous opera, Thespis; or, The Gods Grown Old, in 1871. Although reasonably successful, it was a Christmas entertainment, and such works were not expected to endure. Indeed, with the exception of one benefit performance soon after it had closed, Thespis would not be revived until 1953. After the closing of Thespis, Gilbert produced his second volume of Bab Ballads and eleven plays and comic operas, among other works, before Trial, including The Happy Land (1873), Charity (1874) and Sweethearts (1874). Sullivan had written various pieces of religious music, including the Festival Te Deum (1872) and an oratorio, The Light of the World (1873), had edited Church Hymns, with Tunes (1874), which included 45 of his own hymns and arrangements, and composed numerous parlour ballads and other songs, including three written with Gilbert in 1874–75: "The Distant Shore", "Sweethearts" (inspired by Gilbert's play) and "The Love That Loves Me Not".

Genesis of the opera

The story of Trial by Jury, however, dates back to 1868, when Gilbert published it as a Bab Ballad in Fun a single-page comic skit, in verse, entitled Trial by Jury: An Operetta. Based on Gilbert's training and brief practise as a barrister, this piece spoofed the law, lawyers and the legal system, describing a trial for "breach of promise" that goes awry. In the Victorian era, a man could be required to pay compensation should he fail to marry a woman to whom he was engaged. The skit outlines the story to be followed in the later opera, and two songs appear in nearly their final form. But the skit ended rather abruptly: the moment the comely plaintiff stepped into the witness box, the judge leapt into her arms and vowed to marry her. In the opera, he takes rather longer to reach this decision.

In 1873, Gilbert arranged with the theatrical manager and composer, Carl Rosa, to expand the piece into a one-act libretto. Rosa was to write the music, and his wife, an old friend of Gilbert's, was to sing the role of the plaintiff, as part of a season of English opera that Rosa planned to present at the Drury Lane Theatre. Rosa's wife died in childbirth in 1874, and the despondent Rosa dropped the project. Later in 1874, Gilbert offered the libretto to impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte, but Carte knew of no composer available to set it. Sullivan's thoughts may have turned to light opera in late 1874, as he visited Paris to meet with Albert Millaud, who had provided some libretti to Offenbach. But he returned to London empty-handed and composed incidental music for the Gaiety Theatre's production of The Merry Wives of Windsor.

By early 1875, Carte was managing Madame Selina Dolaro's Royalty Theatre, and he needed a short opera to be played as an afterpiece to Offenbach's La Périchole (in which Dolaro starred). He asked Sullivan to write something, but had no libretto. Still, having Sullivan ready, he advertised in The Times: "In Preparation, a New Comic Opera composed expressly for this theatre by Mr. Arthur Sullivan in which Madame Dolaro and Nellie Bromley will appear." Carte remembered Trial by Jury and knew that Gilbert had worked with Sullivan to create Thespis. He suggested to Gilbert that Sullivan was the man to set Gilbert's little piece. Gilbert read the libretto to Sullivan on 20 February 1875. Sullivan was enthusiastic, later recalling, "[Gilbert] read it through... in the manner of a man considerably disappointed with what he had written. As soon as he had come to the last word, he closed up the manuscript violently, apparently unconscious of the fact that he had achieved his purpose so far as I was concerned, inasmuch as I was screaming with laughter the whole time." Trial was composed and rehearsed in a matter of weeks.

Programme cover, 1875

Launch and aftermath

The result was a witty, tuneful and very "English" piece that became an immediate hit in London and on tour throughout the provinces and in America and enjoyed many revivals. The composer's brother, Fred Sullivan, starred with Nellie Bromley in the original production. Initially, Trial was played last on a triple bill consisting of La Périchole (starring Dolaro as the title character and Fred Sullivan as Don Andres) and the one-act farce Cryptoconchoidsyphonostomata, which was immediately thereafter replaced with another work. Trial outran even the popular La Périchole Critics praised the opera, The Times writing it aroused "almost boisterous hilarity", and that the words and music were so well-suited that they seemed to have "proceeded simultaneously from one and the same brain".

Soon after the launch of Trial, both Gilbert and Sullivan produced additional one-act operas, Sullivan writing The Zoo, with librettist B. C. Stephenson, and Gilbert Eyes and No Eyes, with music by Thomas German Reed, based in part on Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes. Neither was as successful as Trial. Gilbert and Sullivan each went on with his separate career, despite the success of Trial, and did not collaborate again until The Sorcerer in 1877.

Roles

• The Learned Judge (comic baritone)
• The Plaintiff (soprano)
• The Defendant (tenor)
• Counsel for the Plaintiff (high baritone)
• Usher (bass-baritone)
• Foreman of the Jury (bass)
• Associate (silent)
• First Bridesmaid
• Chorus of Bridesmaids, Gentlemen of the Jury, Barristers, Attorneys and Public.

Synopsis

File:Ushertrial.jpg

The Usher advises the jury. Drawing by W. S. Gilbert

The curtain rises on the Court of the Exchequer, where a jury and the public assemble to hear a case of breach of promise of marriage ("Hark, the Hour of Ten is Sounding"). After a biased introduction to the proceedings by the Usher ("Now, Jurymen, Hear My Advice"), it soon becomes clear that the jurymen's sympathies are with the plaintiff, Angelina. They greet the defendant, Edwin, with hostility. He explains that he jilted the plaintiff because she became a "bore intense" to him, and he was soon took up with another woman ("When First my Old, Old Love I Knew") But as the jurymen are respectable gentlemen, they refuse to make any allowances for the fickleness of youth ("Oh, I Was Like That When a Lad").

"So I fell in love with a rich attorney's elderly, ugly daughter."

The Judge enters with great pomp ("All Hail, Great Judge"), and starts the proceedings by describing how he rose to his position ("When I, Good Friends, Was Called to the Bar"): "But I soon grew tired of third-class journeys / And dinners of bread and water; / So I fell in love with a rich attorney's / Elderly, ugly daughter." The rich attorney aided the Judge's legal career until "At length I became as rich as the Gurneys" and "threw over" the elderly ugly daughter. Preliminaries dispensed with, the jury is sworn in and the plaintiff summoned into court: she arrives in full wedding dress, accompanied by all her bridesmaids ("Comes the Broken Flower"), and instantly captures the heart of both the jury and the Judge. Counsel for the plaintiff makes a moving speech detailing Edwin's betrayal ("With a Sense of Deep Emotion"). Angelina feigns distress, and sobs, first in the arms of the foreman of the jury, and then of the Judge.

Edwin suggests that he is willing to marry both women ("Oh Gentlemen, Listen, I Pray"). The judge at first finds this reasonable, but the counsel points out that "to marry two at once is burglaree". Perplexed, everyone in court ponders the difficulty of the situation ("A Nice Dilemma We Have Here"). Angelina says that she still loves Edwin, and deplores the loss of his love ("I love him, I love him"), and so substantial damages should be awarded to her. But Edwin says that he is a smoker, a drunkard, and a bully (when tipsy), and that she would surely have been unhappy with him, and so the damages should be small. The Judge suggests making Edwin tipsy to see if he would really "thrash and kick" the plaintiff, but everyone else objects (except Edwin, who seems quite willing). Impatient at the lack of progress, the Judge resolves the case by proposing to marry Angelina himself. This is quite satisfactory, and the opera is concluded "With Joy Unbounded".

Musical numbers

The Plaintiff in "distress", captures the sympathy of the judge and jury. Production with Sydney Granville, 1919

• 1. "Hark, the hour of ten is sounding" (Usher and Chorus)
• 1a. "Now, Jurymen, hear my advice" (Usher)
• 1b. "Is this the Court of the Exchequer?" (Defendant)
• 2. "When first my old, old love I knew" (Defendant and Chorus)
• 3. "All hail great Judge!" (Chorus and Judge)
• 4. "When I, good friends, was call'd to the Bar" (Judge)
• 5. "Swear thou the Jury" (Counsel)
• 6. "Where is the Plaintiff?" (Chorus of Bridesmaids)
• 7. "Oh, never, never, never, since I join' the human race" (Judge, Chorus)
• 8. "May it please you, my lud!" (Counsel for Plaintiff)
• 9. "That she is reeling is plain to see!" (Counsel, Angelina, Judge, Chorus)
• 10. "Oh, gentlemen, listen, I pray" (Defendant)
• 11. "That seems a reasonable proposition"
• 12. "A nice dilemma we have here" (Plaintiff, Defendant, Counsel, Judge, Usher, Foreman and Chorus)
• 13. "I love him, I love him, with fervour unceasing" (Plaintiff, Defendant and Chorus)
• 14. "Oh, joy unbounded, with wealth surrounded" (Ensemble)

Analysis of music and text

Sullivan used the opportunities suggested by Gilbert's satire of the pomp and ceremony of the law to provide a variety of musical jokes. Examples include:

• No. 2, "When first my old, old love I knew", opens with the defendant tuning a guitar (simulated in the orchestra). In the chorus, the lyrics "Tink-a-tank" attempt to simulate plucking guitar strings.
• No. 3, "All hail great Judge" is an elaborate parody of Handel's fugues.
• No. 6, "Where is the Plaintiff?" has a joke involving echos of the Usher's "Oh, Angelina", echoing in the courtroom. In D'Oyly Carte productions, the echos were perfomed by the defendant with his back to the audience.
• No. 9, "That she is reeling is plain to see!" is underlined by a "reeling effect produced by the strings".
• In No. 11, "That seems a reasonable proposition", the line "To marry two at once is Burglaree!" the bassoon is used to humorous effect.
• No 12, "A nice dilemma", parodies "dilemma" ensembles of Italian opera in the Bel canto era; perhaps "D'un pensiero" from Act I of Vincenzo Bellini's La sonnambula in particular.

Later Gilbert and Sullivan operas retained a number of musical patterns seen in Trial. All except for The Yeomen of the Guard begin with a chorus number. The tenor arias, like both of those in Trial, are written in 6/8 time. And, like Trial, the operas generally end with a relatively short finale consisting of a chorus number interspersed with short solos by the principal characters. "Comes the cheated flower" (part of No. 3) was the first in a string of meditative "Horatian" lyrics, "mingling happiness and sadness, an acceptance and a smiling resignation".

The judge's song, "When I, good friends, was called to the Bar" was followed by a string of similar patter songs that would come to epitomise Gilbert and Sullivan's collaboration. Just as in Gilbert's earlier play, The Palace of Truth, in these songs, the characters "naïvely reveal their innermost thoughts, unconscious of their egotism, vanity, baseness, or cruelty". W. S. Gilbert scholar Andrew Crowther points out that such revelations work particularly well in Trial by Jury, because people commonly expect "characters singing in opera/operetta will communicate at a deeper level of truth than they would in mere speech." In "When I, good friends", the judge outlines the path of corruption that led to his becoming a judge, and this, too, would set the pattern for many of the patter songs in Gilbert and Sullivan operas to follow.

Crowther places Trial by Jury at the centre of Gilbert's development as a librettist. At the time he was writing Trial, Gilbert was still working out what role music should play in his operas. In some of Gilbert's early works, such as Topsyturveydom (1874), the songs simply emphasise the dialogue. In others, such as Thespis (1871), the songs are given a greater role, carrying the plot forward, revealing character, establishing atmosphere, and emphasising a plot point in the dialogue. But some songs are still relatively disconnected from the story, such as Thespis's "I once knew a chap", which simply has a moral with a vague relevance to the plot. In Trial by Jury, there is no dialogue, and all the plot and action has to be discovered through music. The basic plot is simple: "Angelina sues Edwin for breach of promise of marriage; the functionaries of the court arrive and explain their attitudes with unusual frankness; and in the end the Judge solves the dispute by offering to marry Angelina himself.... Aside from the ending, nothing essentially improbable happens." However, as the characters reveal their underlying motivations, those motivations are criticised and satirised, hypocrisy is revealed, and the underlying absurdity of the judicial procedures is mocked. However, though the criticisms are genuine, Gilbert also sought to entertain, and thus rendered the criticisms more palatable. As Crowther points out, "By laughing at a joke you show that you accept its premise." Sullivan's music assists in this, by taking some of the bite of the satire away with its good humour and emphasis of the unreality.

Textual changes

Of the material cut before first performance of Trial, the most significant are two songs and a recitative: One song for the foreman of the jury, "Oh, do not blush to shed a tear", which was to be sung just after "Oh, will you swear by yonder sky"; a recitative for the Judge, "We do not deal with artificial crime"; and song for the Usher, "His lordship's always quits", which came just before "A nice dilemma". The melody for "His Lordship's always quits" is known, and it was reused in "I loved her fondly" in The Zoo and later modified into the main tune from "A wand'ring minstrel, I" in The Mikado.

A few changes were made to the end of "I love him, I love him!" after first night. A third verse for "Oh, gentlemen, listen I pray" appears in the first edition libretto; however, the first edition also contains things that are known to have never been performed or even set to music, so it is not certain if it was actually performed.

Trial by Jury underwent relatively small textual changes after its first production, mainly consisting of minor amendments to wording. The most significant changes involve the ending. The original stage directions set up a simple pantomime-style tableau:

JUDGE and PLAINTIFF dance back, hornpipe step, and get on to the Bench – the BRIDESMAIDS take the eight garlands of roses from behind the Judge's desk and draw them across floor of court, so that they radiate from the desk. Two plaster Cupids in bar wigs descend from flies. Red fire.

This became much more elaborate in the 1884 revival, with the entire set being transformed, and the plaintiff climbing onto the Judge's back "à la fairy". However, in the 1920s, the plaster cupids were evidently damaged on a tour, and the transformation scene was abandoned.

Criticism

In 1880, Punch prematurely anticipated Sullivan's knighthood, publishing a cartoon acompanied by a parody version of "When I, good friends" from Trial that summarised Sullivan's career to that date:

"A HUMOROUS KNIGHT."

["It is reported that after the Leeds Festival Dr. Sullivan will be knighted." Having read this in a column of gossip, a be-nighted Contributor, who has "the Judge's Song" on the brain, suggests the following verse, adapted to probabilities.]

As a boy I had such a musical bump, And its size so struck Mr. HELMORE, That he said, "Though you sing those songs like a trump, You shall write some yourself that will sell more." So I packed off to Leipsic, without looking back, And returned in such classical fury, That I sat down with HANDEL and HAYDN and BACH,— And turned out "Trial by Jury." But W.S.G. he jumped for joy As he said, "Though the job dismay you, Send Exeter Hall to the deuce, my boy; It's the haul with me that'll pay you." And we hauled so well, mid jeers and taunts, That we've settled, spite all temptations, To stick to our Sisters and our Cousins and our Aunts,— And continue our pleasant relations. Yet I know a big Duke, and I've written for Leeds, And I think (I don't wish to be snarly), If honour's poured out on a chap for his deeds, I'm as good-—come, as MONCKTON or CHARLEY! So the next "first night" and the Opéra C., Let's hope, if you're able to find him, You'll cry from the pit, "There's W. S. G. In the stalls,—with a KNIGHT behind him!'"

Reviews of the first performance of Trial by Jury were uniformly glowing. Fun magazine declared Trial "extremely funny and admirably composed." Punch magazine wrote that Trial "is the funniest bit of nonsense your representative has seen for a considerable time", only regretting that it was too short. The Daily News asserted that "In whimsical invention and eccentric humour Mr. W. S. Gilbert has no living rival among our dramatic writers, and never has his peculiar vein of drollery and satire been more conspicuous than in a little piece entitled Trial by Jury" The Daily Telegraph wrote that the piece "illustrates Mr. Sullivan's great capacity for dramatic writing of the lighter class." The critics wrote of the happy combination of Gilbert's words and Sullivan's music: "...so completely is each imbued with the same spirit, that it would be as difficult to conceive the existence of Mr. Gilbert's verses without Mr. Sullivan's music, as of Mr. Sullivan's music without Mr. Gilbert's verses. Each gives each a double charm." The Times said that "It seems, as in the great Wagnerian operas, as though poem and music had proceeded simultaneously from one and the same brain."

The first night audience was also delighted by the little forepiece: "To judge by the unceasing and almost boisterous hilarity which formed a sort of running commentary on the part of the audience, Trial by Jury suffered nothing whatever from so dangerous a juxtaposition [with the popular Offenbach piece]. On the contrary, it may fairly be said to have borne away the palm." The Daily News noted that "Laughter more frequent or more hearty was never heard in any theatre than that which more than once brought the action of [Trial] to a temporary standstill." Especial praise was reserved for the composer's brother, Fred Sullivan, in the role of the Learned Judge: "The greatest 'hit' was made by Mr. F. Sullivan, whose blending of official dignity, condescension, and, at the right moment, extravagant humour, made the character of the Judge stand out with all requisite prominence, and added much to the interest of the piece." The Times concurred: "Mr. F. Sullivan's impersonation of the learned and impressionable Judge deserves a special word of praise for its quiet and natural humour." Nelly Bromley (the Plaintiff), Walter Fisher (the Defendant), Mr. Hollingsworth (the Counsel) and others were praised for their acting.

Later assessments of the work have been no less positive. In 1922, H. M. Walbrook wrote that:

Trial by Jury... satirizes the procedure in an average breach of promise, and also the insincerity which may sometimes underlie the pose of "respectability." Everything done or sung is ludicrous, and yet beneath it all lies a recognisable substratum of truth. The piece is a riot of laughter. The Judge's ditty, "When first, my friends, I was called to the Bar," [sic] is the best-known comic song in the English language. In none of the operas is the genius of Gilbert as an inventor of "comic business" more daringly and irresistibly exhibited. One can see the piece again and again and discover fresh strokes of comicality. Its place in the Gilbert and Sullivan repertory is as secure as ever; and whatever reforms may be hereafter effected in this particular department of the King's Bench Division, Trial by Jury will probably long continue to be one of the English-speaking world's refreshments.

Biographer Michael Ainger wrote in 2002, "Nothing could be more serious than a court of law... and now the world had been turned upside down. The court of law had become the scene of humor and frivolity; the learned judge had shown himself to be as fickle as the defendant, and the justice system turned out to be flawed by human frailty. And Sullivan had grasped the joke.... From the first chords... Sullvan's music sets the scene of mock-seriousness and proceeds to dance its way through the whole piece."

Productions

After the premiere of Trial by Jury in 1875, operetta companies in London and in the provinces picked it up rapidly, usually playing it as a forepiece or an afterpiece to French operettas. The first American productions were at the Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia on October 22 1875, and the Eagle Theatre in New York on November 15 1875.

After Gilbert and Sullivan became established with Richard D'Oyly Carte, Trial was usually played as a companion piece to The Sorcerer or H.M.S. Pinafore. From 1894, the year when the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company established a year-long touring company that had most of the Gilbert and Sullivan works in its repertory, Trial was always included, except for 1901–1904, and then again from 1943–46, when the company played a reduced repertory during World War II. It was eliminated in 1976, as a cost-saving measure.

The following table summarises the main London productions of Trial by Jury during Gilbert's and Sullivan's lifetimes:

Theatre	Opening Date	Closing Date	Perfs.	Details
Royalty Theatre	March 25 1875	June 11 1875	131	This company also played matinées at the Gaiety Theatre on 10, 17, and 24 April 1875. From June 12 – October 10, the company took Trial and other operas on a provincial tour.
	October 11 1875	December 18 1875
Opera Comique	January 14 1876	May 5 1876	96	Trial was not performed from March 13–18 due to the illness of Fred Sullivan. After May 5, the company went on tour through October 28, with Fred Sullivan remaining in the show as the Judge most of the time.
Strand Theatre	March 3 1877	May 26 1877	73	Played with various operettas under the management of Mrs. Swanborough. This company then toured the provinces through July 28.
Opera Comique	March 23 1878	May 24 1878	56	Played as an afterpiece to The Sorcerer
Savoy Theatre	October 11 1884	March 12 1885	150	Played as a forepiece to The Sorcerer
Savoy Theatre	September 22 1898	December 31 1898	102	Played as a forepiece to The Sorcerer
Savoy Theatre	June 6 1899	November 25 1899	174	Played as a forepiece to H.M.S. Pinafore

Historical casting

The following tables show the casts of the principal original productions and D'Oyly Carte Opera Company touring repertory at various times through to the 1975 centenary season:

Third page of the 1875 programme

Role	Royalty Theatre 1875	Opera Comique 1878	Savoy Theatre 1884	Savoy Theatre 1898
Judge	Frederic Sullivan	George Grossmith	Rutland Barrington	Henry Lytton
Counsel	J. Hollingsworth	Rutland Barrington	Eric Lewis	Jones Hewson
Defendant	Walter H. Fisher	George Power	Durward Lely	Cory James
Foreman	Charles Kelleher	F. Talbot	Arthur Kennett	Leonard Russell
Usher	B. R. Pepper	Fred Clifton	William Lugg	Walter Passmore
Associate			J. Wilbraham	Charles Childerstone
Plaintiff	Nelly Bromley	Lisa Walton	Florence Dysart	Isabel Jay
1st Bridesmaid	Linda Verner		Sybil Grey	Mildred Baker

Role	D'Oyly Carte 1905 Tour	D'Oyly Carte 1915 Tour	D'Oyly Carte 1925 Tour	D'Oyly Carte 1935 Tour
Judge	Charles H. Workman	Leo Sheffield	Leo Sheffield	Sydney Granville
Counsel	Albert Kavanagh	Frederick Hobbs	Henry Millidge	Leslie Rands
Defendant	Strafford Moss	Dewey Gibson	Sidney Pointer	Robert Wilson
Foreman	J. Lewis Campion	Frank Steward	T. Penry Hughes	T. Penry Hughes
Usher	Reginald White	George Sinclair	Joseph Griffin	Richard Walker
Associate		Allen Morris	Martyn Green	C. William Morgan
Plaintiff	Bessie Mackenzie	Marjorie Gordon	Eleanor Evans	Ann Drummond-Grant
1st Bridesmaid	Mabel Burnege	Ethel Armit	Beatrice Elburn	Nancy Ray

Role	D'Oyly Carte 1949 Tour	D'Oyly Carte 1955 Tour	D'Oyly Carte 1965 Tour	D'Oyly Carte 1975 at Sadler's Wells
Judge	Richard Watson	John Reed	Jeffrey Skitch	Jon Ellison
Counsel	Alan Styler	Alan Styler	Alan Styler	Gareth Jones
Defendant	Leonard Osborn	John Fryatt	Philip Potter	Barry Clark
Foreman	Donald Harris	Jack Habbick	Anthony Raffell	James Conroy-Ward
Usher	L. Radley Flynn	George Cook	George Cook	Paul Waite
Associate	C. William Morgan	Keith Bonnington	Howard Williamson	William Palmerley
Plaintiff	Enid Walsh	Kathleen West	Jennifer Toye	Glynis Prendergast
1st Bridesmaid	Joyce Wright	Margaret Dobson	Pauline Wales	Patricia Anne Bennett

W. S. Penley, who later became a famous comedian, played the Foreman during much of the original run and tours and was well-remembered in the role.

Benefit performances

Rutland Barrington as the Learned Judge

Starting in 1877, Trial by Jury was often given at benefit performances, usually for an actor or actress who had fallen on hard times, but occasionally for other causes. These were glittering affairs, with various celebrities appearing in principal roles or as part of the chorus. W. S. Gilbert himself played the silent role of the Associate on at least four occasions. Arthur Sullivan conducted the 1877 benefit for actor Henry Compton. At the Nellie Farren benefit, many of the performers listed below sat in the jury or the gallery, and Trial was followed by a six-hour long concert. Performances were given by Henry Irving, Ellaline Terriss, Marie Tempest, Hayden Coffin, Arthur Roberts, Letty Lind, Edmund Payne and many others. The Ellen Terry benefit in 1906 was also a particularly well attended affair, with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle numbered among the jury and Enrico Caruso singing, among many star performances. Burgess (1997, pp. 56–61) reproduces the programmes for several of these benefits in facsimile. Others are listed in Gänzl (1986, pp. 95–98).

Role	Henry Compton Drury Lane March 1 1877	Amy Roselle Lyceum June 16 1887	Rutland Barrington Savoy May 28 1889	Nellie Farren Drury Lane March 17 1898
Judge	George Honey	Rutland Barrington	Rutland Barrington	Rutland Barrington
Counsel	George Fox	Richard Temple	Alec Marsh	Eric Lewis
Defendant	W. H. Cummings	Henry Bracy	Courtice Pounds	Courtice Pounds
Foreman			Mr. Burbank	Henry Lytton
Usher	Arthur Cecil	R. Lewis	William Lugg	Walter Passmore
Associate	W. S. Gilbert			W. S. Gilbert
Plaintiff	Pauline Rita	Geraldine Ulmar	Lottie Venne	Florence Perry

Role	Disabled Soldiers Drury Lane May 15 1900	Mr. Ringold Lyric Theatre December 5 1902	Ellen Terry Drury Lane June 12 1906
Judge	Rutland Barrington	Rutland Barrington	Rutland Barrington
Counsel	Eric Lewis	C. Hayden Coffin	Henry Lytton
Defendant	Courtice Pounds	Courtice Pounds	Courtice Pounds
Foreman	W. H. Denny	Fred Kaye	Robert Marshall
Usher	Walter Passmore	George Grossmith, Jr.	Walter Passmore
Associate	W. S. Gilbert	Lionel Monckton	W. S. Gilbert
Plaintiff	Florence St. John	Evie Greene	Ruth Vincent

Recordings

This opera has been recorded many times. Of the recordings by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, the 1927 and 1964 recordings have been well received. The 1961 Sargent and the 1995 Mackerras recordings are also admired.

Selected recordings

• 1927 D'Oyly Carte – Conductor: Harry Norris
• 1961 Sargent/Glyndebourne – Pro Arte Orchestra, Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, Conductor: Sir Malcolm Sargent
• 1964 D'Oyly Carte – Conductor: Isidore Godfrey
• 1975 D'Oyly Carte – Conductor: Royston Nash
• 1982 Brent Walker Productions Video – Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Conductor: Alexander Faris
• 1995 Mackerras/Telarc – Orchestra & Chorus of the Welsh National Opera, Conductor: Sir Charles Mackerras

References

• Ainger, Michael (2002). Gilbert and Sullivan – A Dual Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195147693.
• Allen, Reginald (1958, 1975). The First Night Gilbert and Sullivan. London: Chappell & Co. Ltd. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Archer, William (1882). "Mr. W. S. Gilbert". English Dramatists Of To-Day. London: Sampson Low, Marson & Co.
• Bradley, Ian (1996). The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 019816503X.
• Burgess, A. J. (1997). The Notary and other Lawyers in Gilbert & Sullivan. Hadleigh, Suffolk: Jardine Press.
• Crowther, Andrew (2000). Contradiction Contradicted – The Plays of W. S. Gilbert. London: Associated University Presses. ISBN 0-8386-3839-2.
• Gänzl, Kurt (1986). The British Musical Theatre—Volume I, 1865–1914. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Goldberg, Isaac (1921). The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan, or The 'Compleat' Savoyard. London: John Murray.
• Rollins, Cyril (1962). The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: A Record of Productions, 1875–1961. London: Michael Joseph. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Also, five supplements, privately printed.
• Stedman, Jane W. (1996). W. S. Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theatre. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816174-3.
• Walbrook, H. M. (1922). Gilbert & Sullivan Opera: A History and A Comment. London: F. V. White & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 2007-10-27.

External links

• Trial by Jury at The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive
• Trial by Jury at The Gilbert & Sullivan Discography
• Site containing biographies of the people listed in the historical cast and benefit cast tables