In May of 2026, Marc Shepherd discovered three thought-to-be-lost deleted songs from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe bound in the back of a copyist manuscript in the British Library. We at Opera Picciona have made recordings with some of our favorite artists, so you can enjoy them!

Three cut songs from Iolanthe

“On you they’d set a coronet”

This is a quartet for the characters of Phyllis, Lord Tolloller, Lord Mountararat, and the Lord Chancellor. It came in the first act as part of a larger musical sequence in which the House of Peers profess their love to Phyllis, and Phyllis repeatedly rejects them.

Phyllis - Alice J. Lambert
Lord Tolloller - Cameron Smith
Lord Mountararat - Richard Holmes
Lord Chancellor - David Bell
Pianist - Marisa Green

This ballad is a solo for Phyllis, which she was to have sung upon her first entrance in the second act. The song has Phyllis reflecting on her feelings for Strephon after breaking off their engagement in the previous act.

Phyllis - Alice J. Lambert
Pianist - Marisa Green
Lamb - Molly

“De Belleville was regarded as the Crichton of his age” – commonly known as simply “the De Belleville song” – was sung by Lord Mountararat to explain how people are made Peers. It is the best-known of the three, having been included in the first edition of the published libretto, and was reported to have been “recited”, rather than sung, at the London production’s opening night performance, but was cut shortly thereafter. Gilbert later published the lyric as a standalone poem.

Lord Mountararat - Richard Holmes
Pianist - Marisa Green

Background

It is not certain why these songs were preserved in the copyist manuscript, however it likely has to do with the fact that Iolanthe, uniquely among the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, was prepared for simultaneous premieres in London and New York on November 25, 1882. In order to send the performance materials to New York in a timely fashion, the full score had to be prepared and copied earlier in the process than was typical for Sullivan, and some changes made late in rehearsals in London were unable to be transferred to New York in time for the premiere. Reviews indicate that the De Belleville song was sung at the New York premiere, and it is known that Sullivan instructed Alfred Cellier, the opera’s conductor in New York, to write his own overture, as Sullivan was unable to have his sent over in time.

The songs, in full score, were found by Shepherd bound in the back of a copyist’s manuscript which was misfiled at the British Library. The score was in the possession of the D’Oyly Carte organization until their archive was acquired by the British Library in 2015.

A fourth cut song is included in the materials discovered by Shepherd, a solo for Strephon titled “Fold your flapping wings.” This song, also included in the opening night libretto, was not considered lost, as it is included, bound in the back of Sullivan’s autograph manuscript, also held by the British library. The song is sometimes included in modern performances.

Marc Shepherd, a Gilbert and Sullivan researcher who has published editions of several of the creators’ operas, has transcribed and published the three new discoveries, and generously made full scores and piano scores available for free.

Natan Zamansky, Richard Holmes, Cameron Smith, Alice J. Lambert, Marisa Green, David Bell, Manya Gaver-Holmes, and Molly
(Photo by Yosra Thabet)