Gilbert’s infamous “lozenge” plot – in which a magical device transforms people into whatever they pretend to be – first appears in Gilbert’s handwriting in the plot book for Iolanthe, and he pitched it – unsuccessfully – to Sullivan several times in the ensuing decade of the 1880s. When GIlbert and Sullivan decided to part ways in 1890, Gilbert wasted no time finding another composer – Alfred Cellier – who was willing to collaborate on this concept which had fascinated him for so long. Gilbert’s plays and libretti often deal with people who argue with themselves and their own psychology. The Mountebanks is perhaps his most psychological work up to that point, raising questions of how much control we really have over our own thoughts and feelings.

In rural Sicily, four sets of characters grapple with their personal squabbles and professional struggles, when all accidentally ingest a potion which effects an unusual change upon them. Opera Picciona presents a rare performance of the score of The Mountebanks, with narration to fill in the plot between the songs, so you can judge for yourself whether Sullivan was right to reject the project, or if Gilbert had something truly meaningful to say with this concept that had gnawed at him for over a decade.