The Beauty Stone

The Beauty Stone, which Sullivan composed to a libretto by Arthur Wing Pinero and J. Comyns Carr opened at the Savoy Theatre on 18 May 1898 where it ran until 16 July, a total of 50 performances. It was the longest Savoy opera, lasting over four hours on opening night. In its original version, it required a cast of 21 principals.

The Devil comes to Mirlemont, a fifteenth century Flemish village, bearing with him a stone which, when worn around the neck, conveys upon the wearer perfect beauty. He gives it to Laine, the crippled daughter of Simon Limal, the village weaver. She becomes beautiful and wins the top honours at a local beauty contest organized by Philip, Lord of Mirlemont. Philip has recently returned from war in the Middle East, bringing with him Saida, a Mediterranean beauty whose charms are beginning to fade. Saida plots to steal the beauty stone, and when Laine, disgusted at Philip's dissolute behavior, throws the stone away to be picked up by her father, Saida schemes to wheedle it away from him.

Introduction

Notes on the libretto.

Preface and Argument by Arthur Wing Pinero and J. Comyns Carr

Programme from the production

Reviews of the production
- from The Observer, 29 May 1898
- from The Times, 30 May 1898
- from The Manchester Guardian, 30 May 1898
- from The Academy, 4 June 1898
- from The Saturday Review, 4 June 1898
- from Moonshine, 11 June 1898
- from The Lute, 1 July 1898

Photographs of the cast from The Sketch

Synopsis by Arthur Robinson

Libretto in text format.

Web Opera — Colin Johnson has provided us with MIDI files of all of the music from The Beauty Stone, which we have used to create another of our Web Operas, a G&S Archive exclusive. With all of the music, lyrics, and spoken dialogue, now you can get to know this long forgotten opera.

Interviews given by Sullivan at the time of production from the Daily Mail, 17 May 1898 and the Daily News, 25 May 1898.

Discography: Marc Shepherd's Beauty Stone Discography

Scores:
- The Amber Ring has published both a full score and a revised vocal score in anticipation of a new recording of the opera.
- A facsimile of the original vocal score for The Beauty Stone, prepared by Adam Cuerden, can be downloaded in PDF format from the Score Download page.
- A reprint of the 1898 vocal score can be purchased from Christopher Browne's Gilbert & Sullivan Catalogue



		You are here: Archive Home > Sullivan > Major Works > The Beauty Stone