32^nd Festival Season - 2010

Patience or Bunthorne's Bride

Music by: Arthur Sullivan

Libretto by: William Gilbert

ACT I: Twenty love–sick maidens pine for aesthetic poet Reginald Bunthorne, whose own love is directed toward the village milkmaid Patience. She, however, claims to be happier without love. A year before, the maidens had been engaged to the 35th Dragoon Guards, but their tastes have since been etherealized and their perceptions exalted. They now think the Guards mere fleshly men compared to Bunthorne, the aesthetic ideal. Though delighted to be worshipped, Bunthorne confesses that he is an aesthetic sham; his pose is born of a morbid love of admiration. Lady Angela explains to Patience that love must be unselfish. Convinced, Patience resolves to fall in love at once. Archibald Grosvenor arrives—he and Patience were childhood friends and he has loved her ever since. He explains that he, too, is a poet whose destiny is to be loved at first sight by every woman he meets. When she realizes, however, that Grosvenor is perfect, Patience rejects him despite her feelings—after all, there can be nothing unselfish in loving such a man. As Patience will not have him, Bunthorne raffles himself to the maidens. But Patience stops the raffle and declares her complete unselfish love for Bunthorne. The maidens return to the Dragoons, but only momentarily—Grosvenor shows up and, with little effort, convinces the maidens to shift their allegiance to Archibald the All–Right.

ACT II: Patience and Grosvenor are still attracted to one another, but her sense of duty is firm—she is miserable with Bunthorne, but must continue to love unselfishly. Bunthorne’s train is now reduced to Lady Jane, who alone has remained faithful to him. He determines to defeat his rival Grosvenor, who he feels is stealing Patience’s attention. The Duke, Colonel, and Major of the Dragoons appear dressed in aesthetic garb. Angela and Saphir are impressed, and the five attempt to determine who shall marry whom, given three men and two women. Bunthorne confronts Grosvenor and threatens to curse him unless he immediately “de-aestheticizes” and becomes commonplace. Grosvenor capitulates; Bunthorne becomes happy and agreeable. But then Patience need no longer love him—she returns to Grosvenor, who is again eligible because he is now so ordinary. The love-sick maidens return to the Dragoons, Lady Jane marries the Duke, and nobody is left to be Bunthorne’s bride.