| “ | The law is the true embodiment of everything that's excellent; it has no kind of fault or flaw, and I, my lords, embody the law. | „ |
| ~ The Lord Chancellor's introduction. |
| “ | It may not be, for so the fates decide: Learn thou that Phyllis is my promised bride. (Iolanthe: Thy bride?! No no...) It shall be so! Those who would separate us woe betide. | „ |
| ~ The Lord Chancellor revealing he plans to claim Phyllis for himself. |
The Lord Chancellor is the main antagonist of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1882 comic opera Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri. He is the current Lord Chancellor of Britain who regularly marries his young wards in chancery away, but falls in love with Phyllis (despite being her legal guardian) and wants her for himself.
He was played by George Grossmith in the original 1882 Savoy Theatre performance.
Biography
Act 1
The Lord Chancellor first appears joining with his boisterous peers in the House of Lords. He bemoans the fact that being her legal guardian, it would be wrong (not to mention legally confusing) for him to marry his ward Phyllis, whom half the members of the House of Lord are also in love with. He tries to marry her to one of the arrogant lords, but she spurns them all, having found love with the lowly shepherd Strephon (who is secretly half fairy and the son of the titular Iolanthe).
The Lord Chancellor angrily forbids this marriage, impelling Strephon to beg for him to reconsider. The shepherd explains that nature bid he marry Phyllis, and these forces are beyond the juridical rulings of mortal men. Though appearing to briefly entertain Strephon's logic, the Lord Chancellor still shuts him down, sardonically responding that Strephon has no evidence of Nature's opinion; no written affidavit or anything of the sort.
Strephon is devastated by the Lord Chancellor's callous rebuff. He's cradled and consoled by his mother Iolanthe, who, due to being a fairy, looks around seventeen years of age. The two stuffy Earls Tolloller and Mountararat discover them pressed close together and gleefully conclude that Strephon is in fact cheating on Phyllis.
Phyllis is outraged at Strephon's apparent infidelity and breaks up with him, swearing instead to marry one of the Earls and not caring which. Strephon invokes the aid of the Fairy Queen. However, the Lord Chancellor simply coldly brushes the Fairy Queen off as the proprietor of a ladies' seminary and refuses to listen to her. The enraged queen of the fairies deploys her magic to make Strephon a Member of Parliament who can pass any bill he proposes.
Act 2
The Lord Chancellor is later seen experiencing a horrid nightmare at night, precipitated by the agony of his unrequited love towards Phyllis. When his feverish dream ends, the enraptured Chancellor throws himself at the sunrise. Tolloller and Mountararat then meet the slightly disheveled official and, having decided among themselves that they wouldn't sacrifice their friendship to vie for Phylis's love, encourage him to claim the young woman for himself, insisting that meekness never won a fair lady.
Near the climax of the play, Strephon and Phyllis beg Iolanthe to persuade the Lord Chancellor to relent and permit their marriage. Iolanthe reveals however that the Lord Chancellor is in fact her husband and Strephon's father. Since no fairy may marry a mortal, she was to be executed for her marriage, but the Fairy Queen took pity on her and instead faked her death on the condition that Iolanthe would never inform the Lord Chancellor of her survival. She decides to attempt to save the marriage anyway by putting on a disguise.
The triumphant Lord Chancellor has decided he will have Phyllis. Just as he congratulates himself for his resolve, Iolanthe appears and implores him to change his mind. The Lord Chancellor seems moved by her appeal but steels himself and sneers that Phyllis will be his bride, and that he will let woe fall upon anyone who tries to get in their way. This leaves the selfless Iolanthe with no choice. She reveals to the Lord Chancellor that she is his wife. In a flash, all the Lord Chancellor's selfish thoughts are washed away as he is reunited with his wife. But their moment of bliss is short-lived as the Fairy Queen appears to execute her for her transgression.
In the last second, the other fairies stop the Fairy Queen and confess they've all married the other lords. The Fairy Queen contemplates slaughtering them all and finds the prospect rather unpractical. The Lord Chancellor, displaying his legal prowess, changes the age-old fairy rule from, "any fairy who marries a mortal," to "any fairy who doesn't marry a mortal must die", thus saving the day.
Trivia
- Unusually, the Lord Chancellor has a motif that plays whenever he dramatically enters the stage. This motif leads into both of his solos, "The Law is the True Embodiment" and "When You're Lying Awake".
 Villains
| ||
|
Operas | ||