Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri

operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan

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July 21, 2026

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Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan that premiered in 1882. It is one of their famous "Savoy Operas".12

The operetta tells the story of Iolanthe, a fairy banished to earth for marrying a mortal. Her son, Strephon, is half-fairy and half-human, and he falls in love with a shepherdess named Phyllis. Their love is complicated by the fairy queen, the Lord Chancellor (Strephon's father), and the House of Peers, leading to a series of humorous and satirical events. The plot often involves mistaken identities and absurd situations, characteristic of Gilbert's writing style.123

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Arthur Sullivan
These were Iolanthe (1882), Princess Ida (1884), The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu (1885), Ruddigore (1887), The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), and The Gondoliers (1889). The collective works of Gilbert and Sullivan became known as the “Savoy Operas.”
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These were Iolanthe (1882), Princess Ida (1884), The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu (1885), Ruddigore (1887), The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), and The Gondoliers (1889). The collective works of Gilbert and Sullivan became known as the “Savoy Operas.”
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