Sprites of earth and air

THE SORCERER
Librettist: Sir William Schwenk (W.S.) Gilbert
Composer: Sir Arthur Sullivan
First performance: Opera Comique, London, 17 November 1877

“The Sorcerer”, Gilbert and Sullivan’s earliest surviving two act collaboration, is set in an English village, and satirizes both the class system and idealism. Alexis Pointdextre will marry Aline Sangazure, and hopes that everyone can share in the joys of love. To that end, he hires a sorcerer, J.W. Wells, to drug the villagers with his love potion. Chaos ensues and the ‘wrong’ characters fall in love. In the end, Alexis persuades Wells to sacrifice himself to a demon, and all ends happily – except for the unfortunate respectable tradesman.

No. 13: “Sprites of earth and air”
The Sorcerer brews the magic potion, with the help of demons and spirits. The scene is a parody of the Wolfsschlucht scene in Weber’s FREISCHÜTZ (
Alexis, of the Grenadier Guards (tenor): David Palmer
Aline, betrothed to Alexis (soprano): Valerie Masterson
John Wellington Wells, of J.W. Wells & Co., Family Sorcerers (comic baritone): John Reed
D’Oyly Carte Opera Chorus

Conductor: Isidore Godfrey
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Recorded London 1966