Gilbert and Sullivan

The designation Gilbert and Sullivan alludes to a British Victorian opera duo, consisting of the playwright and librettist William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), and the works of musical theatre they created collaboratively. Between 1871 and 1896, they worked together on fourteen comic operas that enjoyed significant international acclaim.

By parodying older, both British and Continental, works and genres, Gilbert and Sullivan created the distinctive form of English comic opera, while also engaging in parodies of cultural formations such as behaviours, attitudes, institutions and, for example, stereotypes such as ‘the angel in the house’ as a way of playing with these conventions of social life (Williams xiii).

Their First Collaboration

The duo first came together in 1871 to produce a Christmas extravaganza, Thepsis, for John Hollingshead, manager of the Gaiety Theatre in London. By that time both of them already had their careers in their respective fields consolidated, with Sullivan already having established himself as leading composer and Gilbert as successful playwright (Williams 1, 3).

Their first operatic collaboration only occurred in 1875, when a composer was needed for the musical backdrop of one of Gilbert’s librettos. The resulting work Trial by Jury (1875) was instantly popular and ran for over a year (“Arthur Sullivan”). This second collaboration was instigated on the initiative of Richard D’Oyly Carte (1844-1901), then manager of the Royalty Theatre. His desire to establish a distinctive school of English comic opera and his consequent encouragement and leadership were central to bringing and keeping Gilbert and Sullivan together (Williams 1). Upon their early success, Carte formed the Comedy Opera Company with the aim to present and promote Gilbert and Sullivan’s works (“Arthur Sullivan”).

Their Partnership and Joint Work

Their Success and the Savoy Theatre

With their third joint work, The Sorcerer (1877), Gilbert and Sullivan’s formula for the novel genre of English comic opera emerged, the development of which had already begun with their first two collaborations, and which continued to develop in the following six operas (Williams 5). The Sorcerer was followed by H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), which proved to be a great success, and The Pirates of Penzance (1879).

The collaboration between Gilbert and Sullivan peaked in the late 1870s and 1880s, with the entrepreneurial efforts of Richard D'Oyly Carte stabilizing and supporting it (Williams 77). In 1881, during the run of Patience, Carte built the Savoy Theatre to house the duo’s productions there. Patience was the first opera to be performed at the Savoy Theatre and it was followed by Ionlanthe (1882), Princess Ida (1884), and The Mikado (1885), with which the formation process of their innovative genre was substantially completed (Williams 5) and which in turn was followed by Ruddigore (1887), The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), and The Gondoliers (1889), the last great Savoy success. The duo’s joint work became known as the Savoy Operas, derived from the name of the theatre in which they were performed.

The Carpet Quarrel and their Last Works

In the late 1880s, however, relations between the partners had become strained, partly due to artistic disputes over new subjects and Gilbert’s pettiness regarding financial matters (“W.S. Gilbert”). A quarrel arose when Savoy manager Carte requested that new carpets for the Savoy Theatre be paid for out of The Gondoliers profits ("Beginner's Guide"). This disagreement over the specific contractual regulations on profit distribution ended with Sullivan supporting Carte and with Gilbert eventually breaking off the partnership.

The duo remained estranged until 1893, when they worked together again for the production of Utopia, Limited and then again in 1896 for their last joint work, The Grand Duke. Their collaboration ultimately came to an end after 1896, when The Grand Duke proved unsuccessful, but by then they had firmly established the genre of English comic opera (Williams 365) and to this day, the enduring impact of their legacy is still present.

List of their Major Works

• Thespis; or, The Gods Grown Old (1871)
• Trial by Jury (1875)
• The Sorcerer (1877)
• H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor (1878)
• The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty (1879)
• Patience; or, Bunthorne’s Bride (1881)
• Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri (1882)
• Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant (1884)
• The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu (1885)
• Ruddigore; or, The Witch’s Curse (1887)
• The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid (1888)
• The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria (1889)
• Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress (1893)
• The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel (1896)

Bibliography

“Arthur Sullivan.” Britannica Academic, 7 Aug. 2019, academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/Arthur-Sullivan/70260. Accessed 2 Jan. 2024.

“The Beginner’s Guide to Gilbert & Sullivan.” English National Opera, 30 June 2023, www.eno.org/discover-opera/beginners-guide-gilbert-sullivan/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2023.

Williams, Carolyn. Gilbert and Sullivan: Gender, Genre, Parody. Columbia UP, 2011.

“W.S. Gilbert.” Britannica Academic, 7 Aug. 2019, academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/WS-Gilbert/36813. Accessed 2 Jan. 2024.