Classic Gilbert and Sullivan

 
 
Gilbert (1836-1911) was the son of a naval surgeon.   In 1861 he began to write illustrated stories poems and articles.   His  poems, known as the Bab Ballads, and short stories, were later used in plays and in  the classic Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
 
Sullivan (1842-1900) was the son of a military bandmaster.   By the time he had reached the age of 8, he was able to play all instruments in the band.   In school he began to compose anthems and songs, and in 1856, he received the first Mendelssohn prize and studied at the Royal Academy of Music and at Leipzig, where he began conducting.   He had the reputation of England’s most promising young composer, composing a symphony, a concerto and Overture di Ballo in 1870.
 
The first classic Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration was Thespis, which opened in 1871.   In 1875 Richard D’Oyly Carte was managing the Royalty Theatre and needed a short opera.   Gilbert had already written a short piece for Carl Rosa.   Carte suggested that it be set to music by Sullivan.   Sullivan was delighted with it and the classic Gilbert & Sullivan Trial by Jury was the result.
 
Sullivan then wrote The Zoo, with the libretto by B.C.Stephenson.
The Sorcerer followed in 1877.   Sullivan wrote this in collaboration with Gilbert, and then H.M.S.Pinafore in 1878, which was a great success in classic Gilbert & Sullivan.
  
 
The Pirates of Penzance is unique among classic Gilbert & Sullivan operas in that its première took place in the USA.   It was at the Fifth AvenueTheater, New York on 31 December 1879, with Sullivan himself conducting.
 
The première of  Patience  was at the Opéra Comique on
23 April 1881.   On 10 October 1881 Patience transferred to the new Savoy Theatre which Richard D’Oyly Carte had just built in the Strand.   The Savoy was the first theatre in Britain to be lit by electric light, and became the home of classic Gilbert & Sullivan.
 
In 1882 Iolanthe was the first classic Gilbert & Sullivan opera to have its premiere at the Savoy.   While Iolanthe was running, Sullivan was knighted by Queen Victoria for services to serious music, though his operas with Gilbert had brought him broader fame.
 
Princess Ida followed in 1884.   Nearly all of the dialogue came from Gilbert’s earlier play The Princess, so it did not have the topsy-turvy  plot of so many classic Gilbert & Sullivan operas.
 
The Mikado opened at the Savoy Theatre in London on
14 March1885..   The Mikado was extremely popular in the USA and many pirate companies put on unauthorised productions.   Richard D’Oyly Carte produced an authentic version, which opened at the Fifth Avenue Theater on 19 August 1885.    The London run was a record for the classic Gilbert & Sullivan operas of 672 performances.   There were many versions of The Mikado,     including Hot Mikado and The Black Mikado  (1975), and it was featured in the film Topsy-Turvy.
 
Ruddigore  opened at the Savoy Theatre on 22 January 1887, was not received so well by the first-night audience as many classic Gilbert & Sullivan operas.   It ran for only 288 performances.  
 
The first night of The Yeomen of the Guard was on 3 October 1888.   The composition had been completed in something of a hurry.   The overture was written during a final rehearsal.   Yeomen ran for 423 performances and the melodies are in the classic Gilbert & Sullivan tradition.    
 
The Gondoliers followed in 1889, and was well received by the first-night audience.    It ran for 559 performances and was the last great success of  the classic Gilbert and Sullivan.
 
Utopia Limited  had its first night on 7 October 1893, The Grand Duke on 7 March 1896.   Neither met with the success of the earlier classic Gilbert & Sullivan productions.