Gilbert and Sullivan facts for kids
Gilbert and Sullivan were a famous creative team from the Victorian era. W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) wrote the stories and words, called libretti (say: lih-BRET-ee). Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) composed the music. Together, they created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896. Some of their most well-known works include H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado.
Gilbert was known for his "topsy-turvy" worlds. In these stories, funny and absurd things happen. For example, fairies might meet British lords, or pirates might turn out to be noblemen. Sullivan, who was six years younger, wrote the memorable music. His music could be both funny and touching.
Their operas became very popular around the world. People still perform them often today, especially in English-speaking countries. Gilbert and Sullivan changed musical theatre forever. Their work also influenced books, movies, and TV shows. Many humorists have even made fun of their operas in a playful way. Richard D'Oyly Carte helped bring Gilbert and Sullivan together. He built the Savoy Theatre in 1881 just for their shows. These shows became known as the Savoy Operas. Carte also started the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. This company performed their works for over a century.
Contents
- How Gilbert and Sullivan Started
- Their Famous Operas
- Their Lasting Impact
- Their Collaborations
- Different Versions and Adaptations
- See also
How Gilbert and Sullivan Started
Gilbert's Early Life and Work
Gilbert was born in London on November 18, 1836. His father was a naval surgeon and writer. In 1861, Gilbert started writing his own stories, poems, and articles. Many of these ideas later became part of his plays and operas. His illustrated poems, called the Bab Ballads, were especially important.
In his early works, Gilbert created a unique "topsy-turvy" style. He would start with a silly idea and then explore what would logically happen next. For example, a judge might marry the person suing him. Or soldiers might become artists. This style mixed strange ideas with real-life situations. It told outrageous stories in a very serious way.
Gilbert also had new ideas about directing plays. He wanted actors to be more realistic on stage. He didn't want them to talk directly to the audience. He also made sure actors knew their lines perfectly. This was a new approach for many actors at the time.
Sullivan's Early Life and Work
Sullivan was born in London on May 13, 1842. His father was a military bandmaster. By age eight, Arthur could play all the instruments in the band. He started composing songs and anthems in school. In 1856, he won a scholarship to study music. He went to the Royal Academy of Music and then to Leipzig, Germany.
His first big success was music for Shakespeare's play The Tempest in 1862. This made him known as a promising young composer in England. He wrote symphonies, concertos, and overtures. An overture is a piece of music played at the beginning of an opera or play.
Sullivan also wrote music for voices, like The Masque at Kenilworth (1864). He composed an oratorio (a large musical work for voices and orchestra, usually on a religious theme) called The Prodigal Son (1869). He also wrote many hymns and popular songs.
His first comic opera was Cox and Box (1866). Gilbert, who was a critic at the time, said Sullivan's music was "too high a class" for the silly story. But the opera was very successful and is still performed today.
How They Met
In 1870, a composer named Frederic Clay introduced Gilbert to Sullivan. This happened during a rehearsal for one of Gilbert's shows. Over the next year, both men continued to work on their own projects. The audience for theatre was growing in Britain. More people had pianos at home and enjoyed music. This set the stage for their future collaboration.
Their Famous Operas
First Shows Together
Thespis: Their First Try
In 1871, a producer named John Hollingshead asked Gilbert and Sullivan to create a Christmas show. This show was called Thespis. It was a funny story where old Greek gods are replaced by a group of actors. One of the actors was named Thespis, who was known as the father of drama. The show made fun of politics and grand operas.
Thespis opened on Boxing Day and ran for 63 performances. This was a good run for the time. However, no one knew then that it was the start of a great partnership. The music for Thespis was never published and is now mostly lost.
For the next three years, Gilbert and Sullivan worked separately. They both became more famous in their own fields.
Trial by Jury: A Big Hit
In 1874, Gilbert wrote a short story for an opera. A producer named Richard D'Oyly Carte needed a short opera to play after another show. Carte knew about Gilbert's story and asked Sullivan to write the music for it. Sullivan loved the story, and Trial by Jury was created very quickly.
This opera is a funny take on the law. It's about a man who breaks his promise to marry a woman. The judge solves the case by marrying the woman himself! Sullivan's brother, Fred, played the funny judge. The opera was a huge success. It ran longer than the main show it was paired with.
Fred Sullivan's role as the judge set a pattern for future operas. He played a "patter" (comic) baritone character. This character often sang fast, funny songs. This type of character became a key part of all their later operas.
After Trial by Jury, everyone wanted Gilbert and Sullivan to write more operas. Carte wanted to create an English style of light opera. This would be different from the French shows popular at the time.
Early Major Successes
The Sorcerer: A Love Potion Story
Carte formed a company to produce a new comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan. Gilbert found an idea in one of his own short stories. It was about a love potion given to everyone in a small village. The main character was a businessman who was also a sorcerer.
The Sorcerer (1877) was carefully rehearsed and polished. It was praised by critics and ran for over six months. This encouraged Carte to ask for another full-length opera from the team.
H.M.S. Pinafore: Their First International Hit
Gilbert and Sullivan had their first international hit with H.M.S. Pinafore (1878). This opera made fun of people getting important jobs without being qualified. It also gently teased the Royal Navy and the English obsession with social status. Like many of their operas, a surprising twist changes everything at the end.
Gilbert was very involved in the show's production. He designed the sets and costumes. He also directed the actors, making sure they acted realistically. Sullivan oversaw the music. Their hard work led to a very polished show. One of the actresses, Jessie Bond, said that Gilbert and Sullivan were very strict but also patient. They wanted everything to be perfect.
H.M.S. Pinafore ran for 571 performances in London. This was a very long run for that time. Many unauthorized versions of Pinafore appeared in America. During the show's run, Richard D'Oyly Carte had a disagreement with his business partners. This led to Carte, Gilbert, and Sullivan forming the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. This company then produced all their future operas.
Gilbert and Sullivan used certain types of characters in their operas. These included a heroic young man (tenor), his love interest (soprano), an older woman with a secret (contralto), and a baffled father (lyric baritone). They also added the comic character who sings fast "patter" songs. They chose their own performers and wrote the operas for the whole cast, not just individual stars. Many unknown performers became stars by working with the company for years.
The Pirates of Penzance: Duty and Deception
The Pirates of Penzance (1879) also made fun of grand opera. It explored ideas of duty, family, and being "respectable." The story features a "modern Major-General" who knows everything except about the military. He and his daughters escape from the kind-hearted pirates by pretending he's an orphan. But the pirates find out the truth. In the end, it's revealed the pirates are all noblemen. The Major-General tells them to "resume your ranks and legislative duties."
This opera first opened in New York. This was an attempt to protect their copyright in America, but it didn't fully work. Pirates was a big hit in both New York and London. It became one of their most performed and parodied works.
The Savoy Theatre Opens
Patience: Teasing Artists
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Patience (1881) made fun of the "aesthetic movement." This was a trend where artists focused on beauty for its own sake. The opera featured two rival poets who attracted all the young ladies. But both poets loved Patience, a milkmaid. Richard D'Oyly Carte even sent Oscar Wilde, a famous aesthetic artist, on a tour to help Americans understand the satire.
While Patience was running, Carte built the new Savoy Theatre. This theatre was very modern and was the first public building in the world lit entirely by electricity. Patience moved to the Savoy and ran for 578 performances, even longer than H.M.S. Pinafore.
Iolanthe: Fairies and Lords
Iolanthe (1882) was the first opera to open at the new Savoy Theatre. The electric lights allowed for cool special effects, like sparkling magic wands for the fairies. The opera poked fun at English law and the House of Lords (a part of the British Parliament). It also explored the "war between the sexes." Critics thought Sullivan's music for Iolanthe was a step forward.
In Iolanthe, a peaceful world of women is disrupted when men and "mortal love" are introduced. Gilbert had explored similar ideas in earlier plays. In 1882, Gilbert had a telephone installed at his home and the Savoy Theatre. This allowed him to check on rehearsals from home. On Sullivan's 41st birthday, guests, including the Prince of Wales, listened to parts of Iolanthe live from the Savoy. This was probably the first live "broadcast" of an opera.
In 1883, Queen Victoria made Sullivan a knight. This honor was for his serious music, not his comic operas. Many people thought he should stop writing comic operas after this. But Sullivan had signed a five-year agreement to write new operas with Gilbert and Carte.
Princess Ida: Women's Education
Princess Ida (1884) made fun of women's education and male chauvinism. It continued the theme of the "war between the sexes" from Iolanthe. The opera is based on a poem by Tennyson. Gilbert had written a play on the same topic in 1870 and used much of its dialogue. Ida is the only Gilbert and Sullivan opera where all the dialogue is in blank verse (poetry without rhyme). It's also their only three-act work.
Princess Ida was not as successful as their previous operas. It ran for 246 performances, which was shorter than usual for them. Sullivan felt he couldn't write another opera like the ones they had already done. Carte realized they wouldn't have a new opera ready when Ida closed. So, he brought back The Sorcerer for a while.
The Mikado: A Japanese Setting for English Fun=
Their most successful opera was The Mikado (1885). It made fun of English government rules, but it was set in Japan. Gilbert first suggested a story about a magic lozenge (a small, flavored candy) that would change characters. Sullivan didn't like this idea. He felt it wasn't realistic enough. After some disagreement, Gilbert agreed to write a story without magic.
The story is about Ko-Ko, a "cheap tailor" who becomes the Lord High Executioner. He loves Yum-Yum, but she loves a musician. This musician is actually the son of the Emperor of Japan, the Mikado. The Mikado has ordered that executions must happen in Ko-Ko's town. Ko-Ko is too scared to execute anyone. When the Mikado visits, Ko-Ko tries to trick him. Eventually, Ko-Ko has to marry an older woman, Katisha, to save everyone's lives.
At the time, Japanese art and styles were very popular in England. There was even a Japanese village exhibition in London. Setting the opera in Japan allowed Gilbert and Sullivan to make fun of British politics more freely. Gilbert said the Mikado was an imaginary ruler. He said the opera wasn't meant to criticize any real Japanese institutions.
The Mikado ran for 672 performances, their longest run ever. It is still the most performed Savoy Opera. It has been translated into many languages.
Ruddigore: A Topsy-Turvy Melodrama
Ruddigore (1887) was a funny version of a Victorian melodrama (a play with exaggerated characters and exciting events). It was less successful than their other operas, running for 288 performances. Some critics didn't like the original title, Ruddygore, or the idea of ghosts coming back to life. Gilbert and Sullivan changed the title and made other adjustments. Even so, the show made money, and some reviews were good. When Ruddigore closed, there was no new opera ready. Gilbert again suggested the "lozenge" plot, but Sullivan still refused. So, Carte brought back older popular operas.
The Yeomen of the Guard: A Serious Ending
The Yeomen of the Guard (1888) is their only opera with a serious ending. It's about a jester and a singing girl caught in a dangerous plot at the Tower of London in the 16th century. The language sounds old-fashioned, but it doesn't make fun of British institutions. Critics praised Gilbert's story for trying something new. Sullivan's music for Yeomen was considered his best yet. It was more ambitious than his previous work.
Yeomen was a hit, running for over a year. But Sullivan felt tired of writing comic operas. He wanted to write a grand opera (a serious opera, usually with a tragic ending). Gilbert didn't think he could write a grand opera story. They agreed to write a light opera for the Savoy and, at the same time, Sullivan would write a grand opera called Ivanhoe for a new theatre Carte was building.
The Gondoliers: Republican Equality
The Gondoliers (1889) takes place in Venice and a fictional kingdom. It's about two gondoliers who try to make the monarchy more equal. Gilbert brought back themes from his earlier works, like making fun of class differences. The newspapers loved it. They said Gilbert was back to his old, funny self.
The Gondoliers ran for a long time, almost as long as Pinafore and The Mikado. Queen Victoria and the royal family even watched a special performance at Windsor Castle. This was the first Gilbert and Sullivan opera to receive such an honor. The Gondoliers was their last big success together.
The "Carpet Quarrel" and Later Works
Gilbert and Sullivan usually got along well, but sometimes their partnership was difficult. Gilbert was often direct and easily upset. Sullivan avoided conflict. Gilbert's stories often turned the social order upside down. Sullivan wanted more realism and emotion in his music.
They disagreed several times about what their next opera should be about. After Princess Ida and Ruddigore, Sullivan wanted to leave the partnership. He felt Gilbert's plots were too similar. Each time, Gilbert eventually wrote a story that Sullivan liked, and they continued working together.
In 1890, during the run of The Gondoliers, Gilbert argued with Carte about expenses. Gilbert was upset that Carte charged the cost of a new carpet for the theatre lobby to their partnership. Gilbert thought Carte alone should pay for it. Gilbert sued Carte. Sullivan supported Carte, which upset Gilbert even more. Gilbert felt it was a matter of honesty. Sullivan had other reasons to stay on Carte's good side, as Carte was building a new theatre for Sullivan's grand opera, Ivanhoe.
After The Gondoliers closed in 1891, Gilbert stopped allowing his operas to be performed at the Savoy. He said he wouldn't write any more operas for them. Gilbert eventually won the lawsuit. However, his actions had hurt his partners. But their partnership had been so successful that Carte and his wife wanted to bring them back together. In late 1891, their music publisher helped them make up. This led to two more operas.
Their Last Operas
Utopia, Limited (1893) was their second-to-last opera. It was only a small success. Their very last opera, The Grand Duke (1896), was not successful at all. These two operas were not performed regularly until the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company recorded them in the 1970s.
After The Grand Duke, they didn't work together again. They had one last misunderstanding in 1898. Gilbert went to the premiere of Sullivan's new opera, expecting seats. But he was told Sullivan didn't want him there. Sullivan later said this wasn't true. They last met at the Savoy Theatre in 1898 for a celebration. They didn't speak to each other.
Sullivan died in 1900. Gilbert wrote that any memory of their disagreements had been "completely bridged over." He said Sullivan was a "composer of the rarest genius." Gilbert went into semi-retirement but continued to direct revivals of their operas. He was knighted in 1907. Gilbert died in 1911.
Their Lasting Impact
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company continued to perform Gilbert and Sullivan operas for many years. They toured almost constantly until they closed in 1982. The operas were also performed widely in North America, Australia, and Europe.
In 1922, Sir Henry Wood, a famous conductor, explained why their operas were so successful. He said Sullivan's music was bright, funny, and charming. He also said it perfectly matched Gilbert's words. Wood felt that both men were masters. They worked together perfectly, creating something unique.
Many people agree that Gilbert and Sullivan's work is special. Their humor and satire were very clever. Their operas have influenced many other musical theatre writers. Famous lyricists like Cole Porter and Ira Gershwin learned from Gilbert.
Gilbert and Sullivan's influence goes beyond musical theatre. Their wit and irony can be seen in many types of comedy. Lines from their operas have become part of the English language. Phrases like "short, sharp shock" and "What never? Well, hardly ever!" are still used today.
Their works are often copied and made fun of in a playful way. Comedians and TV shows have used their songs in their routines. Songs from Gilbert and Sullivan are also used in advertising. Their operas are often mentioned in books, movies, and TV. There are even movies about their lives, like Topsy-Turvy (2000).
Politicians have also found inspiration in their work. A US Chief Justice even added gold stripes to his robes after seeing them on a character in Iolanthe. British politicians have given speeches that sound like Gilbert and Sullivan songs.
Today, many professional and amateur groups still perform Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival is held every August in England. People from all over the world come to perform and watch the operas. Their special blend of charm, silliness, and gentle satire continues to be popular.
Recordings and Broadcasts
The first recordings of songs from their operas were made in 1898. In 1917, the Gramophone Company made the first full recording of The Mikado. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company continued to make popular recordings for decades. These recordings helped keep the operas famous.
After the copyrights expired, many other companies started recording the operas. BBC Radio has broadcast complete cycles of their operas. There are many audio and video recordings available today. The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival also releases recordings of its shows.
Their Collaborations
Major Works and Original London Runs
- Thespis; or, The Gods Grown Old (1871) 63 performances
- Trial by Jury (1875) 131 performances
- The Sorcerer (1877) 178 performances
- H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor (1878) 571 performances
- The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty (1879) 363 performances
- The Martyr of Antioch (cantata) (1880) (Gilbert helped modify the poem)
- Patience; or Bunthorne's Bride (1881) 578 performances
- Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri (1882) 398 performances
- Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant (1884) 246 performances
- The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu (1885) 672 performances
- Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse (1887) 288 performances
- The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and his Maid (1888) 423 performances
- The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria (1889) 554 performances
- Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress (1893) 245 performances
- The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel (1896) 123 performances
Other Works Together
- Parlour ballads: These were popular songs for singing at home.
- "The Distant Shore" (1874)
- "The Love that Loves Me Not" (1875)
- "Sweethearts" (1875), based on Gilbert's 1874 play, Sweethearts
- Overtures: The music played at the beginning of an opera. Most of them are a mix of tunes from the opera. Sullivan wrote some himself, and others were written by his assistants based on his ideas.
Different Versions and Adaptations
Translations
Gilbert and Sullivan operas have been translated into many languages. These include Yiddish, Hebrew, Portuguese, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, Japanese, French, Italian, and Spanish. There are many German versions, including the popular Der Mikado.
Ballets
- Pineapple Poll, a ballet created in 1951. It's based on Gilbert's poem "The Bumboat Woman's Story." The music uses themes from Sullivan's operas.
- Pirates of Penzance - The Ballet!, created in 1991.
Other Adaptations
Gilbert himself adapted H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado into children's books. Many other children's books have retold their stories. Their popular songs were also adapted into dance pieces.
Many musical theatre shows and films have been made from their operas. Some examples include:
- The Swing Mikado (1938; an all-black cast production)
- The Hot Mikado (1939)
- The Pirate Movie (1982 film)
- The Ratepayers' Iolanthe (1984; an award-winning musical)
- Di Yam Gazlonim (1986; a Yiddish version of Pirates)
- Gondoliers: A Mafia-themed version (2001) where actors also played their own instruments.
See also
In Spanish: Gilbert y Sullivan para niños
- List of songwriter tandems
- People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan
