Knowra Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan The creative partnership of librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, best known for comic operas that combine satirical verse with memorable music.
The Mikado : A Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera set in a fictionalized Japan, first performed in 1885. Its exotic setting and satire of British institutions made it one of the partnership’s most popular works.
W. S. Gilbert : An English dramatist, librettist, and poet best known for the Savoy operas written with Arthur Sullivan. He supplied the plots, lyrics, and comic stage direction that shaped the partnership’s voice.
Thespis (opera) : A comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, first performed in 1871 and later largely lost. Their first collaboration tested the partnership before its enduring sequence of Savoy operas.
Savoy opera : A genre of English comic opera associated with the works produced at London’s Savoy Theatre. The partnership’s operas gave the genre its defining repertoire and name.
The Pirates of Penzance : A comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, first performed in 1879, about a young man mistakenly apprenticed to pirates. Its patter songs and absurd loophole-driven plot exemplify their comic method.
Arthur Sullivan : An English composer and conductor whose operas with W. S. Gilbert became known as the Savoy operas. His melodic and orchestral writing gave Gilbert’s comic situations musical force.
Victorian burlesque : A nineteenth-century British theatrical form that parodied popular works through comedy, music, and spectacle. Gilbert’s early stage career grew from a theatre culture built around parody and comic song.
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company : A British opera company established by Richard D’Oyly Carte to perform Gilbert and Sullivan and related works. Its productions preserved performance traditions and authorized interpretations of the operas.
H.M.S. Pinafore : A Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, first performed in 1878, that satirizes the British navy and social hierarchy. Its success established the partnership’s formula of topical satire and comic romance.
Libretto : The text of an opera or other vocal stage work, including its dialogue and lyrics. Gilbert’s librettos determined the stories and verbal rhythms Sullivan set to music.
Show all 22