What are Gilbert and Sullivan operettas?

Gilbert and Sullivan are perhaps best known for their comic operas: The Mikado, H.M.S Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and Iolanthe.

  • London’s Savoy Theatre was built to stage their operas.
  • Their works are known as Operettas.
  • Some of Gilbert’s fanciful storylines are based on real experiences.

Did Gilbert and Sullivan hate each other?

Arthur Seymour Sullivan and William Schwenck Gilbert didn’t like each other, didn’t have much in common, and both had loftier ambitions than the creation of operettas. But if they’d stuck to those ambitions, they wouldn’t be remembered today.

What works did Gilbert and Sullivan create?

Together they wrote a series of fourteen comic operettas (including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance , and The Mikado ) which were wildly popular in their own time and are still widely performed by amateur and professional groups today, over a hundred years after their creation.

What is the best Gilbert and Sullivan?

Gilbert and Sullivan are perhaps best known for their comic operas: The Mikado, H.M.S Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and Iolanthe.

Why did Gilbert and Sullivan break up?

After creating several operettas together, composers Gilbert and Sullivan split up. Sullivan became tired of doing the same kind of music over and over again. They reunited years later when Gilbert came up with the idea for their masterpiece, The Mikado.

Why did Gilbert and Sullivan fall out?

During a ‘peace conference’ at the Savoy Theatre, Gilbert’s temper got the better of him: he roared that Carte was exploiting and robbing both himself and Sullivan, turned on Carte and Sullivan, called them blackguards, then stormed out of the meeting.

Where can I see Gilbert and Sullivan?

G&S Opera TV offers a unique collection of all the Gilbert & Sullivan operas performed during the twenty-six years of the Festival along with interviews and an educational series available exclusively for subscribers.

Why are Gilbert and Sullivan important?

Gilbert & Sullivan changed both the content and form of musical theatre. They showed that subjects like politics and social issues could be addressed in a witty way, without sacrificing entertainment values.

What kind of music did Gilbert and Sullivan write?

As well as collaborating on the operas, both Gilbert and Sullivan produced work independently, and the buttons above lead to the resources relating to those works such as librettos, scores, contemporary reviews, MIDI files and production pictures.

Are there any Gilbert and Sullivan musicals still performed?

(Although Gilbert wrote several shows with other composers, they have not been revived or recorded.) A. Auxiliary Works Sullivan wrote musicals with other collaborators, but only two of those works are still performed. Though the librettos are not as witty as Gilbert’s best, they are still delightful.

Where can I find the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive?

As supplements to the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive there is a section devoted to British Musical Theatre and American Musical Theatre of the 19th and early 20th centuries. We have also incorporated David Trutt’s Haddon Hall site.

Who is the curator of the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive?

If you have any questions about Gilbert and Sullivan and their operas, you may contact David Stone at [email protected]. If you have something which you feel would be appropriate to add to the Archive, send a note to Paul Howarth at [email protected] to make arrangements for your contribution.