Meet…Gilbert & Sullivan

Who: Sir William Schwenck Gilbert and Arthur A. Sullivan. Victorian era dramatist and musical composer, whose long-running partnership paved the way for today’s modern musical theater. Gilbert was a librettist who wrote all of the lyrics and scripts for their comic operas. He also was an accomplished journalist, and poet. Sullivan was a quite accomplished musical composer who wrote the musical scores for their numerous works.

What: Collaboratively wrote 14 comic operas. Gilbert and Sullivan’s works have enjoyed numerous revivals over the years. A few of their most famous comic operas are still performed today many by both high school and university theatrical groups. These include:

- H.M.S. Pinafore-571 initial performances.
- The Pirates of Penzance-363 initial performances.
- The Mikado-672 initial performances.

When: Between 1871 & 1896. Both Gilbert and Sullivan had lucrative careers prior to their collaboration, they are however most known for their works together. Their partnership would span nearly 25 years, but would ultimately end because of a quarrel over who should pay to replace carpets in the Savoy Theatre.

Where: Primarily London, England at the Savory Theatre which was specifically built to house their works. The Savoy Theatre was built by Richard D’Oyly Carte and opened its doors on October 10, 1881. It was the first public building to be lit entirely by incandescent electric lights. On June 3, 1929, it was demolished and only a few short months later on October 21, 1929, reopened its doors after having been rebuilt from the ground up. Unfortunately, disaster would later befall the Savoy when it would burn to the ground on February 12, 1990. Instead of cutting their losses, and moving on, it was lovingly restored to its 1929 glory reopening its doors on July 19, 1993. It still remains in operation to this day, featuring at least two productions at any given time, throughout the year.