D’Oyly Carte << DOY lee KAHRT >>, Richard (1844-1901), an English theater manager, produced all but the first of the 14 operettas written by Sir William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur S. Sullivan. D’Oyly Carte’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s second work, Trial by Jury (1875), established the team as a success. D’Oyly Carte used the profits from his productions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s early operettas to build the Savoy Theatre in London in 1881. Gilbert and Sullivan’s last eight operettas had their premieres at the Savoy. Their works became known as Savoy operas, and performers and other people associated with them became known as Savoyards. In the 1880’s, D’Oyly Carte founded the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company to perform Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. In 1891, he opened the Royal English Opera House (now the Palace Theatre) to encourage native English opera.
D’Oyly Carte was born on May 3, 1844, in London. He died on April 3, 1901.
See also Gilbert and Sullivan.
