Gilbert and Sullivan wrote the most popular operettas in the history of the English theater. Their works are often called comic operas. Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) and Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842-1900) collaborated on 14 operettas. Most of their works are light-hearted satires on Victorian behavior and the British Empire. Gilbert wrote the charming and witty words; Sullivan, the clear and dramatic music.
Gilbert and Sullivan had contrasting personalities. Gilbert had a sharp, biting wit and Sullivan had a sensitive nature. These differences sometimes led to severe quarrels between them. Despite frequent arguments, they worked together from 1871 to 1896. Their satirical operettas include The Sorcerer (1877, rev. 1884), H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879), Patience (1881), Iolanthe (1882), Princess Ida (1884), The Mikado (1885), Ruddigore (1887), The Gondoliers (1889), Utopia Limited (1893), and The Grand Duke (1896). For The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), they used a more serious story set in medieval England.
Gilbert and Sullivan’s first operetta, Thespis (1871), was only moderately successful. They gained popularity with their second work, Trial by Jury (1875), which was produced by Richard D’Oyly Carte. D’Oyly Carte also produced the other 12 Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and formed a company to perform the team’s works. See D’Oyly Carte, Richard .
Gilbert and Sullivan also had independent careers. Gilbert was a noted journalist, humorist, and playwright. His humorous ballads in Bab Ballads (1869, 1873) provided material for operettas. He was born in London on Nov. 18, 1836, and died on May 29, 1911. Sullivan, one of the most famous English composers of his day, composed the music for the hymn “Onward, Christian Soldiers” (1871) and the song “The Lost Chord” (1877). He was born in London on May 13, 1842, and died on Nov. 22, 1900.
See also H.M.S. Pinafore ; Mikado, The ; Pirates of Penzance, The ; Sullivan, Sir Arthur S.
