Gilbert and Sullivan: Interviews and Recollections

by Harold Orel (Editor)

Overview

Sir William Schwenk Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan created fourteen comic operas - witty satires set to sparkling music - that instantly won a large and enthusiastic audience and remain immensely popular today. Their talents brought the two men together and their temperaments finally drove them apart. Here, in forty interviews and recollections, is a record of what was said about them during and shortly after their lifetimes by friends, musicians, theatrical managers, singers, actors, and actresses, journalists and authors. For Gilbert and Sullivan devotees everywhere, this entertaining collection will provide fresh insights into the careers and collaborative achievements of one of the most successful - and enduring - enterprises of Victorian theatre.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780333639054
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	06/18/1995
Series:	Interviews and Recollections
Edition description:	1994
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Preface - Introduction - INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS - PART 1: GILBERT, MOSTLY WITHOUT SULLIVAN - PART 2: SULLIVAN, MOSTLY WITHOUT GILBERT

Editorial Reviews

The 39 recollections presented here by Orel, a professor of English at the University of Kansas, are culled from the published writings of critics, musicians, singers, journalists, friends and others who were close to William Gilbert (1836-1911) and Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), the team best remembered for such popular comic operas as H.M.S. Pinafore , The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. Supplemented by Orel's extensive notes, the testimonials comprise a dual biography documenting the achievements of the men together and singly, and demonstrating that each had a successful career on his own. Gilbert, one of the major satirists of his day, was the author of numerous plays and poems, and Sullivan was a respected conductor and a composer of sacred music, songs and serious opera. The two emerge as very different personalities from each other: Gilbert had a biting wit and a domineering nature, while Sullivan was known for his easy-going manner and penchant for gambling. Savoyards will appreciate these reminiscences, which illuminate many aspects of a remarkable collaboration, but others may tire of the long-winded and frequently digressive Victorian prose. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Together, Sir William Schwenck Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan created 14 comic operas that instantly won large, enthusiastic audiences. But eventually their temperaments drove them apart. This collection of 40 interviews and recollections recording what was said about them during and shortly after their lifetimes by friends, musicians, managers, actors, and writers provides a composite biography of their careers both as independent artists and as collaborators. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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