Gilbert and Sullivan: A Dual Biography

by Michael Ainger

Overview

"A Gilbert is of no use without a Sullivan." With these words, W.S. Gilbert summed up his reasons for persisting in his collaboration with Arthur Sullivan despite the combative nature of their relationship. In fact, Michael Ainger suggests in Gilbert and Sullivan the success of the pair's work is a direct result of their personality clash, as each partner challenged the other to produce his best work. After exhaustive research into the D'Oyly Carte collection of documents, Ainger offers the most detailed account to date of Gilbert and Sullivan's starkly different backgrounds and long working partnership. Having survived an impoverished and insecure childhood, Gilbert flourished as a financially successful theater professional, married happily and established himself as a property owner. His sense of proprietorship extended beyond real estate, and he fought tenaciously to protect the integrity of his musical works. Sullivan, the product of a supportive family who nourished his talent, was much less satisfied with stability than his collaborator. His creative self-doubts and self-demands led to nervous and physical breakdowns, but it also propelled the team to break the successful mode of their earliest work to produce more ambitious pieces of theater, including The Mikado and The Yeoman of the Guards. Offering previously-unpublished draft libretti and personal letters, this thorough double-biography will be an essential addition to the library of any Gilbert and Sullivan fan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195147698
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/21/2002
Pages:	528
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 6.25(h) x 1.40(d)
Lexile:	1400L (what's this?)

About the Author

Michael Ainger is a freelance researcher and writer. He has worked at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Table of Contents

Curtain-raiser: The London grocer and the Irish soldierPart I: 1836-1837 by different routes to the stage door1. 1836-1852 Gilbert: a dramatic childhood. Sullivan: a musical background2. 1853-1858 The Chapel Royal and King's College3. 1859-1862 Sullivan at Leipzig; Gilbert at Law4. 1863-1866 Gilbert and Sullivan: the ballad writersPart II: 1867-1877 Establishing reputations: from Cox and Box to The Sorcerer5. 1867-1868 Gilbert and Sullivan in the theatre6. 1869-1871 The Meeting of Gilbert and Sullivan C Thespis7. 1872-1873 Different Worlds: Gilbert's The Wicked World; Sullivan's The Light of the World8. 1874-1875 Trial By Jury9. 1875-1876 In search of a manager10. 1876 Sullivan is honoured; Gilbert is ridiculed11. 1877 The Comedy Opera Company and The SorcererPart III: 1877-1884 The G&S phenomenon: from HMS Pinafore to Princess Ida12. 1877-1878 HMS Pinafore13. 1878-1879 Troubled Waters14. 1879 America and The Pirates of Penzance15. 1880-1881 Patience16. 1881 The Savoy Theatre17. 1881-1882 Iolanthe18. 1883-1884 Princess Ida

Editorial Reviews

"Gilbert and Sullivan: A Dual Biography is a landmark in the field: simply the best thing of its kind, and a remarkable achievement that we may not live to see bettered. If you read no other book on G&S, you must read Ainger."— G&S News

From the Publisher