Theatre Register

W. S. Gilbert

Shows · W. S. Gilbert

LyricistBook Writer 1836–1911

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with the composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most famous of these include H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre, The Mikado. The popularity of these works was supported for over a century by year-round performances of them, in Britain and abroad, by the repertory company that Gilbert, Sullivan and their producer Richard D'Oyly Carte founded, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. These Savoy operas are still frequently performed in t…

Also credited on2 works

The Hot Mikado
Pirates! The Penzance Musical

These come off the person record, which names a work and not a production. So we can say this name is attached to the work and we cannot say which staging, or in what capacity. For a composer or a writer that is the whole career we hold; there is no cast list to find them in.

In the literature8 passages

  • The following is a chronological list of all operettas by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan that were revived in New York during the period January 1, 1950, through December 31, 1959. Following each title is the opening date, number of performances, name of theatre, and name of producer.ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • It must be true that lyricists are influenced by other lyricists and models could have come only from one of two sources: W. S. Gilbert and translations of Viennese operetta. From Gilbert they might have learned sharp satire, but this style was not practiced at all by our earlier lyricists. Then it is possible just possible that they were…ebooks/Engel, Lehman/Words with Music_ Creating the Broadway Musical Libretto - Lehman Engel.txt
  • This leads us to the so-called Savoy Operas of Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert, which appeared over a quarter of a century, from 1871 to 1896. * These comprise, almost inarguably, the most influential suite of musicals the English-speaking world was to know for seventy years, till the age of Rodgers and Hammerstein and, after, Sondheim-…ebooks/Mordden, Ethan/Anything Goes_ A History of American Musical Theatre - Ethan Mordden.txt
  • 105 . W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan , Vocal Score of The Mikado, or, The Town of Titipu , arrangement for pianoforte by George Lowell Tracy (New York: Wm. A. Pond, [1885]), 50 , 128. Another example of The Revuers’ fascination with The Mikado is the number “Three Little Psychopaths Are We,” which was a parody of “Three Little Maids fr…ebooks/Oja, Carol J_/Bernstein Meets Broadway_ Collaborative Art in a Time of War (Broadway Legacies) - Carol J. Oja.txt
  • 78 . W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan , The Pirates of Penzance, or, The Slave of Duty : Libretto PDF, 2; Paul Howarth and Jim Farron, curators, “Gilbert and Sullivan Archive,” http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/pirates/html/index.html , accessed May 24, 2013.ebooks/Oja, Carol J_/Bernstein Meets Broadway_ Collaborative Art in a Time of War (Broadway Legacies) - Carol J. Oja.txt
  • ‘We all come from Gilbert,’ Johnny Mercer used to say. He is, indeed, the father of all lyricists, but, strictly speaking, W. S. Gilbert himself is no lyricist. It comes back to the old question again: which comes first? In the Savoy operas, the words always came first and, on the one occasion when Gilbert made an exception and allowed Ar…ebooks/Steyn, Mark/Broadway Babies Say Goodnight_ Musicals Then and Now - Mark Steyn.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

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