Customer Reviews

Gilbert And Sullivan And Their Victorian World

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I have enjoyed Gilbert & Sullivan's plays since I was a little girl. I watched performances of their comic operas that my family taped off of public television, but I never knew much about the men who wrote these wonderfully entertaining operas. Just recently I had an opportunity to give a presentation on Gilbert and Sullivan's operas for a college course. This book was the first one I picked up and it turned out to be the only one I needed. This well-written book gives an entertaining account of the lives of these great men. The book also paints a vivid picture of what life and, more importantly, the theater were like when Gilbert & Sullivan began their collaboration. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about Gilbert & Sullivan, Victorian life, or English theater.

GILBERT & SULLIVAN AND THEIR VICTORIAN WORLD reads like a long article in a reception-room magazine, with ambition no greater than to tell the story of this amazing partnership. But on its own terms, this is a very successful book, providing this reader with several nights of upbeat diversion.

GILBERT & SULLIVAN begins with quick chapters on early Victorian theater and the backgrounds of Gilbert and Sullivan. Then, it plunges into the operas, giving each a chapter that discusses the libretto, the creation of the music, and the opening-night triumph (usually). In counterpoint, it tells the story of a sometimes difficult professional relationship--Gilbert was cantankerous while Sullivan believed his musical gifts were underused in comic opera. Anyone who has seen the movie Topsy-Turvy has the gist.

Of course, the genius of Gilbert and Sullivan is in their operas, where lies the best opportunity to appreciate their work. But for those interested in the back story, this book is a pleasant guide with interesting pictures on almost every page. For maximum enjoyment, read with G&S playing on your sound system. Then, you might hear...

Oh, is there not one maiden here
Whose homely face and bad complexion
Have caused all hope to disappear
Of ever winning man's affection?

Or...

Never mind the why and wherefore,
Love can level ranks and therefore ...

Lots of fun.

This is a handsome book from American Heritage/Putnam.

Two-color green cloth over hardback boards with a sewn binding and dustjacket. 286 pp. 3 pounds.

About 225 illustrations, many of them full page, in b&w and color. Posters, photos, prints, caricatures, production photos, costume and set designs, paintings, cartoons, and general Victoriana.

Bibliography and index.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Gaslight and Greasepaint

"A Dealer in Magic and Spells"
"An English Composer at Last"
A Partnership

"Such an Extraordinary Success"
Aesthetes and Savoyards
Fairies, Lords, and Mighty Maidens
Little Maids
Ghosts and Beafeaters

"Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes"
The Dying Fall
Finale