The Art of Gilbert and Sullivan

Even over one-hundred years after the wild success of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, they are still performed publicly for new generations, holding tenaciously onto that special place in our hearts. With their catchy melodies, clever plots, and enchanting imagery, what were originally intended as social satire have by his time become great entertainment, and always great fun.

But of all there is to love about a good Gilbert and Sullivan opera, the artistic legacy that they have left behind is what's most interesting, at least to us. This is why today we are going to show you some of the finest art relating to the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.

But no such article is really complete without first briefly discussing the dynamic duo itself. Librettist William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) paired up in 1871 to collaborate on Thespis, a Christmas production hosted by John Hollingshead at the Gaiety Theatre. After this collaboration, which was mildly successful, they went on to produce Trial by Jury (1875), The Sorcerer (1877), H. M. S. Pinafore (1878), Pirates of Penzance (1879), Patience (1881), Lolanthe (1882), and Princess Ida (1884).

At this time, as dramatized in the 1999 British musical drama film, Topsy Turvy, the pair were beginning to have disagreements, and worse yet, reviews of their operas indicated staleness and lack of innovation. It was just the same ol' stuff over and over, but just packaged differently. Gilbert wrote a libretto about a magic lozenge, but Sullivan wasn't sold on the idea. According to him, it was artificial, lacking a human dynamic, and, to top it all off, it was way too much like The Sorcerer. Eventually, Gilbert dropped that idea, and the duo went on to create their most successful, and arguably their most enduringly popular, opera yet. The Mikado (1885), a social satire thinly disguised by a Japanese setting and characters, was well-timed, as trade was beginning to open between England and Japan, so Japanese art and styles were immensely popular. Gilbert, however, said of the choice of setting, "I cannot give you a good reason for our... piece being laid in Japan. It... afforded scope for picturesque treatment, scenery and costume, and I think that the idea of a chief magistrate, who is... judge and actual executioner in one, and yet would not hurt a worm, may perhaps please the public." No matter what may be said about the opera itself, it was undeniably a huge commercial success, running for a total of 672 performances at the Savoy Theatre, which surpassed H. M. S. Pinafore by 101 performances, and also surpassed Patience by 96 performances. It was, at that time, one of longest runs of any theater performance, and it was Gilbert and Sullivan's longest running hit.

Because they had differences in style and vision, their relationship was fraught with disagreement and conflict, and it finally dissolved after the performance of their last two operas, Utopia, Limited (1893), and The Grand Duke (1896), (the latter of which was one big flop.) [Source: Wikipedia]

And now for the art...

Promotional poster for H. M. S. Pinafore (1879) Image source: The Library of Congress

Another poster for H. M. S. Pinafore (1879) Image source: The Library of Congress

And yet another, (1879). This one is a little unusual, and it almost looks like they're using imagery from the play to advertise something else entirely, but we can't say for sure. Image source: The Library of Congress

A promotional poster for Patience (1881) Image source: The Library of Congress

Another poster for Patience (1881). This strongly appears to be part of the same series as the last one we showed you. Image source: The Library of Congress

A WPA poster from 1937, featuring a Cincinnati Federal Theatre production of Pirates of Penzance. Image source: The Library of Congress

A WPA poster from 1936, featuring a Cincinnati Federal Theatre production of The Mikado. Image source: The Library of Congress

Another WPA poster from 1936, featuring a Federal Music production of The Gondoliers. Image source: The Library of Congress

Sheet music for When I Was a Lad, one of the musical numbers from H. M. S. Pinafore. (Date unknown). Image source: The Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection at Johns Hopkins University

Patience Quadrille sheet music (date unknown). While there are no direct indications that this relates to the operetta, there is one mention of W. S. Gilbert, which would suggest such a connection. Also note Arthur Sullivan's signature in the lower right-hand corner. Image source: The Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection at Johns Hopkins University

The Mikado, XLCR Edition (date unknown). Image source: The Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection at Johns Hopkins University

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