Have you ever heard a musical excerpt from H.M.S. Pinafore or The Pirates of Penzance? If so, you’ve had a taste of the work of one of England’s most famous creative teams. Playwright William S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur S. Sullivan (1842-1900) teamed up to write fourteen popular musical plays in the late nineteenth century.
It may seem curious that these two men came to collaborate on some of the most enduring and tuneful works in the
history of the musical theater. They had very different personalities. Gilbert was a difficult man who was known to be
remote and arrogant. Sullivan was a gifted musician with a sociable and easygoing manner.
You may know famous American musicals such as The King and I, West Side Story, or Rent. The style of works such as these evolved over time to blend music, dance, and theater into a seamless whole. Previously, popular musicals (called comic operas or operettas) were less unified. They were excuses to string together an amusing assortment of songs, dance numbers, and stage spectacles.
Then along came Gilbert and Sullivan. Sullivan’s sweet melodies and lush orchestrations balanced Gilbert’s witty plays and lyrics. Their twenty-five-year partnership earned them plaudits from audiences, critics, and fellow artists the world over.
Eventually, their working relationship began to decline. Each man was jealous of the other’s success. Each was annoyed by the other’s temperament. They wrangled over artistic and personal issues. A short time after the first performance of The Gondoliers, they reached the breaking point. Their final split came after an awful fight over—of all things—the purchase of a carpet for the theater in which their works were performed.