Essential Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) was the undisputed master of English-language operetta, but it's still rare to hear of Sullivan without the prefix "Gilbert and…". And from Trial by Jury in 1875 to The Gondoliers in 1889 Sullivan and his librettist WS Gilbert produced an unbroken string of comic-opera masterpieces of a quality and originality unsurpassed by Strauss, Lehár or even Offenbach. But Sullivan had loftier ambitions, and in the 21st century his fresh, tuneful orchestral pieces and stirring choral works have found a new audience.
Read more…A child prodigy, Sullivan won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 14 and went on to study in Leipzig. His early theatrical music and the delightful "Irish" symphony display the melodic freshness and fantasy that saw him hailed as a new Mendelssohn. The 19th-century British musical establishment, dominated by choral festivals and the church, preferred gravity to wit, and Sullivan did his best to oblige – writing the grand opera 'Ivanhoe' at the personal request of Queen Victoria. But Sullivan's often peppery relationship with Gilbert unlocked his true genius. In their 14 "Savoy Operas" Sullivan assimilated the idioms of Offenbach, Wagner and Verdi to create near-perfect popular musical comedies, ranging in style from the featherweight farce of 'The Mikado' and the playful satire of 'Iolanthe' to the sunlit romance of 'The Gondoliers' and the near-tragic 'The Yeomen of the Guard'. Performed across the English-speaking world and beyond, they endure as some of the most consistently inspired and entertaining operettas ever composed.