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Exploring the Works of Gilbert and Sullivan

Test your knowledge of the iconic works and contributions of Gilbert and Sullivan, the famous duo known for their comic operas.

#Gilbert and Sullivan #Comic Opera #Musical Theatre #Theater History #19th Century Music

1 Which of the following titles did Gilbert and Sullivan have?

2 ________, or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor (1878) 571 performances

3 The composer was delighted with it, and ________ was composed in a matter of weeks.

4 The Ghosts of Ruddigore by ________ (2003)

5 Sullivan's old collaborator on ________ (later the editor of Punch magazine), F. C. Burnand, wrote to the composer: "Magnificento!...I envy you and W.S.G.

6 Director and playwright ________ described the "Gilbertian" style as follows:

7 [108] Gilbert's lyrics served as a model for such 20th-century Broadway lyricists as ________,[109] Ira Gershwin,[110] and Lorenz Hart.

8 MP3 files of music from ________ 2002 performance by The Manchester University Gilbert & Sullivan Society

9 The piece is one of Gilbert's humorous spoofs of the law and the legal profession, based on his short experience as a ________.

10 This gave the Gondoliers overture the familiar fast-slow-fast pattern of most of the rest of the ________ overtures, and this version has competed for popularity with Sullivan's original version.

💡 Interesting Facts

  • in a career lasting four decades, British actor William Lugg appeared in Princess Ida by Gilbert and Sullivan in 1884 and the film Scrooge in 1913.
  • a Royal Command Performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers was held before Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in 1891.
  • it was John Hollingshead who brought together Gilbert and Sullivan in 1871.
  • the 1975 musical The Black Mikado was based on Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 opera The Mikado.
  • the original "Three Little Maids from School" in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 opera The Mikado were Sybil Grey, Jessie Bond and Leonora Braham.
  • Sir George Power, 7th Baronet of Kilfane created the role of Ralph Rackstraw in Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore in 1878.
  • Signor Brocolini (pictured), the original Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, took his stage name in honor of Brooklyn, where he grew up.
  • Hamilton Clarke, a prolific composer of the Victorian era, is remembered today chiefly for his compilation of the overture to Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado.
  • opera singer Richard Suart, known for his roles in Gilbert and Sullivan, has also specialised in avant-garde modern opera.
  • John T. Ford was the only American theatre manager to pay Gilbert and Sullivan royalties for H.M.S. Pinafore during its initial U.S. run.
  • Lawrence Turner, who presented a Parliamentary petition calling for W. S. Gilbert's copyright on the libretti of Gilbert and Sullivan operas to be extended indefinitely, was the grandson of comic actor George Grossmith who starred in them.
  • Pauline Rita played three roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas for Richard D'Oyly Carte, but left his company in 1878 never to return.
  • English singer and actor Walter H. Fisher created the role of the Defendant in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1875 opera Trial by Jury.
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