This post was written by Chance Jimenez, Performing Arts GRA.
W.S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan were a duo whose collaborations transformed Victorian-era theatre, producing fourteen comic operas from 1871-1896. After 1881, their operas were showcased at the Savoy Theatre, constructed by Richard D’Oyly Carte, a passionate supporter of their art. These two items from the David and Annebelle Stone Gilbert and Sullivan collection highlight not only the influence of their work, but also the relationships they cultivated with the casts of their productions.
The Immortal Gilbert & Sullivan magazine was published by George Newnes Ltd, a British publisher, and issued 24 editions. The magazine was the first iteration of the Gilbert & Sullivan operas in this format and begins with an appreciation by Henry Lytton, whose career with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company spanned five decades, including a performance in Ruddigore. Each issue features the most renowned songs from the opera and details regarding the inaugural stage performance. Furthermore, they offer a narrative of the opera’s plot along with the names of the original cast members. The eleventh issue explores the plot of Act I of The Sorcerer and the most popular numbers from that segment. Although the opera was first performed over a century ago, on November 17, 1877, one of the famous numbers featured in this issue, “My Name is John Wellington Wells,” is still performed today! In a sense, the publishers resurrected the duo’s legacy through this publication, and it is intriguing to see how their influence persists in contemporary performances.
Ruddigore Costume Design
The Sorcerer marked the duo’s first collaboration with George Grossmith, but it would be far from their last. Considering George Grossmith’s “A Personal Reminiscence,” written after Sullivan’s passing, it is clear that he and Sullivan developed a close bond after working together for more than a decade. After the duo saw Grossmith perform in Trial by Jury and other Sullivan works at charity benefits, he was offered a role in The Sorcerer. A decade after his 1877 performance in The Sorcerer, Grossmith created his eighth character in collaboration with Gilbert & Sullivan. In the 1887 opera, Ruddigore, Grossmith plays Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, who assumes the alias Robin Oakapple.
It is uncertain whether other costume design sketches go so far as to include the performer’s surname, but there is something to be said for their burgeoning friendship when Grossmith receives a sketch bearing his name and the name of his character.
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