Tripping
Hither, Tripping Thither . . . !
The
four shows: The Mikado; Ruddigore; The Yeomen of the Guard; and The Gondoliers,
constitute the pinnacle of their success. Ideas for shows came from all
directions. For instance, The Mikado was born out of Japanese sword falling from
Gilbert's study wall; and Yeomen from a colourful underground railway station poster.
Of
Ballads, Songs and Snatches, and
Dreamy Lullaby . . .!
The
Mikado, brim full of show stoppers, contains one of the most fantastic
Gilbertian characters - Pooh-Bah. Staged and filmed all over the world, it was,
and still is, the biggest fortune maker of the Savoy Operas.
Hey,
But He's Timid as a Youth Can Be . . .!
Sullivan
composed Ruddigore simultaneously with The Golden Legend, based on Longfellow's
poem. The Legend was a fabulous success at the Leeds Festival. Arthur was a
great supporter of the English Music Festivals, supporting composers like Martin
Shaw and Edward
Elgar. Ruddigore, with
its out-of-this-world characters, had a cautious reception at the Savoy. Yet
Ruddigore is popular today and we seldom, if ever, hear The Legend. Then came a
period when ideas seemed to dry up. And the production of the highly successful
show Dorothy
by Sullivan's boy-hood choir pal Alfred Cellier further fuelled their
depression.
It's
the Song of a Merryman, Moping, Mum . . .!
Yeomen
was probably their most realistic plot, and the nearest to grand opera. It was a
favourite of both of them. Then came the first of two major quarrels: The Cipher
quarrel was so called because Sullivan complained that Gilbert treated him as no
more than a cipher in the theatre.
Come,
Let's Away - Our Island Crown Awaits
Me . . .!
When eventually patched up the
quarrel resulted in one
of their finest shows - The Gondoliers. This beautifully constructed opera,
crammed with whistleable tunes, was to be one of the greats.
And
I'm a Peppery Kind of King . . .!
Returning
from a trip abroad shortly afterwards, Gilbert hit the roof because D'Oyly Carte
had bought some expensive carpet for the Savoy. Sullivan tried to mediate but
was perceived to be siding with Carte, making matters worse. This 'Carpet
Quarrel' was really their undoing. Although they wrote two more operas: Utopia
Limited and The Grand
Duke, the flame was dimmed and neither could be claimed to
be a success. Other bright stars were, however, still producing fine operatic
music, one such was the Italian composer Pietro Mascagni and his award winning Cavalleria
Rusticana.
During
this period four young men were following in
Sullivan's footsteps and closely watching his methods: Leslie Stuart of Florodora
fame, Edward
German who composed Merrie England, Sidney Jones with The Geisha,
and Lionel
Monckton - The Arcadians. Sullivan was the founder of this school1.
But a new era was gently approaching, heralded by the brilliant musical comedy
by Sidney Jones entitled The Geisha. Was this their 'coming bye and bye', or their 'Long
Day Closes' . . . ?
Click our 'golden' piano keys to
approach the zenith of the story! >>>
1. Footnote: For
further details see Baily in our MusicSmiles bibliography. Return
to story.
