Gilbert & Sullivan  - "Topsy Turvy"

Musical Theatre

Gilbert & Sullivan

W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan collaborated on 14 comic operas (operettas) between 1871 and 1896. Sullivan composed the tunes, while Gilbert provided the words – although both men famously considered the other one to be the weak link holding him back.

 

The duo’s work had an enduring impact on the Victorian world around them, and a number of Gilbert’s turns of phrase are still in common use today. Eat your heart out, Shakespeare! Those phrases include ‘short, sharp shock’, 'hardly ever' and ‘let the punishment fit the crime.’ Their work influenced the likes of Noel Coward and Irving Berlin, and they can call themselves the grandfathers of modern musical theatre.

 

Their operas often satirise the establishment. You'll notice that many of their powerful characters, from generals to dukes, haven’t the faintest idea what they’re doing.

 

Beginner's Guide: ARTICLE LINK

Musical Theatre

The Golden Age I

Musical Theatre

The Golden Age I

Musical Theatre

Gilbert & Sullivan

GILBERT & SULLIVAN  - "TOPSY TURVY"

Musical Theatre

Gilbert & Sullivan

HMS Pinafore [1878]

A nautically-themed operetta, HMS Pinafore was the duo’s first international hit, with hundreds of unauthorised productions quickly springing up across America.

 

When the Captain’s daughter falls in love with a lower-class sailor, the pair make plans to elope together – but as in so many G&S musicals, nothing turns out in quite the way they expect it to!

 

The show was revolutionary in its day; directed by Gilbert himself, he insisted that the actors follow their stage directions exactly, as well as refusing to acknowledge the inherent absurdity of the characters they were playing. Instead of playing it up for the audiences, they were expected to play characters deadpan.

Musical Theatre

Gilbert & Sullivan

GILBERT & SULLIVAN  - "TOPSY TURVY"

Musical Theatre

Gilbert & Sullivan

Pirates Of Penzance [1879]

When Frederic is apprenticed to a good-hearted band of pirates, he’s expected to stay until his 21st birthday. Unfortunately, as it turns out, he was born on a leap year – meaning that he’s indentured until the age of 63.

 

This might be Frederic’s story, but the

opera is probably best known for

introducing us to the Major-General.

His ‘patter song’ is one of the duo’s

most famous tunes.

Musical Theatre

Gilbert & Sullivan

GILBERT & SULLIVAN  - "TOPSY TURVY"

Musical Theatre

Gilbert & Sullivan

The Mikado [1885]

The Mikado, was written at a time when English trade with Japan was on the rise, and the Victorian public was fascinated with Japanese culture.

 

Like many of the duo’s operas, The Mikado satirises authority; setting it in a far-off land allowed them to be much more direct in their mockery than if they’d gone after the British government directly.

 

It’s the story of Ko-Ko, the newly-appointed Lord High Executioner of the town of Titipu. When news arrives that the Emperor of Japan (The Mikado) is coming, Ko-Ko assumes that this can only be to ascertain whether he’s executing enough people, and he has to come up with an elaborate plot to keep hold of his job – without actually executing anyone…

Musical Theatre

Gilbert & Sullivan

GILBERT & SULLIVAN  - "TOPSY TURVY"

Musical Theatre

Gilbert & Sullivan

Disussion:  ​

Changing someone's opinion about a long held belief.

The socio-politics of irreverence.  

A commentary on the populist context.

 

 

 

Find a small question about Gilbert & Sullivan's work.

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