Sir Arthur Sullivan

Jeremy Tambling (University of Hong Kong)
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William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) and Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) co-authored the “Savoy operas” – the name given to the operettas which were commissioned by Richard D'Oyly Carte (1844-1901), who built the Savoy theatre in the Strand for them (1881) – as he later built the Royal English Opera House (now the Palace) for Sullivan's

Ivanhoe

in 1891. Carte had intended to become a composer, but began in theatre management in 1874 with

opéra bouffes

by Serpette (1846-1901) and Lecocq (1832-1918). Gilbert was a journalist and barrister and dramatist, writing opera burlesques, while Sullivan, the son of an Irish musician with a career in military music, had studied as a star pupil at the Royal Academy of Music and at the Leipzig Conservatory (1858-1861) and wrote choral settings and…

2063 words

Citation: Tambling, Jeremy. "Sir Arthur Sullivan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 January 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4285, accessed 22 November 2024.]

4285 Sir Arthur Sullivan 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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