About Gilbert and Sullivan

[Photographic plate]. W. S. Gilbert. London: Barraud. [Men and Women of the Day. Volume III. London: Richard Bentley, 1890.]

Playwright W.S. Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) and composer Arthur Sullivan’s (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) celebrated partnership began in 1871 on the West End production of Thespis. The duo would eventually rise to fame through their fourteen original comic operas, created between 1871 and 1896.

Although the majority of their operas continue to be honored and performed over a century later, The Mikado stands out as one of their most well known and frequently observed pieces.

[Carte de visite.] Arthur Sullivan (age 28). Birmingham [UK]: H.J. Whitlock, (ca. 1870).

The Collaboration

Gilbert and Sullivan collaborated on fourteen notable operas:

• Thespis (1871)
• Trial by Jury (1875)
• The Sorcerer (1877)
• H.M.S. Pinafore (1878)
• The Pirates of Penzance (1879)
• Patience (1881)
• Iolanthe (1882)
• Princess Ida (1884)
• The Mikado (1875)
• Ruddigore (1887)
• The Yeomen of the Guard (1888)
• The Gondoliers (1889)
• Utopia, Limited (1893)
• The Grand Duke (1896)