The Cambridge Companion to Gilbert and Sullivan (Cambridge Companions to Music)

Cambridge University Press, 8/6/2009
EAN 9780521716598, ISBN10: 0521716594

Paperback, 292 pages, 24.7 x 17.4 x 1.7 cm
Language: English

Memorable melodies and fanciful worlds – the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan remain as popular today as when they were first performed. This Companion provides a timely guide to the history and development of the collaboration between the two men, including a fresh examination of the many myths and half-truths surrounding their relationship. Written by an international team of specialists, the volume features a personal account from film director Mike Leigh on his connection with the Savoy Operas and the creation of his film Topsy-Turvy. Starting with the early history of the operatic stage in Britain, the Companion places the operas in their theatrical and musical context, investigating the amateur performing tradition, providing new perspectives on the famous patter songs and analysing their dramatic and operatic potential. Perfect for enthusiasts, performers and students of Gilbert and Sullivan's enduring work, the book examines their legacy and looks forward to the future.

Preface David Eden and Meinhard Saremba
Part I. Background
1. Savoy Opera and its discontents
the theatrical background to a quarrel David Eden
2. Identity crisis and the search for English opera
the Savoy Theatre in the 1890s William Parry
3. Resituating Gilbert and Sullivan
the musical and aesthetic context Benedict Taylor
4. 'We sing as one individual'?
popular misconceptions of 'Gilbert and Sullivan' Meinhard Saremba
Part II. Focus
5. The operas in context
stylistic elements – the Savoy and beyond Richard Silverman
6. The librettos in context
Gilbert's 'Fables in Song' Horst Dölvers
7. 'This particularly rapid, unintelligible patter'
patter songs and the word-music relationship Laura Kasson Fiss
8. Standing still and moving forward
The Mikado, Haddon Hall, and concepts of time in the Savoy Operas Michael Beckerman
9. Musical contexts I
motives and methods in Sullivan's allusions James Brooks Kuykendall
10. Musical contexts II
characterisation and emotion in the Savoy Operas Martin T. Yates
Part III. Reception
11. Topsy-Turvy
a personal journey Mike Leigh
12. Amateur tenors and choruses in public
the amateur scene Ian Bradley
13. Champions and aficionados
amateur and listener experiences of the Savoy Operas in performance Stephanie Pitts
14. 'How great thy charm, thy sway how excellent!'
tracing Gilbert and Sullivan's legacy in the American musical Raymond Knapp
15. 'See how the Fates their gifts allot'
the reception of productions and translations in Continental Europe Jana Polianovskaia
Part IV. Into the Twenty-First Century
16. Adventures in musical detection
scholarship, editions, productions and the future of the Savoy Operas David Russell Hulme
Appendix 1
Alphabetical list of stage and choral works by Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert
Appendix 2
Modern editions of works by Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert.