Edward H. Nabb Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury, University, Salisbury, Maryland
| Identifier |
2014.984 |
| Creator(s) |
Gilbert, W. S. |
| Acquisition |
See Nabb Center Staff |
| Language(s) |
English |
| Use |
Records are open for research. Copyright, including literary rights, belongs to the author(s) or their legal heirs. Permission to publish or reproduce must be obtained from the Nabb Research Center which extends beyond "fair use." |
| Preferred Citation |
"Item, collection title and identifier, box # and folder # (if applicable), Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland." |
| Attribution |
Finding aid written by Valerie Abbott, November 2018. |
| Related Materials |
None |
| Separated Materials |
See Nabb Center Staff |
Biographical History Gilbert’s early ambition was for a legal career, and a legacy in 1861 enabled him to leave the civil service to pursue it. He was called to the bar in November 1863. In 1861, however, he had begun to contribute comic verse to Fun, illustrated by himself and signed “Bab.” These pieces were later collected as The Bab Ballads (1869), followed by More Bab Ballads (1873); the two collections were united in a volume with Songs of a Savoyard (1898).
Gilbert’s dramatic career began when a playwright, Thomas William Robertson, recommended him as someone who could produce a bright Christmas piece in only two weeks. Gilbert promptly wrote Dulcamara; or, The Little Duck and the Great Quack, a commercial success, and other commissions followed.
In 1870 Gilbert met Sullivan, and they started working together the following year. Thespis; or, The Gods Grown Old (first performance 1871) and Trial by Jury (1875), a brilliant one-act piece, were followed by four productions: The Sorcerer (1877), H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879, New York; 1880, London), and Patience; or, Bunthorne’s Bride (1881). Carte built the Savoy Theatre in 1881 for productions of the partners’ work, and their works collectively became known as the “Savoy Operas”; they included Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri(1882), Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant (1884), Ruddigore; or, The Witch’s Curse (1887), The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), and The Gondoliers (1889). By this time, however, relations between the partners had become strained, partly because Sullivan aimed higher than comic opera. A rupture occurred, and the two were estranged until 1893, when they again collaborated producing Utopia Limited and later The Grand Duke (1896).
Gilbert, who was knighted in 1907, died of a heart attack brought on by rescuing a woman from drowning in a lake on his country estate.
Information taken from Encyclopedia Britannica.
Arrangement Statement See Nabb Center Staff
