An excellent book on Gilbert & Sullivan has been published. This book has been receiving rave reviews on SavoyNet
Hardcover: 544 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.51 x 9.02 x 6.96
Publisher: Oxford University Press; ISBN: 0195147693; (November 2002)
UK-£28 USA-$45.00
A Gilbert is of no use without a Sullivan. With these words,
W.S. Gilbert summed up his reasons for persisting in his collaboration with
Arthur Sullivan despite the combative nature of their relationship. In fact,
Michael Ainger suggests in Gilbert and Sullivan the success of the pair's work
is a direct result of their personality clash, as each partner challenged the
other to produce his best work. After exhaustive research into the D'Oyly Carte
collection of documents, Ainger offers the most detailed account to date of
Gilbert and Sullivan's starkly different backgrounds and long working
partnership. Having survived an impoverished and insecure childhood, Gilbert
flourished as a financially successful theater professional, married happily and
established himself as a property owner. His sense of proprietorship extended
beyond real estate, and he fought tenaciously to protect the integrity of his
musical works. Sullivan, the product of a supportive family who nourished his
talent, was much less satisfied with stability than his collaborator. His
creative self-doubts and self-demands led to nervous and physical breakdowns,
but it also propelled the team to break the successful mode of their earliest
work to produce more ambitious pieces of theater, including The Mikado and The
Yeoman of the Guards. Offering previously-unpublished draft librettos and
personal letters, this thorough double-biography will be an essential addition
to the library of any Gilbert and Sullivan fan.
(Details from Amazon)