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interpret his work only in the manner he desired. This ran against the production style of the times, which was to let the actors have their way, the result of which had been a decline in the quality of
English playwriting and dramatic production over the course of the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. By helping to reverse this trend, Gilbert not only improved the production of his own work; he also created an environment in which the work of later and more highly regarded playwrights such as
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393:, first produced late in 1881. Sullivan was at ease among the wealthy and titles who would become his friends and patrons. Gilbert was a loner who did not choose to move in those social circles. He was not knighted until 1907, and also in recognition of his more "serious" stage work. Gilbert was, however, the first British writer ever to receive a
314:. The operetta's success was so great that the three men formed an often turbulent partnership which lasted for twenty years and a further twelve operettas. Initially D'Oyly Carte's company, known as the Comedy Opera Company, needed to enlist financial backing. It was his backers who stood in the way of the initial plans to revise and revive
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and Sir John
Vanburgh, were knighted for political and other services. Gilbert filled his plays with a strange mixture of cynicism about the world and "topsy-turvydom" in which the social order was turned upside down. The latter in particular, did not go down well with Sullivan's desire for realism
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for the
Christmas season at the Gaiety Theatre. This proved successful in that it outran five of its nine competitors, closing only at Easter and being revived for the benefit of Nellie Farren, one of its stars, later in April 1872. However, this proved to be a false start in the men's collaborative
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in May 1878, which, despite a slow start, mainly due to a scorching summer, became a red-hot favourite in the autumn, causing the directors to storm the theatre one night in an attempt to steal the sets and costumes to mount a rival production. The attempt was repelled and D'Oyly Carte continued as
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when he had a burlesque and a pantomime produced. The following year, he married Lucy Agnes Turner. Following their marriage, he began to turn his attention more and more to writing for the stage and directing his work so that it would resemble his vision. Gilbert became a stickler that his actors
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Gilbert and
Sullivan had many rifts in their career, partly caused by the fact that each saw himself allowing his work to be subjugated to the others, and partly caused by the gap in their social status. Sullivan was knighted in 1883, not long after the company moved to its new home, the Savoy
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could be produced properly. It is more important that these authors' plays are produced in the manner that their authors intended, and thus it could be argued that
Gilbert indirectly encouraged the creation of their work.
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Sullivan, too, had a career of his own. Two ballets, a symphony, a cello concerto, and number of large-scale choral pieces, incidental music to five of
Shakespeare's plays and, of course, other operatic works, including
189:, the original edition of which was illustrated by his son. Gilbert's parents were distant and stern, and he did not have a particularly good relationship with either of them. Following the breakup of their marriage in
445:, he was giving swimming lessons to two young ladies at his lake when one of them began to flail around. Gilbert dived in to save her, but suffered a heart attack in the middle of the lake and drowned.
215:. The ballads proved to be very popular and were later published in book form several times. In addition, Gilbert used some of them as the base concepts for several of his libretti, including
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Theatre. However this knighthood was not so much for his popular and financially rewarding work with
Gilbert, but more for his more 'serious' music such as the musical drama
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435:(Colliseum 1911). Gilbert also continued to personally supervise the various revivals of his works by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
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457:- Edited and with an Introduction by Jane W. Stedman - The University of Chicago Press, USA (1969)
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efforts. It would be another four years before the men worked together again.
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Andrew
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The first work to be presented by the new company at London's
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Gilbert Before
Sullivan - Six Comic Plays by W. S. Gilbert
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to this revision, which may differ significantly from the
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for his plays alone. Earlier dramatist knights such as
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52:. The present address (URL) is a
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