William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan were two of the most profound playwrights and composers of the late 1800’s. The duo of Gilbert and Sullivan transformed musical theatre, and created a series of witty, melodic operettas which set a new standard for stage professionalism. Both men had written minor musical shows with other collaborators, but neither expected that musical theatre would be their key to lasting fame. In all, they collaborated for 14 pieces of work which are most famously known as “the canon”.
William Schwenck Gilbert was born in London on November 18th, 1836. Gilbert lived a very eventful early life as he was kidnapped and held for ransom at the age of two. He had also contracted typhoid in his teens before he started
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Even at a young age, he showed great musical talents as he could play a number of instruments by the time he was eight. He was also a member of a choir at St James' Palace, called the Chapel Royal. Sullivan was the first winner of the Mendelssohn Scholarship, which enabled him to study at the Royal Academy of Music. His talents were so impressive that he won a further three years of the scholarship, two of which were spent studying at the conservatoire which Mendelssohn himself had founded in Leipzig. This training at some of the finest musical establishments in the world made him an extremely well qualified composer. He published music in numerous styles, writing for opera, choirs and orchestras and also worked as a choir master. This was all before teaming up with Gilbert for what would make him known as a renowned …show more content…
The owner wanted Gilbert to write the show and Sullivan to write the music for the piece. The result was called Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, which premiered on the 23rd of December. Despite praise from critics, the show did not receive a lot of admiration and the two went their separate ways. It wasn’t until a producer by the name of Richard D'Oyly Carte brought Gilbert and Sullivan back together for what would be their first successful performance, “Trial by Jury”. This show ran for some 300 performances and established Gilbert and Sullivan in the field of comedic opera. After their early success of their one act opera, Trial by Jury, their producer (Richard D'Oyly Carte) decided he wanted them to produce a full-length work. Gilbert had decided he would expand on one of his earlier poems. This piece of work would be called “The Sorcerer”. When you need a love potion, who are you going to
If there is truly tradition to be found among the great theatres both on and off Broadway, then certainly the Sullivan Street Playhouse and its long running production of The Fantasticks rates as one of the most celebrated of New York theatrical traditions. Maintaining its place as the longest running production Off Broadway, The Fantasticks remains an enchanting and insightful tale of both young love and bitter disillusionment. It also reminds one, in this age of spectacle and the mega-musical, how powerful and truly inspiring theatre itself can be. Clearly, one of the great strengths of this production and a large part of its appeal for audiences over the last four decades lies in the fact that both the story and the style of presentation compliment each other so completely. Here we find the non-essentials are stripped away, and we are left to rely simply on the imagination of both the audience and the performers to create a magical evening.
Ever heard of a story that sings of the “Angel of Music” and the “Phantom of the Opera”? A tale that once you have listened to the sweet melody that you will realized that you've pasted the “Point of No Return”? This love triangle has captivated multitudes ever since the 1910 original Phantom of the Opera was published in France by Monsieur Leroux, although most story lovers recall the musical of the same name by Andrew Lloyd Webber or the motion picture adaption. Although this story has been entertaining people for over a century, in this new era have prerecorded voices and movements begun to overshadow the talented performers of live theater? Although “The lavish screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera (2005) only deepened the damage” of the dislike of musicals made into film “with non-stars in the leads and an unimaginative production,”(Musical),which version, the live performance or the film, makes the story more attractive? To answer these questions, permit this essay to analyze two methods of storytelling: 2011 live performance Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall and the 2005 film, and decide if music and story lovers everywhere have too “turned from true beauty”.
William Clark was ½ of the genius team that made their way through miles of unknown land, unknown nature, unknown natives, and came home with all but one voyager, who was killed of natural causes. William Clark and Meriwether Lewis were the first Americans to try and map the Louisiana Purchase area, and not only did they map it, they discovered allies, new plants and animals, and discovered new land and water routes that could be useful for future travelers.
What a strange place Europe is when men like this are reduced to waiting patiently in the anteroom of a young American of no importance
Although the original purpose of Dido and Aeneas may have been that of court entertainment, it has become one of Purcell’s most widely acclaimed operas, as well as one of the most popular operas of the Baroque period. The first known performance of Dido and Aeneas was held at Mount Josias Priest’s Boarding School in Chelsea, England in 1689. Scholars such as Bruce Wood and Andrew Pinnock have questioned whether this performance was truly the first, or if it was a repetition of an earlier court premiere, due to the fact that John Blow’s opera Venus and Adonis was written and then debuted in 1684, around the same time as Dido and Aeneas, and they seemed to follow the same path to their first performances. B...
Since theatre was established as an art form, it has constantly been changing and developing as new methods of theatre styles came to light. This is also true with how musical theatre developed into how we know it today. Vaudeville and burlesque were forms of theatre in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that forged the way for the American musical to emerge. The elements that writers used from vaudeville allowed for not just musical acts to be performed during the course of the story, but eventually became a way for the story to further be told. The American musical was not always as big as it is today, and vaudeville and burlesque acts made it possible for such a type of performance style to develop. Musical writers used multiple elements, not just the song element, in their stories. This change did not just happen overnight. The evolution from vaudeville and burlesque was a gradual one, taking years to further develop the performance styles into the Broadway musical we can see today.
On June 24, 1842, Arthur Sullivan was born in South London. At an early age, Sullivan’s musicality was easily recognizable, which his father immensely supported, as he was a band conductor. For if it wasn’t for his father’s support and occupation, it’s possible that Sullivan’s introduction to music would not have occurred as early as it did. According to Sullivan, he was “intensely interested in all that the band did” and he “learned to play every wind instrument” (Young 5). With his burgeoning interest in music, Sullivan continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music until 1858, only to later attend the Conservatory in Leipzig. Over various years, Sullivan fulfilled his passion devoted to music by conducting, until his partnership with librettist W.S. Gilbert began in 1871. Gilbert and Sullivan produced several projects together, including Ruddigore, Yeomen of the Guard, and The Gondoliers, formulating a notable working relationship (Young 5). Following an argument over expenses, a feud burgeoned, and the partnership concluded. With this new platform vacant of Gilbert’s presence, Sullivan transitioned into composing without Gilbert’s assistance (Young 5). Throughout the remainder of his career, Sullivan worked with other librettists, continuing to mostly compose comic operas, such as The Rose of Persia.
Horowitz, Mark Eden. "The Craft Of Making Art: The Creative Processes Of Eight Musical Theatre Songwriters." Studies In Musical Theatre 7.2 (2013): 261-283.Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Arthur Wharton wasn't treated right once he joined a professional soccer team in 1886.People didn't believe that Arthur will make it so far with football because of skin colour. Arthur Wharton accomplished a lot from playing his best and ignoring the hate and comments.He was born with lots of respect from his family but once he joined football he had to face challenges with his family.
Grove, George. The Musical Times Volume 47. United Kingdom: Musical Times Publications Ltd. 1906, Print.
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein were both writers and producers in the theatre, but, their collaborative venture in the 1940’s introduced a new era of musical theatre. First, they wrote the first musical in which every element: music, lyrics, narrative, and even dance contributed to telling the story, each part blending and woven into the whole. Their new idea was a huge sensation with audiences, and brought with it, new recordings of shows with albums and records to follow and revival productions around the world. The duo changed the fate of musical theatre practically overnight, but, it couldn’t have been done without the projects, big or small, that got them there, their
Ullom, Jeffrey. "There is am "I" in artist": dysfunctunal collaborations and the doomed 'Pop Musicals" Come (1994) and The Capeman (1998)." Studies in Musical Theatre 4.2 (2010): 211-225.
The use of a love-potion to complicate things in the play might have been a representation of intense love, and the fact that one would immediately fall in love with the first thing one lays their eyes on,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is often referred to as the greatest musical genius of all time in Western musical tradition. His creative method was extraordinary: his writings show that he almost always wrote a complete composition mentally before finally writing it on paper. Mozart created 600 works in his short life of 35 years. His works included 16 operas, 41 symphonies, 27 piano concerti, and 5 violin concerti, 25 string quartets, and 19 masses.
The name most associated with excellence in theatre is William Shakespeare. His plays, more than any other playwright, resonate through the ages. It may be safe to say that he has influenced more actors, directors, and playwrights than any thespian in the history of the stage. But what were his influences? During the Middle Ages theatre was dominated by morality, miracle, and mystery plays that were often staged by the church as a means to teach the illiterate masses about Christianity. It wasn’t until the early sixteenth century that Greek tragedy experienced a revival, in turn, inspiring a generation of renaissance playwrights.