Editing Arthur Sullivan (section)

==Life and career==

===Beginnings===
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Sullivan was born on 13 May 1842 in [[Lambeth]], London, the younger of the two children, both boys, of Thomas Sullivan (1805–1866) and his wife, Mary Clementina ''née'' Coghlan (1811–1882). His father was a military bandmaster, clarinettist and music teacher, born in Ireland and raised in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], London; his mother was English born, of Irish and Italian descent.<ref>Young, pp. 1–2</ref> Thomas Sullivan was based from 1845 to 1857 at the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], where he was the bandmaster and taught music privately to supplement his income.<ref name=Ancestry>Ainger, pp. 6 and 22–23</ref><ref>Jacobs, pp. 6–7</ref> Young Arthur became proficient with many of the instruments in the band and composed an [[anthem]], "By the Waters of Babylon", when he was eight.<ref>Jacobs, p. 7</ref> He later recalled:
{{quote|I was intensely interested in all that the band did, and learned to play every wind instrument, with which I formed not merely a passing acquaintance, but a real, life-long, intimate friendship. I gradually learned the peculiarities of each&nbsp;... what it could do and what it was unable to do. I learned in the best possible way how to write for an orchestra.<ref name=young4>Sullivan, quoted in Young, pp. 4–5</ref>|}}

While recognising the boy's obvious talent, his father knew the insecurity of a musical career and discouraged him from pursuing it.<ref>Young, p. 5</ref> Sullivan studied at a private school in [[Bayswater]]. In 1854 he persuaded his parents and the headmaster to allow him to apply for membership in the choir of the [[Chapel Royal]].<ref>Jacobs, p. 7; and Ainger, p. 24</ref> Despite concerns that, at nearly 12 years of age, Sullivan was too old to give much service as a [[Boy soprano|treble]] before his voice broke, he was accepted and soon became a soloist. By 1856, he was promoted to "first boy".<ref>Jacobs, pp. 8 and 12</ref> Even at this age, his health was delicate, and he was easily fatigued.<ref name="Jacobs, pp. 12–13">Jacobs, pp. 12–13</ref>

Sullivan flourished under the training of the Reverend [[Thomas Helmore]], [[Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal]], and began to write anthems and songs.<ref name=Jacobs11>Jacobs, pp. 10–11</ref> Helmore encouraged his compositional talent and arranged for one of his pieces, "O Israel", to be published in 1855, his first published work.<ref>Young, p. 8</ref> Helmore enlisted Sullivan's assistance in creating harmonisations for a volume of ''The Hymnal Noted''<ref name=musicaltimes>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3368297 "Arthur Sullivan"], ''The Musical Times'', 1 December 1900, pp. 785–787 {{subscription}}</ref> and arranged for the boy's compositions to be performed; one anthem was performed at the Chapel Royal in [[St James's Palace]] under the direction of [[George Thomas Smart|Sir George Smart]].<ref name=Jacobs11/>

===Mendelssohn scholar===
[[File:Young Arthur Sullivan.jpg|thumb|upright|Sullivan aged 16, in his Royal Academy of Music uniform|alt=Sullivan seated with one leg crossed over another, age 16, in his Royal Academy of Music uniform, showing his thick, curly hair. Black and white.]]
In 1856 the [[Royal Academy of Music]] awarded the first [[Mendelssohn Scholarship]] to the 14-year-old Sullivan, granting him a year's training at the academy.<ref name="Jacobs, pp. 12–13"/>{{refn| In 1848, [[Jenny Lind]] performed the soprano part to [[Felix Mendelssohn]]'s oratorio ''[[Elijah (oratorio)|Elijah]]'', which he had written for her. The concert raised £1,000 to fund a scholarship in his name. After Sullivan became the first recipient of the scholarship, Lind encouraged him in his career.<ref>Rosen, Carole. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/16671 "Lind, Jenny (1820–1887)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 7 December 2008 {{ODNBsub}}</ref>|group= n}} His principal teacher there was [[John Goss (composer)|John Goss]], whose own teacher, [[Thomas Attwood (composer)|Thomas Attwood]], had been a pupil of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]].<ref name=mack>[[Alexander MacKenzie (composer)|MacKenzie, Alexander]]. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/929160 "The Life-Work of Arthur Sullivan"], ''Sammelbände der Internationalen Musikgesellschaft'', 3. Jahrg., H. 3, May 1902, pp. 539–564 {{subscription}}</ref> He studied piano with [[William Sterndale Bennett]] (the future head of the academy) and [[Arthur O'Leary (composer)|Arthur O'Leary]].<ref>Fitzsimons, pp. 98 and 142</ref> During this first year at the academy Sullivan continued to sing solos with the Chapel Royal, which provided a small amount of spending money.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 13–16</ref>

Sullivan's scholarship was extended to a second year, and in 1858, in what his biographer [[Arthur Jacobs]] calls an "extraordinary gesture of confidence",<ref name=Jacobs17>Jacobs, p. 17</ref> the scholarship committee extended his grant for a third year so that he could study in Germany, at the [[Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre|Leipzig Conservatoire]].<ref name=Jacobs17/> There, Sullivan studied composition with [[Julius Rietz]] and [[Carl Reinecke]], counterpoint with [[Moritz Hauptmann]] and [[Ernst Richter]], and the piano with [[Louis Plaidy]] and [[Ignaz Moscheles]].<ref>Ainger, p. 37</ref> He was trained in [[Felix Mendelssohn|Mendelssohn]]'s ideas and techniques but was also exposed to a variety of styles, including those of [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]], [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]], [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]] and [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]].<ref name=Jacobs24>Jacobs, p. 24</ref> Visiting a [[synagogue]], he was so struck by some of the [[cadence]]s and [[Chord progression|progressions]] of the music that thirty years later he could recall them for use in his [[grand opera]], ''[[Ivanhoe (opera)|Ivanhoe]]''.<ref name=Jacobs24/> He became friendly with the future impresario [[Carl Rosa]] and the violinist [[Joseph Joachim]], among others.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 22–24</ref>

The academy renewed Sullivan's scholarship to allow him a second year of study at Leipzig.<ref>Young, p. 21</ref> For his third and last year there, his father scraped together the money for living expenses, and the conservatoire assisted by waiving its fees.<ref name=Jacobs23>Jacobs, p. 23</ref> Sullivan's graduation piece, completed in 1861, was a suite of [[incidental music]] to [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Tempest (Sullivan)|The Tempest]]''.<ref name=Jacobs24/> Revised and expanded, it was performed at the [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]] in 1862, a year after his return to London; ''[[The Musical Times]]'' described it as a sensation.<ref name=musicaltimes/><ref>Jacobs, pp. 27–28</ref> He began building a reputation as England's most promising young composer.<ref name=Lawrence2/>

===Rising composer===
[[File:Sullivan-colleagues-1870s.jpg|thumb|Colleagues and collaborators: clockwise from top left, [[George Grove]], [[F. C. Burnand]], [[Richard D'Oyly Carte]], [[W. S.&nbsp;Gilbert]]|alt=Head and shoulders photos of each of the four men. Black and white. Grove is bald and benign-looking; Burnand fully-thatched and moderately bearded, looking pleased with himself; Carte, serious, dark-haired and neatly bearded; and Gilbert light-coloured hair and moustache looking slightly to right.]]
Sullivan embarked on his composing career with a series of ambitious works, interspersed with hymns, [[parlour songs]] and other light pieces in a more commercial vein. His compositions were not enough to support him financially, and between 1861 and 1872 he worked as a church organist, which he enjoyed; as a music teacher, which he hated and gave up as soon as he could;<ref>Ainger, p. 56</ref> and as an arranger of vocal scores of popular operas.<ref name=grove/>{{refn|Between 1861 and 1872 Sullivan worked as an organist at two fashionable London churches: [[St Michael's Church, Chester Square]], [[Pimlico]], and [[Church of St Yeghiche, South Kensington|St Peter's, Cranley Gardens]], [[Kensington]].<ref name=grove/> He taught, among other places, at the [[Crystal Palace School]].<ref>Musgrave, pp. 171–172</ref> Between 1860 and 1870 he arranged seven vocal scores of operas for [[Boosey & Hawkes|Boosey and Co]]: [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven's]] ''[[Fidelio]]'', [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini's]] ''[[La sonnambula]]'', [[Friedrich von Flotow|Flotow's]] ''[[Martha (opera)|Martha]]'', [[Charles Gounod|Gounod's]] ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]'', [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart's]] ''[[Don Giovanni]]'', [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini's]] ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' and [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi's]] ''[[Il trovatore]]'', and he collaborated with [[Josiah Pittman]] in arranging 25 other operas by some of the above and [[Daniel Auber|Auber]], [[Michael William Balfe|Balfe]], [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]], [[Giacomo Meyerbeer|Meyerbeer]], [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] and [[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]].<ref name=grove/><ref>Jacobs, p. 61</ref>|group=n}} He took an early opportunity to compose several pieces for royalty in connection with the wedding of the [[Edward VII|Prince of Wales]] in 1863.<ref>Jacobs, p. 35</ref>

With ''[[The Masque at Kenilworth]]'' ([[Birmingham Triennial Music Festival|Birmingham Festival]], 1864), Sullivan began his association with works for voice and orchestra.<ref>Jacobs, p. 38</ref> While an organist at the [[Royal Opera House#Third theatre|Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden]], he composed his first ballet, ''[[L'Île Enchantée]]'' (1864).<ref>Jacobs, p. 37</ref> His ''[[Symphony in E (Sullivan)|''Irish'' Symphony]]'' and ''[[Cello Concerto (Sullivan)|Cello Concerto]]'' (both 1866) were his only works in their respective genres.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 36 and 42</ref> In the same year, his [[Overture in C, "In Memoriam"|Overture in C (''In Memoriam'')]], commemorating the recent death of his father, was a commission from the [[Norfolk and Norwich Festival|Norwich Festival]]. It achieved considerable popularity.<ref>Jacobs, p. 43</ref> In June 1867 the [[Royal Philharmonic Society|Philharmonic Society]] gave the first performance of his overture ''Marmion''.<ref name=grove>Jacobs, Arthur. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/27100  "Sullivan, Sir Arthur"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, accessed 19 August 2011 {{subscription}}</ref> The reviewer for ''[[The Times]]'' called it "another step in advance on the part of the only composer of any remarkable promise that just at present we can boast."<ref>"Concerts", ''The Times'', 17 June 1867, p. 12</ref> In October, Sullivan travelled with [[George Grove]] to Vienna in search of neglected scores by Schubert.<ref>Jacobs, p. 45; and Young, p. 56</ref> They unearthed manuscript copies of symphonies and vocal music, and were particularly elated by their final discovery, the incidental music to ''[[Rosamunde]]''.{{refn|They were permitted to copy the ''[[Rosamunde]]'' score and two of the symphonies – the [[Symphony No. 4 (Schubert)|Fourth]] and [[Symphony No. 6 (Schubert)|Sixth]] – and inspected four others (the [[Symphony No. 1 (Schubert)|First]], [[Symphony No. 2 (Schubert)|Second]], [[Symphony No. 3 (Schubert)|Third]] and [[Symphony No. 5 (Schubert)|Fifth]]), to the existence of which they quickly drew the attention of the musical world. Grove described their final discovery: "I found, at the bottom of the cupboard and in its farthest corner, a bundle of music books two feet high, carefully tied round, and black with the undisturbed dust of nearly half-a-century.&nbsp;... There were the part books of the whole of the music in ''Rosamunde'', tied up after the second performance, in December 1823, and probably never disturbed since. Dr. Schneider [Schubert's nephew] must have been amused at our excitement&nbsp;... at any rate, he kindly overlooked it, and gave us permission to&nbsp;... copy what we wanted."<ref>Kreissle (1869), pp. 327–328 and, with respect to the whole journey, pp. 297–332</ref>|group=n}}

Sullivan's first attempt at opera, ''[[The Sapphire Necklace]]'' (1863–64) to a libretto by [[Henry Fothergill Chorley|Henry F. Chorley]], was not produced and is now lost, except for the overture and two songs that were separately published.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 42–43</ref> His first surviving opera, ''[[Cox and Box]]'' (1866), was written for a private performance.<ref>Ainger, p. 65</ref> It then received charity performances in London and Manchester, and was later produced at the [[Gallery of Illustration]], where it ran for an extraordinary 264 performances. [[W. S. Gilbert]], writing in ''[[Fun (magazine)|Fun]]'' magazine, pronounced the score superior to [[F. C. Burnand]]'s libretto.<ref>Young, p. 63</ref> Sullivan and Burnand were soon commissioned by [[Thomas German Reed]] for a two-act opera, ''[[The Contrabandista]]'' (1867; revised and expanded as ''[[The Chieftain]]'' in 1894), but it did not do as well.<ref>Young, p. 63; and Rollins and Witts, p. 15</ref> Among Sullivan's early [[part song]]s is "[[The Long Day Closes (song)|The Long Day Closes]]" (1868).<ref name=hymnssongs>Sullivan, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/sullsongs-dtl.htm "Discography of Sir Arthur Sullivan: Recordings of Hymns and Songs"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 11 July 2010, accessed 9 September 2011</ref> Sullivan's last major work of the 1860s was a short [[oratorio]], ''[[The Prodigal Son (Sullivan)|The Prodigal Son]]'', first given in [[Worcester Cathedral]] as part of the 1869 [[Three Choirs Festival]] to much praise.<ref>"Worcester Music Festival", ''The Times'', 9 September 1869, p. 10</ref>

===1870s: first collaborations with Gilbert===
[[File:Sorc-Pin-Trial.jpg|thumb|left|Poster: scenes from ''[[The Sorcerer]]'', ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' and ''[[Trial by Jury]]''|alt=Poster showing scenes from all three operas featuring principal characters; the productions, by an American opera company around 1879, seem lavish. Black and white.]]
Sullivan's most enduring orchestral work,<ref name=Hughes14/> the ''[[Overture di Ballo]]'', was composed for the Birmingham Festival in 1870.{{refn|The work received an enthusiastic public reception, but ''[[The Musical Times]]'' printed an early example of critical censure of Sullivan for his accessibility: "The applause which it received was general and spontaneous [but] it may be a question whether, if Mr. Sullivan could not be requested to furnish a higher class of work, he should not have been passed over altogether until a more fitting opportunity presented itself."<ref>Lunn, Henry C. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3351568 "The Birmingham Musical Festival"], ''The Musical Times'', 1 October 1870, pp. 615–20 {{subscription}}</ref>|group= n}} The same year, Sullivan first met the poet and dramatist W. S. Gilbert.{{refn|They met at a rehearsal for a second run of Gilbert's ''[[Ages Ago]]'' at the [[Gallery of Illustration]], probably in July 1870.<ref>Crowther (2011), p. 84</ref> Gilbert was then known for his light verse, especially his ''[[Bab Ballads]]''; his theatre reviews; and his two dozen plays, including [[Victorian burlesques|operatic burlesques]] (such as ''[[Robert the Devil (Gilbert)|Robert the Devil]]'', 1868), his [[German Reed Entertainments]], and blank verse comedies such as ''[[The Palace of Truth]]'' (1870) and ''[[Pygmalion and Galatea (play)|Pygmalion and Galatea]]'' (1871).|group= n}} In 1871 Sullivan published his only [[song cycle]], ''[[The Window (song cycle)|The Window]]'', to words by [[Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson|Tennyson]],<ref>Jacobs, pp. 57–58</ref> and he wrote the first of a series of incidental music scores for productions of Shakespeare plays.{{refn|This was for ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' at the Prince's Theatre, Manchester.<ref>Jacobs, p. 68</ref> Sullivan's earlier ''Tempest'' music was composed for the concert hall, rather than theatrical performance, although it was later used for at least one stage production.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 27–28 and 38</ref>|group= n}} He also composed a dramatic [[cantata]], ''[[On Shore and Sea]]'', for the opening of the London International Exhibition,<ref>Jacobs, pp. 65–66</ref> and the [[hymn]] "[[Onward, Christian Soldiers]]", with words by [[Sabine Baring-Gould]].<ref name=hymnssongs/> [[The Salvation Army]] adopted the latter as its favoured [[Processional hymn|processional]],<ref>Branston, John. [http://www.memphisflyer.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A10563 "Christian Soldiers: The Salvation Army brings humility and $48 million to the fairgrounds discussion"], ''Memphis Flyer'', 18 November 2005</ref> and it became Sullivan's best-known hymn.<ref name=hymnssongs/><ref>Young, p. 99</ref>

At the end of 1871 [[John Hollingshead]], proprietor of London's [[Gaiety Theatre, London|Gaiety Theatre]], commissioned Sullivan to work with Gilbert to create the [[Victorian burlesque|burlesque]]-style comic opera ''[[Thespis (opera)|Thespis]]''.<ref>Ainger, p. 93</ref>{{refn|With a classical story and a mixture of political satire and [[grand opera]] parody, ''Thespis'' was reminiscent of ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' and ''[[La belle Hélène]]'' by [[Jacques Offenbach|Offenbach]], whose [[operetta]]s were extremely popular on the English stage in both French and English.<ref>Jacobs, p. 50</ref> ''La belle Hélène'' entered the Gaiety's repertory eight weeks before the premiere of ''Thespis''.<ref>Rees, p. 72</ref> Sullivan may have been encouraged to write the music for ''Thespis'' by Hollingshead's offer of the role of Apollo to the composer's elder brother, the comic actor and singer [[Fred Sullivan]].<ref>Rees, p. 15</ref> |group= n}} Played as a Christmas entertainment, it ran through to Easter 1872, a good run for such a piece.<ref>Rees, p. 78</ref>{{refn|Its run was extended beyond the length of a normal run at the Gaiety.<ref>Walters, Michael. "Thespis: a reply", ''W. S. Gilbert Society Journal'', Vol. 4, part 3, Issue 29, Summer 2011</ref> The musical score of ''Thespis'' was never published and is now lost, except for one song that was published separately, a chorus that was re-used in ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'', and the Act II ballet.<ref>Rees, pp. 34, 49 and 89</ref>|group= n}} Gilbert and Sullivan then went their separate ways<ref>Stedman, p. 94</ref> until they collaborated on three parlour ballads in late 1874 and early 1875.<ref>Stedman, pp. 126–127</ref>

Sullivan's large-scale works of the early 1870s were the ''[[Festival Te Deum]]'' (Crystal Palace, 1872)<ref name=Jacobs75>Jacobs, pp. 75–76</ref> and the oratorio ''[[The Light of the World (Sullivan)|The Light of the World]]'' (Birmingham Festival, 1873).<ref name=Jacobs75/> He provided incidental music for productions of ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]'' at the Gaiety in 1874<ref>Jacobs, p. 76</ref> and ''[[Henry VIII (play)|Henry VIII]]'' at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, in 1877.<ref>Jacobs, p. 108</ref>  He continued to compose hymns throughout the decade.{{refn| Sullivan composed 72 hymns, including two settings of "[[Nearer, My God, to Thee]]", of which the "Propior Deo" is the better known.<ref>Young, pp. 278–280</ref>|group= n}} In 1873 Sullivan contributed songs to Burnand's Christmas "drawing room extravaganza", ''The Miller and His Man''.<ref>Howarth, Paul. [https://gsarchive.net/sullivan/miller/index.html ''The Miller and His Man''], the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 28 July 2018</ref>

In 1875 the manager of the [[Royalty Theatre]], [[Richard D'Oyly Carte]], needed a short piece to fill out a bill with Offenbach's ''[[La Périchole]]''. Carte had conducted Sullivan's ''Cox and Box''.<ref>Ainger, pp. 107–108</ref>{{refn|Carte conducted ''Cox and Box'' and some operettas on a tour, in 1871, managed by the composer's brother, Fred, who played Cox. ''Cox and Box'', again with Fred as Cox, had been revived in 1874, and Arthur Sullivan may have been considering a return to comic opera.<ref>McElroy, George. "Whose ''Zoo''; or, When Did the ''Trial'' Begin?", ''Nineteenth Century Theatre Research'', 12 December 1984, pp. 39–54</ref>|group= n}} Remembering that Gilbert had suggested a libretto to him, Carte engaged Sullivan to set it, and the result was the one-act [[comic opera]] ''[[Trial by Jury]]''.<ref>Ainger, p. 108</ref>{{refn|The title page of the libretto describes ''Trial'' as "A Dramatic Cantata";<ref>Jacobs, p. 90</ref> Gilbert and Sullivan insisted on calling the rest of their joint works "operas", often with a descriptive adjective, such as a "nautical comic opera" (Jacobs, p. 118), an "aesthetic opera" or a "Japanese opera" (Jacobs, Preface).|group= n}} ''Trial'', starring Sullivan's brother [[Fred Sullivan|Fred]] as the Learned Judge, became a surprise hit, earning glowing praise from the critics and playing for 300 performances over its first few seasons.<ref name=Allen30>Allen, p. 30</ref> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' commented that the piece illustrated the composer's "great capacity for dramatic writing of the lighter class",<ref name=Allen30/> and other reviews emphasised the felicitous combination of Gilbert's words and Sullivan's music.<ref>''The Daily News'', 27 March 1875, p. 3</ref> One wrote, "it seems, as in the great Wagnerian operas, as though poem and music had proceeded simultaneously from one and the same brain."<ref name=World226>[https://books.google.com/books?id=GZIPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA254 "''Trial by Jury''"], ''The Musical World'', 3 April 1875, p. 226, accessed 17 June 2008</ref> A few months later, another Sullivan one-act comic opera opened: ''[[The Zoo]]'', with a libretto by [[B. C. Stephenson]].<ref>Jacobs, pp. 91–92</ref> It was less successful than ''Trial'', and for the next 15 years Sullivan's sole operatic collaborator was Gilbert; [[Gilbert and Sullivan|the partners]] created a further twelve operas together.<ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. 5–12</ref>

{{Listen|type=music
|filename    = Arthur Sullivan, The Lost Chord, Reed Miller 1913 (restored 1).ogg
|title       = "The Lost Chord"
|description = 1913 recording of "[[The Lost Chord]]" (1877) by Arthur Sullivan and [[Adelaide Anne Procter]], sung by [[Reed Miller]]
}}
Sullivan also turned out more than 80 popular songs and [[parlour ballads]], most of them written before the end of the 1870s.<ref name=songs>Young, pp. 273–278, gives a complete list. For links and descriptions, see Howarth, Paul (ed.) [http://www.gsarchive.net/sullivan/songs/index.html "Sir Arthur Sullivan's Songs and Parlour Ballads"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 18 July 2004, accessed 18 December 2017</ref> His first popular song was "Orpheus with his Lute" (1866), and a well-received [[part song]] was "Oh! Hush thee, my Babie" (1867).<ref name=musicaltimes/> The best known of his songs is "[[The Lost Chord]]" (1877, lyrics by [[Adelaide Anne Procter]]), written at the bedside of his brother during Fred's last illness.<ref>Ainger, p. 128</ref> The sheet music for his best-received songs sold in large numbers and was an important part of his income.<ref>Goodman, p. 19</ref>{{refn|Later, songs from the Gilbert and Sullivan operas were adapted and sold as dance pieces.<ref name=DanceArr>Sands, John. [https://gsarchive.net/articles/arrangements/dance_music.html "Dance Arrangements from the Savoy Operas" (Introduction)], the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 4 April 2010, accessed 28 August 2018</ref>|group= n}}

[[File:Arthur Sullivan, conductor, by Lyall.jpg|thumb|left|Caricature of Sullivan as a conductor, c. 1879|alt=Newspaper cartoon of a monocled Sullivan lounging in a chair, his feet propped up on the podium, lazily conducting]]
In this decade, Sullivan's conducting appointments included the [[Glasgow]] Choral Union concerts (1875–77) and the [[Royal Aquarium|Royal Aquarium Theatre]], London (1876).<ref>Ainger, p. 121</ref> In addition to his appointment as Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music, of which he was a Fellow, he was appointed as the first Principal of the [[National Training School of Music]] in 1876.<ref name=wright/> He accepted the latter post reluctantly, fearing that discharging the duties thoroughly would leave too little time for composing; in this he was correct.{{refn|His successor [[Hubert Parry]] also discovered this to be true.<ref>Legge, Robin H. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/908703 "Charles Hubert Hastings Parry"], ''The Musical Times'', 1 November 1918, pp. 489–491 {{subscription}}</ref>|group= n}} He was not effective in the post, and resigned in 1881.{{refn|In a study of the School and its successor, the Royal College of Music, David Wright comments on Sullivan: "He lacked any fresh perspective on musical training and any vision of what the NTSM needed to achieve if it was to make a mark.&nbsp;... Neither did Sullivan have real sympathy with the Society of Arts' progressive social ideals of scholarship education regardless of social origin, despite having himself gained his education through scholarship support."<ref name=wright>Wright, David. "The South Kensington Music Schools and the Development of the British Conservatoire in the Late Nineteenth Century", ''Journal of the Royal Musical Association'', Oxford University Press, Vol. 130 No. 2, pp. 236–282</ref>|group= n}}

Sullivan's next collaboration with Gilbert, ''[[The Sorcerer]]'' (1877), ran for 178 performances,<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 5</ref> a success by the standards of the day,<ref>Crowther (2000), p. 96</ref> but ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' (1878), which followed it, turned Gilbert and Sullivan into an international phenomenon.<ref>Crowther (2000), p. 96; and Stedman, p. 169</ref> Sullivan composed the bright and cheerful music of ''Pinafore'' while suffering from excruciating pain from a kidney stone.<ref>Ainger, p. 155</ref> ''Pinafore'' ran for 571 performances in London, then the second-longest theatrical run in history,<ref>Gaye, p. 1532; and Gillan, Don. [http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-frames.html?http&&&www.stagebeauty.net/th-longr.html "Longest Running Plays in London and New York"], StageBeauty.net (2007), accessed 10 March 2009</ref> and more than 150 unauthorised productions were quickly mounted in America alone.<ref>Prestige, Colin. "D'Oyly Carte and the Pirates: The Original New York Productions of Gilbert and Sullivan", pp. 113–148 at p. 118, ''Gilbert and Sullivan [http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/handle/1808/5875 Papers Presented at the International Conference] held at the [[University of Kansas]] in May 1970'', Edited by James Helyar. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Libraries, 1971.</ref>{{refn|Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte tried for many years to control the American performance copyrights over their operas, but they were unable to do so.<ref>Rosen, Z. S. [https://ssrn.com/abstract=963540 "The Twilight of the Opera Pirates: A Prehistory of the Right of Public Performance for Musical Compositions"], ''Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal, Vol. 24, 2007'' {{subscription}}</ref> |group= n}} Among other favourable reviews, ''The Times'' noted that the opera was an early attempt at the establishment of a "national musical stage" free from risqué French "improprieties" and without the "aid" of Italian and German musical models.<ref>"Opera Comique", ''The Times'', 27 May 1878, p. 6</ref> ''The Times'' and several of the other papers agreed that although the piece was entertaining, Sullivan was capable of higher art, and frivolous light opera would hold him back.<ref>Allen, Introduction to chapter on ''H.M.S. Pinafore''</ref> This criticism would follow Sullivan throughout his career.<ref name=MW/>

In 1879 Sullivan suggested to a reporter from ''[[The New York Times]]'' the secret of his success with Gilbert: "His ideas are as suggestive for music as they are quaint and laughable. His numbers&nbsp;... always give me musical ideas."<ref name="MrSullivan">[https://www.nytimes.com/1879/08/01/archives/a-talk-with-mr-sullivan-the-composer-of-pinafore-at-his-home-his.html "A Talk With Mr. Sullivan"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 1 August 1879, p. 3, {{ProQuest|93754709}}, accessed 22 May 2012</ref> ''Pinafore'' was followed by ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'' in 1879, which opened in New York and then ran in London for 363 performances.<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 7</ref>

===Early 1880s===
[[File:Leeds-1886-iln-23 October 1886.jpg|thumb|Scenes from ''[[The Golden Legend (cantata)|The Golden Legend]]'' at the [[Leeds Festival (classical music)|Leeds Music Festival]], 1886|alt=Drawing of scenes from the festival premiere of ''The Golden Legend'' showing the chorus, the faces of the principal singers and Sullivan's back, as he stands conducting. Black and white.]]
In 1880 Sullivan was appointed director of the triennial [[Leeds Festival (classical music)|Leeds Music Festival]].<ref>Jacobs, p. 139</ref> He had earlier been commissioned to write a sacred choral work for the festival and chose, as its subject, [[Henry Hart Milman]]'s 1822 dramatic poem based on the life and death of [[Saint Margaret the Virgin|St Margaret of Antioch]]. ''[[The Martyr of Antioch]]'' was first performed at the Leeds Festival in October 1880.<ref>Ainger, p. 163</ref> Gilbert adapted the libretto for Sullivan,<ref>McClure, Derrick. [https://gsarchive.net/sullivan/martyr/gilbert.html "The Martyr of Antioch: Gilbert's Contribution to the Libretto"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 28 July 2018</ref> who, in gratitude, presented his collaborator with an engraved silver cup inscribed "W.S. Gilbert from his friend Arthur Sullivan."{{refn|Gilbert replied, "it most certainly never occurred to me to look for any other reward than the honour of being associated, however remotely and unworthily, in a success which, I suppose, will endure until music itself shall die. Pray believe that of the many substantial advantages that have resulted to me from our association, this last is, and always will be, the most highly prized."<ref>Jacobs, p. 146</ref>|group= n}} Sullivan was not a showy conductor, and some thought him dull and old-fashioned on the podium,{{refn|The Viennese music critic [[Eduard Hanslick]] wrote of Sullivan's conducting of a Mozart symphony: "Sullivan presides on the podium from the comfortable recesses of a commodious armchair, his left arm lazily extended on the arm-rest, his right giving the beat in a mechanical way, his eyes fastened on the score.&nbsp;... Sullivan never looked up from the notes; it was as though he was reading at sight. The heavenly piece plodded along for better or for worse, listlessly, insensibly."<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3361679 "Dr. Hanslick on Music in England"], ''The Musical Times'', 1 September 1886, pp. 518–520 {{subscription}}; Hanslick, p. 263, ''quoted'' in Rodmell, p. 343; and Jacobs, p. 249</ref> [[George Bernard Shaw|Bernard Shaw]], who praised Sullivan as a composer ("They trained him to make Europe yawn, and he took advantage of their teaching to make London and New York laugh and whistle."<ref>Shaw, Vol. 2, p. 174</ref>), commented: "Under his ''bâton'' orchestras are never deficient in refinement. Coarseness, exaggeration, and carelessness are unacquainted with him. So, unfortunately, are vigor and earnestness."<ref>Shaw, Vol. 1, p. 237</ref> Vernon Blackburn of the ''[[Pall Mall Gazette]]'' thought that Sullivan conducted Mendelssohn's ''Elijah'' "quite extraordinarily well. This is a rather subtle conductor who makes his effects almost unexpectedly, so reticent is his manner and so quiet his method.  Yet effects are there, and … are marked by a great smoothness in the linking of phrase with phrase, and in consequence by a wonderful fluent continuousness of melody."<ref>Blackburn, Vernon. "Leeds Musical Festival", ''[[Pall Mall Gazette]]'', 7 October 1898, p. 3</ref>|group= n}} but ''Martyr'' had an enthusiastic reception and was frequently revived.<ref>Ainger, pp. 190, 195, 203, 215, 255–256 and 390</ref> Other critics and performers had favorable reactions to Sullivan's conducting, and he had a busy conducting career in parallel with his composing career, including seven Leeds Festivals among many other appointments.<ref>Palmer, chapter 3</ref> Sullivan invariably conducted the opening nights of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.<ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. 3–18</ref>

Carte opened the next Gilbert and Sullivan piece, ''[[Patience (operetta)|Patience]]'', in April 1881 at London's [[Opera Comique]], where their past three operas had played. In October, ''Patience'' transferred to the new, larger, state-of-the-art [[Savoy Theatre]], built with the profits of the previous Gilbert and Sullivan works. The rest of the partnership's collaborations were produced at the Savoy, and are widely known as the "[[Savoy opera]]s".{{refn|The term came to be applied to all 13 surviving Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and extended, by some writers, to the other comic operas and companion pieces produced at the Savoy Theatre until 1909.<ref>See, e.g., ''The Manchester Guardian'', 17 September 1910, p. 1; Fitz-Gerald, ''The Story of the Savoy Opera'', ''passim''; Rollins and Witts, ''passim''; and Farrell, ''passim''</ref> The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines the phrase as: "Designating any of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas originally presented at the Savoy Theatre in London by the D'Oyly Carte company. Also used more generally to designate any of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, including those first presented before the Savoy Theatre opened in 1881, or to designate any comic opera of a similar style which appeared at the theatre".<ref>[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/171499?redirectedFrom=Savoy+ "Savoy"], ''Oxford English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, June 2017, accessed 9 December 2017 {{subscription}}</ref>|group= n}} ''[[Iolanthe]]'' (1882), the first new opera to open at the Savoy, was Gilbert and Sullivan's fourth hit in a row.<ref>Jacobs, p. 178</ref> Sullivan, despite the financial security of writing for the Savoy, increasingly viewed the composition of comic operas as unimportant, beneath his skills, and also repetitious. After ''Iolanthe'', Sullivan had not intended to write a new work with Gilbert, but he suffered a serious financial loss when his broker went bankrupt in November 1882. Therefore, he concluded that his financial needs obliged him to continue writing Savoy operas.<ref>Ainger, pp. 217–219</ref> In February 1883, he and Gilbert signed a five-year agreement with Carte, requiring them to produce a new comic opera on six months' notice.<ref>Ainger, p. 219</ref>

On 22 May 1883 Sullivan was [[Knight bachelor|knighted]] by [[Queen Victoria]] for his "services&nbsp;... rendered to the promotion of the art of music" in Britain.<ref>Ainger, p. 220</ref> The musical establishment, and many critics, believed that this should end his career as a composer of comic opera – that a musical knight should not stoop below oratorio or [[grand opera]].<ref name=MW>Dailey, p. 28; and Lawrence, pp. 163–164</ref> Having just signed the five-year agreement, Sullivan suddenly felt trapped.<ref>Jacobs, p. 188</ref> The next opera, ''[[Princess Ida]]'' (1884, the duo's only three-act, [[blank verse]] work), had a shorter run than its four predecessors; Sullivan's score was praised. With box office receipts lagging in March 1884, Carte gave the six months' notice, under the partnership contract, requiring a new opera.<ref>Jacobs, p. 187</ref> Sullivan's close friend, the composer [[Frederic Clay]], had recently suffered a career-ending stroke at the age of 45. Sullivan, reflecting on this, on his own long-standing kidney problems, and on his desire to devote himself to more serious music, replied to Carte, "[I]t is impossible for me to do another piece of the character of those already written by Gilbert and myself."<ref>Crowther, Andrew. [https://gsarchive.net/articles/html/quarrel.html "The Carpet Quarrel Explained"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 28 July 2018</ref>

[[File:Mikado-Savoy-1885.jpg|thumb|Programme for ''[[The Mikado]]'', 1885|alt=Colourful programme cover for ''The Mikado'' showing several of the principal characters under the words "Savoy Theatre"]]
Gilbert had already started work on a new opera in which the characters fell in love against their wills after taking a magic lozenge. Sullivan wrote on 1 April 1884 that he had "come to the end of my tether" with the operas: "I have been continually keeping down the music in order that not one [syllable] should be lost.&nbsp;...  I should like to set a story of human interest & probability where the humorous words would come in a humorous (not serious) situation, & where, if the situation were a tender or dramatic one the words would be of similar character."<ref>Ainger, p. 230</ref> In a lengthy exchange of correspondence, Sullivan pronounced Gilbert's plot sketch (particularly the "lozenge" element) unacceptably mechanical, and too similar in both its grotesque "elements of topsyturveydom" and in actual plot to their earlier work, especially ''The Sorcerer''.{{refn|Even after Gilbert made changes (but retained a magic lozenge that changed people into what they pretended to be), Sullivan did not accept it.<ref name=j190/>|group= n}} He repeatedly requested that Gilbert find a new subject.<ref name=j190>Jacobs, pp. 190–193</ref> The impasse was finally resolved on 8 May when Gilbert proposed a plot that did not depend on any supernatural device. The result was Gilbert and Sullivan's most successful work, ''[[The Mikado]]'' (1885).<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 10</ref> The piece ran for 672 performances, which was the second-longest run for any work of musical theatre, and one of the longest runs of any theatre piece, up to that time.{{refn| The longest-running piece of musical theatre was [[Robert Planquette]]'s 1877 [[opéra-comique]] ''[[Les cloches de Corneville]]'', which held the record until [[Alfred Cellier]]'s operetta ''[[Dorothy (opera)|Dorothy]]'' ran for 931 performances beginning in 1886.<ref>Mackerness, E.D. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/05262 "Cellier, Alfred"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, accessed 18 August 2011 {{subscription}}; and Gänzl, Kurt. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O901087 "Cloches de Corneville, Les"], ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 18 August 2011</ref>|group= n}}

===Later 1880s===
[[File:Sullivan by Millais.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Portrait by [[John Everett Millais|Millais]] (1888) in the [[National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom)|National Portrait Gallery]], London |alt=Painting of Sullivan, seated with one leg crossed over the other, looking intently at the artist]]
In 1886 Sullivan composed his second and last large-scale choral work of the decade. It was a cantata for the Leeds Festival, ''[[The Golden Legend (cantata)|The Golden Legend]]'', based on [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow|Longfellow]]'s poem of the same name. Apart from the comic operas, this proved to be Sullivan's best received full-length work.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 242–243</ref> It was given hundreds of performances during his lifetime, and at one point he declared a moratorium on its presentation, fearing that it would become over-exposed.<ref>Turnbull, Stephen. [https://gsarchive.net/sullivan/html/sull_biog.html "Sullivan Biography"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 28 July 2018</ref> Only [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]]'s ''[[Messiah (Handel)|Messiah]]'' was performed more often in Britain in the 1880s and 1890s.<ref name=hulme>Russell Hulme, David. Notes to Hyperion CD set CDA67280, ''The Golden Legend'' (2001)</ref> It remained in the repertory until about the 1920s, but since then it has seldom been performed;<ref>Jacobs, p. 243</ref> it received its first professional recording in 2001.<ref name=hulme/> The musical scholar and conductor [[David Russell Hulme]] writes that the work influenced [[Edward Elgar|Elgar]] and [[William Walton|Walton]].{{refn|"''King Olaf'', ''Caractacus'' and ''[[The Dream of Gerontius|Gerontius]]'' owe much to ''The Golden Legend'' – as, via them, does Walton's ''[[Belshazzar's Feast (Walton)|Belshazzar's Feast]]''."<ref name=hulme/>|group= n}}

''[[Ruddigore]]'' followed ''The Mikado'' at the Savoy in 1887. It was profitable, but its nine-month run was disappointing compared with most of the earlier Savoy operas.<ref>Ainger, pp. 259–261</ref> For their next piece, Gilbert submitted another version of the magic lozenge plot, which Sullivan again rejected. Gilbert finally proposed a comparatively serious opera, to which Sullivan agreed.<ref>Ainger, pp. 265, 270</ref>  Although it was not a grand opera, ''[[The Yeomen of the Guard]]'' (1888) provided him with the opportunity to compose his most ambitious stage work to date.<ref>Ainger, pp. 281–282; and Jacobs, pp. 274–275</ref> As early as 1883 Sullivan had been under pressure from the musical establishment to write a grand opera. In 1885 he told an interviewer, "The opera of the future is a compromise [among the French, German and Italian schools] – a sort of eclectic school, a selection of the merits of each one. I myself will make an attempt to produce a grand opera of this new school.&nbsp;... Yes, it will be an historical work, and it is the dream of my life."<ref name=sfc>"Sir Arthur Sullivan: A Talk With the Composer of ''Pinafore''", ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', 22 July 1885, p. 9</ref> After ''The Yeomen of the Guard'' opened, Sullivan turned again to Shakespeare, composing incidental music for [[Henry Irving]]'s [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Theatre]] production of ''[[Macbeth]]'' (1888).<ref>Hughes, p.19</ref>

Sullivan wished to produce further serious works with Gilbert. He had collaborated with no other librettist since 1875. But Gilbert felt that the reaction to ''The Yeomen of the Guard'' had "not been so convincing as to warrant us in assuming that the public want something more earnest still".<ref name=WriteTwoOperas/> He proposed instead that Sullivan should go ahead with his plan to write a grand opera, but should continue also to compose comic works for the Savoy.{{refn|Gilbert wrote, "We have a name, jointly, for humorous work, tempered with occasional glimpses of earnest drama. I think we should do unwisely if we left, altogether, the path which we have trodden together so long and so successfully. I can quite understand your desire to write a big work, well, why not write one? But why abandon the Savoy business? Cannot the two things be done concurrently? If you can write an oratorio like ''[[The Martyr of Antioch]]'' while you are occupied by pieces like ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'' and ''[[Iolanthe]]'', can't you write a grand opera without giving up pieces like ''The Yeomen of the Guard''?"<ref name=WriteTwoOperas>Letter from Gilbert to Sullivan, 20 February 1889, quoted in Jacobs, p. 282</ref>|group= n}} Sullivan was not immediately persuaded. He replied, "I have lost the liking for writing comic opera, and entertain very grave doubts as to my power of doing it."{{refn|Sullivan continued, "I have lost the necessary nerve for it, and it is not too much to say that it is distasteful to me. The types used over and over again (unavoidable in such a company as ours), the [[George Grossmith|Grossmith]] part, the middle-aged woman with fading charms, cannot again be clothed in music by me. Nor can I again write to any wildly improbable plot in which there is not some human interest.&nbsp;... You say that in serious opera, ''you'' must more or less sacrifice yourself. I say that this is just what I have been doing in all our joint pieces, and, what is more, must continue to do in comic opera to make it successful. Business and syllabic setting assume an importance which, however much they fetter me, cannot be overlooked. I am bound, in the interests of the piece, to give way. Hence the reason of my wishing to do a work where the music is to be the first consideration – where words are to suggest music, not govern it, and where music will intensify and emphasize the emotional effects of the words.<ref>Letter from Sullivan to Gilbert, 12 March 1889, quoted in Jacobs, pp. 283–284</ref>|group= n}} Nevertheless, Sullivan soon commissioned a grand opera libretto from [[Julian Sturgis]] (who was recommended by Gilbert), and suggested to Gilbert that he revive an old idea for an opera set in colourful [[Venice]].<ref>Jacobs, pp. 282–283 and 288; and Ainger, p. 294</ref> The comic opera was completed first: ''[[The Gondoliers]]'' (1889) was a piece described by [[Gervase Hughes]] as a pinnacle of Sullivan's achievement.<ref name="Hughes, p. 24">Hughes, p. 24</ref> It was the last great Gilbert and Sullivan success.<ref>Ainger, p. 303</ref>

===1890s===
[[File:Ivanhoe-programme-1891.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Ivanhoe (opera)|Ivanhoe]]'', 1891|alt=Colourful programme cover for ''Ivanhoe'', showing one of the characters in a white wedding dress, under the words "The Royal English Opera"]]
The relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan suffered its most serious breach in April 1890, during the run of ''The Gondoliers'', when Gilbert objected to Carte's financial accounts for the production, including a charge to the partnership for the cost of new carpeting for the Savoy Theatre lobby. Gilbert believed that this was a maintenance expense that should be charged to Carte alone.<ref>Stedman, p. 270</ref> Carte was building a new theatre to present Sullivan's forthcoming grand opera, and Sullivan sided with Carte, going so far as to sign an affidavit that contained erroneous information about old debts of the partnership.<ref>Ainger, pp. 315–316</ref> Gilbert took legal action against Carte and Sullivan, vowing to write no more for the Savoy, and so the partnership came to an acrimonious end.<ref>Ainger, p. 312</ref> Sullivan wrote to Gilbert in September 1890 that he was "physically and mentally ill over this wretched business. I have not yet got over the shock of seeing our names coupled&nbsp;... in hostile antagonism over a few miserable pounds".<ref>Lamb, Andrew. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/957307 "Ivanhoe and the Royal English Opera"], ''The Musical Times'', Vol. 114, No. 1563, May 1973, pp.&nbsp;475–478 {{subscription}}</ref>

Sullivan's only grand opera, ''[[Ivanhoe (opera)|Ivanhoe]]'', based on [[Walter Scott]]'s [[Ivanhoe|novel]], opened at Carte's new [[Royal English Opera House]] on 31 January 1891. Sullivan completed the score too late to meet Carte's planned production date, and costs mounted; Sullivan was required to pay Carte a contractual penalty of £3,000 ({{Inflation|UK|3000|1899|fmt=eq|cursign=£|r=-3}}) for his delay.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 328–329</ref><ref>Ainger, p. 322</ref> The production lasted for 155 consecutive performances, an unprecedented run for a grand opera, and earned good notices for its music.<ref name=GP>Gordon-Powell, Robin. ''Ivanhoe'', full score, Introduction, vol. I, pp. XII–XIV, 2008, The Amber Ring</ref> Afterwards, Carte was unable to fill the new opera house with other opera productions and sold the theatre. Despite the initial success of ''Ivanhoe'', some writers blamed it for the failure of the opera house, and it soon passed into obscurity.<ref name=GP/> [[Herman Klein]] called the episode "the strangest comingling of success and failure ever chronicled in the history of British lyric enterprise!"<ref>Klein, Herman. [https://gsarchive.net/sullivan/ivanhoe/klein.html "An Account of the Composition and Production of Ivanhoe"], ''Thirty Years of Musical Life in London, 1870–1900'' (1903), ''reprinted'' at the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 3 October 2003, accessed 5 October 2014</ref> Later in 1891 Sullivan composed music for [[Alfred Tennyson|Tennyson]]'s ''[[The Foresters]]'', which ran well at Daly's Theatre in New York in 1892, but failed in London the following year.{{refn| Sullivan's biographers and scholars of his work have censured Tennyson's text.<ref name=j335>Jacobs, pp. 335–336</ref> Gervase Hughes called it "puerile rubbish".<ref name="Hughes, p. 24"/> Percy Young found it "Devoid of any kind of merit whatsoever."<ref name=y194>Young, p. 194</ref> Sullivan's music was initially well-received,<ref name=Notes>Eden, David and William Parry. Notes to Hyperion CD set CDA67486, ''The Contrabandista'' and ''The Foresters'' (2004)</ref> but Sullivan's biographers were not impressed: "One of Sullivan's lamest&nbsp;... resourceless in magic" (Young);<ref name=y194/> "[not] even one memorable number" (Jacobs).<ref name=j335/> More recent critics have praised Sullivan's contribution.<ref name=Notes/><ref>Lamb, Andrew. "Sullivan, ''The Contrabandista''", ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'', December 2004, p. 121</ref>|group= n}}

[[File:Chieftain poster 1894.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Poster for ''[[The Chieftain]]'' (1894)|alt=Colourful poster for ''The Chieftain'', showing the figure of a man dressed as a flamboyant bandit with a large, peaked black hat]]
Sullivan returned to comic opera, but because of the fracture with Gilbert, he and Carte sought other collaborators. Sullivan's next piece was ''[[Haddon Hall (opera)|Haddon Hall]]'' (1892), with a libretto by [[Sydney Grundy]] based loosely on the legend of the elopement of [[Dorothy Vernon]] with John Manners.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 336–342</ref> Although still comic, the tone and style of the work was considerably more serious and romantic than most of the operas with Gilbert. It ran for 204 performances, and was praised by critics.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 341–342</ref> In 1895 Sullivan once more provided incidental music for the Lyceum, this time for [[J. Comyns Carr]]'s ''[[Media:Arthur Sullivan - Incidental music to King Arthur.pdf|King Arthur]]''.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 436–437</ref>

With the aid of an intermediary, Sullivan's music publisher [[Chappell & Co.|Tom Chappell]], the three partners were reunited in 1892.<ref>Ainger, p. 328</ref> Their next opera, ''[[Utopia, Limited]]'' (1893), ran for 245 performances, barely covering the expenses of the lavish production,<ref>Ainger, p. 346</ref> although it was the longest run at the Savoy in the 1890s.<ref>Coles, Clifton. [https://gsarchive.net/savoy/mirette/intro.html "''Mirette'': Introduction"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 28 May 1998, accessed 28 July 2018</ref> Sullivan came to disapprove of the leading lady, [[Nancy McIntosh]], and refused to write another piece featuring her; Gilbert insisted that she must appear in his next opera.<ref>Ainger, p. 352</ref> Instead, Sullivan teamed up again with his old partner, F. C. Burnand. ''[[The Chieftain]]'' (1894), a heavily revised version of their earlier two-act opera, ''The Contrabandista'', flopped.<ref>Ainger, p. 357</ref> Gilbert and Sullivan reunited one more time, after McIntosh announced her retirement from the stage, for ''[[The Grand Duke]]'' (1896). It failed, and Sullivan never worked with Gilbert again, although their operas continued to be revived with success at the Savoy.<ref>Young, p. 201</ref>

In May 1897 Sullivan's full-length ballet, ''[[Victoria and Merrie England]]'', opened at the [[Alhambra Theatre]] to celebrate the Queen's [[Diamond Jubilee]]. The work celebrates English history and culture, with the Victorian period as the grand finale. Its six-month run was considered a great achievement.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 372–376</ref> ''[[The Beauty Stone]]'' (1898), with a libretto by [[Arthur Wing Pinero]] and J. Comyns Carr, was based on mediaeval [[morality play]]s. The collaboration did not go well: Sullivan wrote that Pinero and Comyns Carr were "gifted and brilliant men, with ''no'' experience in writing for music",<ref>Entry from Sullivan's diary, quoted in Jacobs p. 379</ref> and, when he asked for alterations to improve the structure, they refused.<ref>Jacobs, p. 379</ref> The opera, moreover, was too serious for the Savoy audiences' tastes.<ref>Coles, Clifton. [https://gsarchive.net/sullivan/beauty_stone/beauty_notes.html "''The Beauty Stone'': Notes on the Text"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 2004, accessed 18 July 2018</ref> It was a critical failure and ran for only seven weeks.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 379–380</ref>

In 1899, to benefit "the wives and children of soldiers and sailors" on active service in the [[South African War|Boer War]], Sullivan composed the music of a song, "[[The Absent-Minded Beggar]]", to a text by [[Rudyard Kipling]], which became an instant sensation and raised an unprecedented £300,000 ({{Inflation|UK|300000|1899|fmt=eq|cursign=£|r=-5}}) for the fund from performances and the sale of sheet music and related merchandise.<ref>Lycett, p. 432</ref> In ''[[The Rose of Persia]]'' (1899), Sullivan returned to his comic roots, writing to a libretto by [[Basil Hood]] that combined an exotic ''[[Arabian Nights]]'' setting with plot elements of ''The Mikado''. Sullivan's tuneful score was well received, and the opera proved to be his most successful full-length collaboration apart from those with Gilbert.<ref>Jacobs, pp. 387, 391–392</ref> Another opera with Hood, ''[[The Emerald Isle]]'', quickly went into preparation, but Sullivan died before it was completed. The score was finished by [[Edward German]], and produced in 1901.<ref>Jacobs, p. 400</ref>

===Death, honours and legacy===
{{further|Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan}}
[[File:Memorial To Sir Arthur Sullivan.jpg|thumb|[[Arthur Sullivan Memorial, Victoria Embankment Gardens]]|alt=Colour photo of bronze statue of a partly-clothed muse, leaning on a stone pillar, looking up, longingly, at a bronze bust of Sullivan]]
Sullivan's health was never robust – from his thirties his kidney disease often obliged him to conduct sitting down. He died of heart failure, following an attack of bronchitis, at his flat in [[Westminster]] on 22 November 1900 at the age of 58.<ref name=odnb>Jacobs, Arthur. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/26772 "Sullivan, Sir Arthur Seymour (1842–1900)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004 (online edition, May 2006), accessed 8 July 2008 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> His ''[[Te Deum Laudamus (Sullivan)|Te Deum Laudamus]]'', written in expectation of victory in the Boer War, was performed posthumously.<ref>Howarth, Paul. [https://gsarchive.net/sullivan/boer/tedeum.html "''Te Deum Laudamus'', A Thanksgiving for Victory"], the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 12 January 2010, accessed 28 July 2018</ref>

A [[Arthur Sullivan Memorial, Victoria Embankment Gardens|monument]] in the composer's memory featuring a weeping [[Muse]] was erected in the [[Victoria Embankment]] Gardens in London and is inscribed with Gilbert's words from ''The Yeomen of the Guard'': "Is life a boon? If so, it must befall that Death, whene'er he call, must call too soon". Sullivan wished to be buried in [[Brompton Cemetery]] with his parents and brother, but by order of the Queen he was buried in [[St Paul's Cathedral]].<ref>"Funeral of Sir Arthur Sullivan", ''The Times'', 28 November 1900, p. 12</ref> In addition to his knighthood, honours awarded to Sullivan in his lifetime included Doctor in Music, ''honoris causa'', by the Universities of [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] (1876) and [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] (1879); Chevalier, [[Légion d'honneur]], France (1878); [[Order of the Medjidie]] conferred by the [[Ottoman Empire|Sultan of Turkey]] (1888); and appointment as a [[Royal Victorian Order|Member of the Fourth Class of the Royal Victorian Order]] (MVO) in 1897.<ref name=musicaltimes/><ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/26871/pages/3820 ''The London Gazette''], 9 July 1897, p. 54</ref>

Sullivan's operas have often been adapted, first in the 19th century as dance pieces<ref name=DanceArr/> and in foreign adaptations of the operas themselves. Since then, his music has been made into ballets (''[[Pineapple Poll]]'' (1951) and ''[[Pirates of Penzance – The Ballet!]]'' (1991)) and musicals (''[[The Swing Mikado]]'' (1938), ''[[The Hot Mikado (1939 production)|The Hot Mikado]]'' (1939) and ''[[Hot Mikado]]'' (1986), ''[[Hollywood Pinafore]]'' and ''[[Memphis Bound]]'' (both 1945), ''[[The Black Mikado]]'' (1975), etc.). His operas are frequently performed,<ref>Bradley (2005), pp. 30 and 68</ref> and also [[Parody|parodied]], [[pastiche]]d, quoted and imitated in [[Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan|comedy routines, advertising, law, film, television, and other popular media]].<ref name=PeterDowns>Downs, Peter. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071001010741/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/1147907091.html?dids=1147907091:1147907091&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+18,+2006&author=PETER+DOWNS&pub=Hartford+Courant&edition=&startpage=B.3&desc=ACTORS+CAST+AWAY+CARES+ "Actors Cast Away Cares"], ''Hartford Courant'', 18 October 2006 {{subscription}} </ref><ref>Bradley, Chapter 1</ref> He has been portrayed on screen in ''[[The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan]]'' (1953) and ''[[Topsy-Turvy]]'' (2000).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170616224435/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b6b3127 "''The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan'' (1953)"] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20160811134127/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b81789b24 "''Topsy-Turvy''"], British Film Institute, accessed 13 December 2017.</ref> He is celebrated not only for writing the Savoy operas and his other works, but also for his influence on the development of modern American and British musical theatre.<ref name=PeterDowns/><ref>Jones, J. Bush. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WqQH31qkYNoC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=Bordman+pinafore&source=bl&ots=-4A-Dm231B&sig=UwT_XytKbxkRXtLo_OV7-_VTlps&hl=en&ei=RPzlSezEBpeUMcSs4I4J&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#PPA4,M1 ''Our Musicals, Ourselves''], pp. 10–11, 2003, Brandeis University Press: Lebanon, N.H. (2003) 1584653116</ref>