Editing Gilbert and Sullivan (section)

===Savoy Theatre opens===

====''Patience''====
{{main|Patience (opera)}}
[[File:George Grossmith as Bunthorne, 1881 (second version).jpg|upright|thumb|[[George Grossmith]] as Bunthorne in ''Patience'', 1881]]
''Patience'' (1881) satirised the [[aesthetic movement]] in general and its colourful poets in particular, combining aspects of [[Algernon Charles Swinburne|A. C. Swinburne]], [[Dante Gabriel Rossetti]], [[Oscar Wilde]], [[James McNeill Whistler]] and others in the rival poets Bunthorne and Grosvenor. Grossmith, who created the role of Bunthorne, based his makeup, wig and costume on Swinburne and especially Whistler, as seen in the adjacent photograph.<ref>Ellmann, pp. 135 and 151–152</ref> The work also lampoons male vanity and chauvinism in the military. The story concerns two rival [[Aestheticism|aesthetic]] poets, who attract the attention of the young ladies of the village, formerly engaged to the members of a cavalry regiment. But both poets are in love with Patience, the village milkmaid, who detests one of them and feels that it is her duty to avoid the other despite her love for him. Richard D'Oyly Carte was the booking manager for [[Oscar Wilde]], a then lesser-known proponent of aestheticism, and dispatched him on an American lecture tour in conjunction with the opera's U.S. run, so that American audiences might better understand what the satire was all about.<ref>Bradley (1996), p. 269</ref>

During the run of ''Patience'', Carte built the large, modern [[Savoy Theatre]], which became the partnership's permanent home. It was the first theatre (and the world's first public building) to be lit entirely by electric lighting.<ref>[http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/SavoyTheatre.htm "Savoy Theatre"], arthurlloyd.co.uk, accessed 20 July 2007; and Burgess, Michael. "Richard D'Oyly Carte", ''The Savoyard'', January 1975, pp. 7–11</ref> ''Patience'' moved into the Savoy after six months at the Opera Comique and ran for a total of 578 performances, surpassing the run of ''H.M.S. Pinafore''.<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 8</ref>

====''Iolanthe''====
{{main|Iolanthe}}
''Iolanthe'' (1882) was the first of the operas to open at the Savoy. The fully electric Savoy made possible numerous special effects, such as sparkling magic wands for the female chorus of fairies. The opera poked fun at English law and the [[House of Lords]] and made much of the war between the sexes. The critics felt that Sullivan's work in ''Iolanthe'' had taken a step forward. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' commented, "The composer has risen to his opportunity, and we are disposed to account ''Iolanthe'' his best effort in all the Gilbertian series."<ref>Quoted in Allen 1975b, p. 176</ref> Similarly, ''The Theatre'' judged that "the music of ''Iolanthe'' is Dr Sullivan's ''chef d'oeuvre''. The quality throughout is more even, and maintained at a higher standard, than in any of his earlier works..."<ref>Beatty-Kingston, William, "Our Musical Box", ''The Theatre'', 1 January 1883, p. 27</ref>

[[Image:Barnett as Fairy Queen.jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[Alice Barnett|Barnett]] as The Fairy Queen]]
''Iolanthe'' is one of several of Gilbert's works, including ''[[The Wicked World]]'' (1873), ''[[Broken Hearts]]'' (1875), ''[[Princess Ida]]'' (1884) and ''[[Fallen Fairies]]'' (1909), where the introduction of men and "mortal love" into a tranquil world of women wreaks havoc with the status quo.<ref>Cole, Sarah. [http://gsarchive.net/gilbert/plays/broken_hearts/broken_hearts_synopsis.html ''Broken Hearts''], ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', 23 December 2000, accessed 21 August 2012</ref> Gilbert had created several "fairy comedies" at the [[Haymarket Theatre]] in the early 1870s. These plays, influenced by the fairy work of [[James Planché]], are founded upon the idea of self-revelation by characters under the influence of some magic or some supernatural interference.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/223/0815.html "W. S. Gilbert"], ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes'' (1907–21), Volume XIII, "The Victorian Age", Part One. VIII. Nineteenth-Century Drama, § 15, Bartleby.com, accessed 27 May 2009</ref>

In 1882, Gilbert had a telephone installed in his home and at the prompt desk at the Savoy Theatre so that he could monitor performances and rehearsals from his home study. Gilbert had referred to the new technology in ''Pinafore'' in 1878, only two years after the device was invented and before London even had telephone service. Sullivan had one installed as well, and on 13 May 1883, at a party to celebrate the composer's 41st birthday, the guests, including the [[Prince of Wales]] (later [[Edward VII]]), heard a direct relay of parts of ''Iolanthe'' from the Savoy. This was probably the first live "broadcast" of an opera.<ref>Bradley (1996), p. 176</ref>

During the run of ''Iolanthe'', in 1883, Sullivan was [[British honours system|knighted]] by [[Queen Victoria]]. Although it was the operas with Gilbert that had earned him the broadest fame, the honour was conferred for his services to serious music. The musical establishment, and many critics, believed that this should put an end to his career as a composer of comic opera – that a musical [[knighthood|knight]] should not stoop below oratorio or [[grand opera]].<ref>Baily, p. 250</ref> Sullivan, despite the financial security of writing for the Savoy, increasingly viewed his work with Gilbert as unimportant, beneath his skills, and repetitious. Furthermore, he was unhappy that he had to simplify his music to ensure that Gilbert's words could be heard. But paradoxically, in February 1883, just after ''Iolanthe'' opened, Sullivan had signed a five-year agreement with Gilbert and Carte requiring him to produce a new comic opera on six months' notice.<ref name=Carpet>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gsarchive.net/articles/html/quarrel.html |title=The Carpet Quarrel Explained |access-date=10 October 2021 |last=Crowther |first=Andrew |date=13 August 2018 |publisher=The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive}}</ref>

====''Princess Ida''====
{{main|Princess Ida}}
[[File:William Russell Flint - W. S. Gilbert - Savoy Operas - Princess Ida 6.jpg|thumb|300px|''Princess Ida'', Act II Finale: Hildebrand and soldiers rush through the gate.]]
''Princess Ida'' (1884) spoofed [[women's education]] and [[male chauvinism]] and continued the theme from ''Iolanthe'' of the war between the sexes. The opera is based on [[Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson|Tennyson]]'s poem ''The Princess: A Medley''. Gilbert had written a [[blank verse]] farce based on the same material in 1870, called ''[[The Princess (play)|The Princess]]'', and he reused a good deal of the dialogue from his earlier play in the libretto of ''Princess Ida''. ''Ida'' is the only Gilbert and Sullivan work with dialogue entirely in blank verse and is also the only one of their works in three acts. [[Lillian Russell]] had been engaged to create the title role, but Gilbert did not believe that she was dedicated enough, and when she missed a rehearsal, he dismissed her.<ref>Stedman, pp. 200–201</ref>

''Princess Ida'' was the first of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas that, by the partnership's previous standards, was not a success. A particularly hot summer in London did not help ticket sales. The piece ran for a comparatively short 246 performances and was not revived in London until 1919. Sullivan had been satisfied with the libretto, but two months after ''Ida'' opened, Sullivan told Carte that "it is impossible for me to do another piece of the character of those already written by Gilbert and myself."<ref name=Carpet/> As ''Princess Ida'' showed signs of flagging, Carte realised that, for the first time in the partnership's history, no new opera would be ready when the old one closed. On 22 March 1884, he gave Gilbert and Sullivan contractual notice that a new opera would be required in six months' time.<ref>Jacobs, p. 187</ref> In the meantime, when ''Ida'' closed, Carte produced a revival of ''The Sorcerer''.<ref>Ainger, p. 236</ref>