Editing Savoy Theatre (section)

==Richard D'Oyly Carte's theatre==
[[File:Savoy pre-1920.JPG|left|thumb|Original interior of Savoy Theatre, 1881]]
Carte bought the freehold of the site, then known as "Beaufort Buildings", early in 1880 for £11,000, but had begun planning his theatre several years before. In 1877 he engaged [[Walter Emden]], an architect whose work includes the [[Garrick Theatre|Garrick]] and the [[Duke of York's Theatre|Duke of York's]] theatres.<ref name=savoyard/> Before completing the site purchase, city officials had assured Carte that they would open a new street on the south side of the plot, provided he paid half the cost. He paid his half in March 1880, but the officials caused lengthy delays. Carte told ''[[The Times]]'', "I am struggling in the meshes of red tape".<ref>Carte, Richard D'Oyly. "Building Difficulties", ''The Times'', 22 May 1880, p. 6</ref> He finally received the necessary agreement in June. At the same time he ran into another obstacle: Emden suddenly revised his estimate of building costs upward from £12,000 to £18,000. Carte dismissed Emden, who successfully sued for £1,790 for services to date and £3,000 for wrongful dismissal.<ref name=savoyard>"100 Electrifying Years", ''The Savoyard'', Volume XX no. 2, D'Oyly Carte Opera Trust, September 1981, pp. 4–6</ref>

[[File:1881 Savoy Theatre.jpg|thumb|upright|Original façade of the Savoy Theatre, 1881]]
Design of the theatre was given to [[Charles J. Phipps|C. J. Phipps]]. The builders were Patman and Fotheringham. Plans were drawn up and executed with speed and efficiency. Nonetheless, the advertised opening date had to be put back several times while the innovative electrical work was completed.<ref name=savoyard/> The Savoy finally opened on 10 October 1881.<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 8</ref> Carte had at one time intended to call it the Beaufort Theatre,<ref name=Howard>Howard, p. 214</ref> but he announced in a letter to ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' in 1881, "On the Savoy Manor there was formerly a theatre. I have used the ancient name as an appropriate title for the present one."<ref name=savoyard/> The exterior of the building was made from red brick and Portland stone.<ref name="Oost, p. 59">Oost, p. 59</ref> The interior decoration, by Collinson and Locke, was "in the manner of the [[Italian Renaissance]]", with white, pale yellow and gold predominating, including a gold satin curtain (instead of the usual printed act-drop), red boxes and dark blue seats.<ref name=Times/> There were none of the cherubs, deities and mythical creatures familiar from the décor of rival theatres. Carte wanted nothing that would appear too garish or gaudy to his target, middle-class audience.<ref name="Oost, p. 59"/>

On the opening night Phipps took curtain calls along with [[W. S. Gilbert|Gilbert]], [[Arthur Sullivan|Sullivan]] and Carte.<ref name=savoyard/> ''[[The Times]]'' commented, "A perfect view of the stage can be had from every seat in the house."<ref name=Times/> Exits on all four sides of the theatre were provided, and fireproof materials were used to ensure maximum safety.<ref name=Times/> There were three tiers with four levels: stalls and pit, balcony, circle, and amphitheatre and gallery at the top. The total [[seating capacity]] was 1,292.<ref>18 private boxes (72 seats); 150 stalls, 250 pit, 160 balcony, 160 circle, and 500 (maximum) amphitheatre and gallery. "The Savoy Theatre", ''The Times'', 3 October 1881</ref> The [[proscenium]] arch was {{convert|30|ft|m}} high by {{convert|30|ft|m}} wide, and the stage was {{convert|27|ft|m}} deep from the proscenium to the back wall.<ref>''Who's Who in the Theatre'', 1912, p. 297.  Chapple, p. 11, and Howard, p. 214, give the dimensions as 60 feet wide by 52 feet deep, but those measurements included the wing space and the scene dock at the rear.</ref> The theatre originally had its main entrance on the [[Thames Embankment|Embankment]]. The parcel on which it was built is steep, stretching from the Strand down to the Embankment along Beaufort Street. After Carte built the [[Savoy Hotel]] in 1889, the theatre entrance was moved to its present location at the hotel's courtyard off the Strand.<ref>Goodman, p. 27</ref>

[[File:Savoy Theatre (Westminster City Council).jpg|left|thumb|upright|Plaque noting the Savoy as the first public building to be lit entirely by electricity]]
The Savoy was a state-of-the-art theatre and the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity.<ref name=Times>"The Savoy Theatre", ''[[The Times]]'', 3 October 1881</ref><ref name=Burgess>Burgess, Michael. "Richard D'Oyly Carte", ''The Savoyard'', January 1975, pp. 7–11</ref> In 1881, [[Sir Joseph Swan]], inventor of the [[incandescent light bulb]], supplied about 1,200 Swan incandescent lamps, and the lights were powered by a {{convert|120|hp|adj=on}} generator on open land near the theatre.<ref name=Times/><ref>Henderson, Tony. [http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/tale-tragedy-behind-triumphs-joseph-4424356 "Tale of tragedy behind the triumphs of Joseph Swan"], ''The Journal'', 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2016</ref> Carte explained why he had introduced electric light: "The greatest drawbacks to the enjoyment of the theatrical performances are, undoubtedly, the foul air and heat which pervade all theatres. As everyone knows, each [[gas lighting|gas-burner]] consumes as much oxygen as many people, and causes great heat beside. The incandescent lamps consume no oxygen, and cause no perceptible heat."<ref>Baily, p. 215</ref> The first generator proved too small to power the whole building, and though the entire front-of-house was electrically lit, the stage was lit by gas until 28 December 1881. At that performance, Carte stepped onstage and broke a glowing lightbulb before the audience to demonstrate the safety of the new technology. ''The Times'' described the electric lighting as superior, visually, to gaslight.<ref>[https://www.gsarchive.net/carte/savoy/electric.html "Savoy Theatre"],  ''The Times'', 28 December 1881, p. 4</ref> Gaslights were installed as a backup, but they rarely had to be used.<ref name=savoyard/> ''The Times'' concluded that the theatre "is admirably adapted for its purpose, its acoustic qualities are excellent, and all reasonable demands of comfort and taste are complied with."<ref>"The Savoy Theatre", ''The Times'', 11 October 1881</ref> Carte and his manager, [[George Edwardes]] (later famous as manager of the [[Gaiety Theatre, London|Gaiety Theatre]]), introduced several innovations including numbered seating, free programme booklets, good quality whisky in the bars, the "queue" system for the pit and gallery (an American idea) and a policy of no tipping for cloakroom or other services.<ref name=bettany>Bettany, unnumbered page (there are no page numbers in the book)</ref><ref>Wilson and Lloyd, p. 29</ref> Daily expenses at the theatre were about half the possible takings from ticket sales.<ref name=Burgess/><ref>Dark and Grey, p. 85</ref>

[[File:Souvenir program for the première production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience - Cover.jpg |thumb|upright|1881 Programme for ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'']]
The work that opened the new theatre was Gilbert and Sullivan's [[comic opera]] ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'', which had been running since April 1881 at the smaller [[Opera Comique]].<ref name=bettany/> The last eight of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas were premièred at the Savoy: ''[[Iolanthe]]'' (1882), ''[[Princess Ida]]'' (1884), ''[[The Mikado]]'' (1885), ''[[Ruddigore]]'' (1887), ''[[The Yeomen of the Guard]]'' (1888) ''[[The Gondoliers]]'' (1889), ''[[Utopia, Limited]]'' (1893), and ''[[The Grand Duke]]'' (1896), and the term [[Savoy opera]] has come to be associated with all their joint works. After the end of the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership, Carte, and later his widow, [[Helen Carte|Helen]] (and from 1901 to 1903, [[William Greet]], lessee of the theatre), staged other comic operas at the theatre by [[Arthur Sullivan]] and others, notably [[Ivan Caryll]], [[Sydney Grundy]], [[Basil Hood]] and [[Edward German]].<ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. 16–19; and {{cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmu00ganz_1/page/818/mode/2up?q=%22Greet%2C+William%22|title=The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, Second Edition|volume=II|first=Kurt|last= Gänzl|author-link=Kurt Gänzl|chapter=Greet, William|publisher=[[Schirmer Books]]|year=2001|pages=819–822 |isbn=978-0-02-865573-4 }}</ref> The Savoy Operas of the 1890s, however, were far less successful than those of the Gilbert and Sullivan heyday. After Carte's production of ''[[The Chieftain]]'' ended in March 1895, the Theatre briefly hosted the [[Carl Rosa Opera Company]] and then closed until late 1895, when Carte resumed productions at the theatre. Sullivan died in 1900, and Richard D'Oyly Carte died in 1901.<ref>Wilson and Lloyd, p. 52</ref>

The Savoy Theatre closed in 1903, and was reopened under the management of John Leigh and [[Edward Laurillard]] from February 1904 (beginning with a musical, ''The Love Birds'') to December 1906.<ref name=Howard/> The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company returned to the Savoy for repertory seasons between 1906 and 1909, in which year [[C. H. Workman]] took over the management of the theatre. He produced, among other works, Gilbert's final opera, with music by German, ''[[Fallen Fairies]]'' in 1909–10, which ran for only 51 performances.<ref>Rollins and Witts, p. 22</ref> He also produced ''[[Two Merry Monarchs]]'' and ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice|Orpheus and Eurydice]]'' in 1910, the latter of which starred [[Marie Brema]] and [[Viola Tree]] in the title roles.<ref>Wearing, vol. 1, p. 24</ref> The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company did not play in the theatre from 1909 until 1929,<ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. 22–154.</ref> instead touring throughout Britain and playing London seasons in other theatres; other works held the stage of the Savoy. George Augustus Richardson managed the theatre from November 1911 to February 1915.<ref name=Howard/> ''The Mikado's'' record as the Savoy's longest-running production was broken by the comedy ''Paddy the Next Best Thing'' by [[Gertrude Page]], which played for 867 performances from April 1920.<ref>Gaye, p. 1536</ref>