Gilbert aand Sullivan

[Motherof8]

Has anyone seen Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas? If so, what did you think of them? I've seen The Mikado and Pirates of Penzance, and enjoyed both. (Maybe I misspelled that.) I guess they are more like music than literature, but the plays did have a plot.

[Charles Darnay]

What a coincidence, I am currently listening to G&S's "Sorcerer" when I loaded this page.

I love Gilbert and Sullivan. I am not a fan of the Mikado, but Pirates is among my favourite. I have listened to most of their operettas and seen Pirates, Mikado, and HMS Pinafore - and who can dislike Pinafore?

[OrphanPip]

They produce a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta every year in Montreal. I'm not much of a fan of Mikado either, though it has some OK songs. I've seen Yeomen of the Guard live.

[Gladys]

Gilbert and Sullivan makes excellent reading, listening and watching for children and adults alike, in that Gilbert's lyrics are marvellous satire and Sullivan's music so accessible. But without Gilbert, Sullivan is nothing.

I particularly love Patience, Princess Ida, Ruddigore, Yeomen of the Guard and Mikado for their sparkling wit and insightful psychology. While H.M.S. Pinafore is a little crass, only The Gondoliers with its corny, plasticine plot disappoints me.

The lyrics here are everything, and reading the them first, helps in appreciating Gilbert's brilliance. The Irish satire of the English in Mikado, for instance, is less obvious otherwise. Remember that Gilbert was a contemporary of fellow Irishman Oscar Wilde, as well as Algernon Charles Swinburne, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and James McNeill Whistler.

As for The Sorcerer, I was rather slow in appreciating Gilbert's fine satire of attitudes to love and marriage, then and now.

[Charles Darnay]

I love the Sorcerer more for the music than the lyrics - but have nothing against the story.

I also enjoy Gondoliers corny as it may be. It has that classical charm to it (and again, great music)

[kiki1982]

I watched one for the first time recently on the BBC Proms. The Yeoman of the Guard. Classic 19th century plot.

I particularly liked the Misery Me song. :lol: Nice music, but great text too.

A Gilbert and Sullivan CD is definitely on my list. Prepare for some very bad sing-alongs during the ironing. :D

[Lokasenna]

I love G&S - a fantastic combination of genuinely excellent music combined with some of funniest and best libretto writing there is. I can often be heard singing the Major-General's Song around the house...

On a related note, anyone heard the legendary Anna Russell's How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera? If not, treat yourself to this wonderful piece of parody:

Part 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yif-5xBbxd4)

Part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x59vFkATXR4)

[Charles Darnay]

I love G&S - a fantastic combination of genuinely excellent music combined with some of funniest and best libretto writing there is. I can often be heard singing the Major-General's Song around the house...

On a related note, anyone heard the legendary Anna Russell's How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera? If not, treat yourself to this wonderful piece of parody:

Part 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yif-5xBbxd4)

Part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x59vFkATXR4)

Thanks for sharing. I love Anna Russell's stuff: her "talk" on Wagner's Ring Cycle is brilliant.