Sir
Arthur Seymour Sullivan
(
May_13,
1842 -
November_22,
1900) was a British
composer best known for his
operatic collaborations with
librettist William_S._Gilbert.
Sullivan was born in
Lambeth, now part of
London. His father was a military bandmaster, and by the time Arthur had reached the age of 8, he was proficient with all the instruments in the band. Following a stay at private school in
Bayswater, he was admitted to the choir of the
Chapel_Royal, attending its school in
Cheyne_Walk. While there, he began to compose
anthems and songs. In
1856, he received the first Mendelssohn prize and became a student at the
Royal_Academy_of_Music until
1858.
In 1858, Sullivan travelled to
Leipzig, where he continued his studies and took up
conducting. He credited this period with tremendous musical growth, and his return to
London in
1862 saw the production of his incidental music to
Shakespeare's ''The Tempest'' performed at
the_Crystal_Palace. He began building a reputation as Britain's premier composer, and
1866 saw the first performance of his ''
Symphony in E (Irish)''. Other pieces from this period include the
overture ''In Memoriam'' (
1866), the
oratorio ''The Prodigal Son'' (
1869), the well-known tune to the
hymn ''Onward Christian Soldiers'' (
1872) and the song ''The Lost Chord'' (
1877).
In
1866, he supplemented his income by producing the musical score to a one act
operetta, ''Cox and Box''. This led to his most famous and lucrative works as a composer for the musical theatre.
In the autumn of
1867, he travelled with Sir
George_Grove to
Vienna, returning with a treasure-trove of undiscovered
Schubert scores.
In
1871, John Hollingshead commissioned Sullivan to work with Gilbert to create the operetta ''Thespis'' for the Gaiety Theatre. The show was successful in the context that it was conceived specifically as a Christmas entertainment and as such ran through to Easter 1872. Plans to revise and revive the piece in 1876 were abandoned when Richard D'Oyly Carte's backers demanded a new show for their money and not a revivel, therefore the score was subsequently lost, though one number ''Little Maid of Arcadee'' was published by Cramer in 1872 and another was later re-used in ''
The_Pirates_of_Penzance''. Recent research would seem to indicate that more than just this one number was reused in the later show.
Gilbert_and_Sullivan's real collaborative efforts began in
1875 when
Richard_D'Oyly_Carte commissioned them to write a one act piece, ''
Trial_by_Jury''. Its success was so great that the three men formed an often turbulent partnership which lasted for twenty years and thirteen operettas. ''Trial'' was followed in
1877 by ''
The_Sorcerer'', and in
1878 by their greatest success so far, ''
HMS_Pinafore''. This last was much pirated in America, and in
1879, Gilbert and Sullivan crossed the Atlantic to protect their copyrights, producing ''
The_Pirates_of_Penzance'' in
New York.
The next Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, ''
Patience'', opened in the Opéra Comique, London in
1881 and was transferred to the specially-built
Savoy_Theatre later the same year. All the duo's subsequent collaborations, which include ''
Iolanthe'' (
1882), ''
The_Mikado'' (
1885) and ''
The_Yeomen_of_the_Guard'' (
1888), opened there.
In
1883, Sullivan was
knighted by
Queen_Victoria. Contemporary critics felt that this should put an end to his career as an operetta composer, believing that a musical knight should not stoop below the level of
oratorio or "grand opera". Sullivan too, despite the financial security the Savoy operettas gave him, increasingly viewed his work with Gilbert as unimportant and beneath his skills. Furthermore he was unhappy that he was having to tone down his music to ensure that Gilbert's words could be heard. In
1886, Sullivan went some way to appeasing his critics by the production of the
cantata ''The Golden Legend'', which he and most of his contemporaries considered his masterpiece. Finally, in
1890, Sullivan broke away acrimoniously from Gilbert following the production of ''
The_Gondoliers'' and, with D'Oyly Carte, produced his only grand opera, ''Ivanhoe'', at the new English Opera House. Subsequently however he returned to work with Gilbert on two more operettas and wrote three more with other collaborators.
Sullivan, who had suffered from ill health throughout his life, succumbed to pneumonia at his house in
London on November 22, 1900. A monument in his memory was erected in the
Victoria Embankment Gardens.
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