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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Savoy operas
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Name given to the operettas of *Gilbert and *Sullivan, performed (from 1881) at the *Savoy Theatre. The librettist and composer had collaborated ineffectively in 1871 on Thespis, and their run of extraordinary successes began only when *D'Oyly Carte brought them together for Trial by Jury (1875); it continued with The Sorcerer (1877), HMS Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1880), Patience (1881), Iolanthe (1882), Princess Ida (1884), The Mikado (1885), Ruddigore (1887), The Yeomen of the Guard (1888) and The Gondoliers (1889).
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At this point Gilbert and Sullivan fell out over a business dispute. When they resumed their collaboration, the results were less impressive (Utopia Limited 1893, The Grand Duke 1896). But in their heyday they had created something distinctively their own – witty and tuneful works, laced with contemporary references, which acquired the status almost of national treasures. Until the 1960s the D'Oyly Carte company maintained a monopoly on professional productions, presenting the operettas in a somewhat fossilized style. More imaginative interpretations, made possible by the lapse of copyright, have in recent years provided a new lease of life.
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