This volume contains the complete text of all the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, including "The Mikado", "Patience", "Iolanthe", "The Gondoliers", "The Pirates of Penzance", "The Yeomen of the Guard" and "HMS Pinafore".
"A volume of four plays satirizing the key figures of the Aesthetic Movement from 1877 to 1881"--
All The Operas In One Definitive Edition, Including The Little-Known Thespis
Gilbert and Sullivan's operas are some of the world's best-loved musical works, delighting audiences with their joyous wit, topsy-turvy logic and extravagant wordplay. This glorious treasury is the definitive annotated edition of all fourteen of their operas. From the partially lost work "Thespis", the first collaboration between W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, through the triumphant comic romps "The Pirates of Penzance" and "The Mikado", to lesser-performed gems such as the fanciful "The Sorcerer" and the acerbic lampoon "Patience", Gilbert's libretti are collected here in their most accurate and faithful form. There is a fascinating commentary on each work, telling the extraordinary stories behind the inspiration for the opera and its performance history, and giving plot summaries and original cast lists. Also containing original illustrations from Gilbert's "Bab Ballads", as well as extensive notes for every work, this ultimate Gilbert and Sullivan collection will delight all devotees of the incomparable duo.