Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the past 125 years, Gilbert and Sullivan have pervasively influenced popular culture in the English-speaking world.[1] Lines and quotations from the Gilbert and Sullivan operas have become part of the English language, such as "short, sharp shock", "What never? Well, hardly ever!", "let the punishment fit the crime", and "A policeman's lot is not a happy one".[2][3]

The Savoy operas have also influenced political style and discourse, literature, film and television, and advertising,[4] and have been widely parodied by humorists.[5] Because they are well-known, and convey a distinct sense of Britishness (or even Victorian Britishness), and because they are in the public domain[6], songs from the operas appear "in the background" in many movies and television shows.

The operas have so pervaded our culture that events from the "lives" of their characters from the operas are memorialized by major news outlets. For instance, a New York Times article on 29 February 1940, noted that Frederic, from The Pirates of Penzance, was finally out of his indentures (having reached his 21st birthday, as described in that opera).

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[edit] Musical theatre

The American and British musical owes a tremendous debt to G&S, who introduced innovations in content and form that directly influenced the development of musical theatre through the 20th century.[7] Gilbert's complex rhyme schemes and satirical lyrics served as a model for Edwardian musical comedy writers such as Adrian Ross and Owen Hall, and for such 20th century Broadway lyricists as P.G. Wodehouse,[8] Cole Porter,[9] Ira Gershwin,[10] and Lorenz Hart.[7] Sullivan was admired and copied by early authors and composers such as Ivan Caryll, Lionel Monckton, Ivor Novello, George Gershwin,[11] Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.[1] Johnny Mercer said, "We all come from Gilbert." Alan Jay Lerner wrote that it was Gilbert who "raised lyric writing from a serviceable craft to a legitimate popular art form," and Stephen Sondheim included an homage to Gilbert in his Pacific Overtures (1976) showstopper "Please Hello."[12] Noel Coward wrote:

“ I was born into a generation that still took light music seriously. The lyrics and melodies of Gilbert and Sullivan were hummed and strummed into my consciousness at an early age. My father sang them, my mother played them, my nurse, Emma, breathed them through her teeth while she was washing me, dressing me and undressing me and putting me to bed. My aunts and uncles, who were legion, sang them singly and in unison at the slightest provocation....[13] „

—Introduction to The Noel Coward Song Book

However, according to Gilbert and Sullivan expert and enthusiast Ian Bradley:

“ The musical is not, of course, the only cultural form to show the influence of G&S. Even more direct heirs are those witty and satirical songwriters found on both sides of the Atlantic in the twentieth century like Michael Flanders and Donald Swann in the United Kingdom and Tom Lehrer in the United States. The influence of Gilbert is discernible in a vein of British comedy that runs through John Betjeman's verse via Monty Python and Private Eye to... television series like Yes, Minister... where the emphasis is on wit, irony, and poking fun at the establishment from within it in a way which manages to be both disrespectful of authority and yet cosily comfortable and urbane. „

—Oh Joy! Oh Rapture! The Enduring Phenomenon of Gilbert and Sullivan ISBN 0195167007

[edit] Politics, government, and law

Political parody celebrating the bicentennial of Albany, New York
Political parody celebrating the bicentennial of Albany, New York

It is not surprising, given the focus of Gilbert on politics, that politicians, cartoonists and political pundits have often found inspiration in these works.[14] The phrase "A short, sharp shock," from the Act I song "I am so proud" in The Mikado, has been used in political manifestoes. Likewise "Let the punishment fit the crime," from the title character's Act II song, is particularly mentioned in the course of British political debates. Political humour based on Gilbert and Sullivan's style and characters continues to be written.[15]

U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist added gold stripes to his judicial robes after seeing them used by the Lord Chancellor in a production of Iolanthe,[16] while Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer, on the other side of the Atlantic, objected so strongly to Iolanthe's comic portrayal of Lord Chancellors (like himself) that he supported moves to disband the office.[2] British politicians, beyond quoting some of the more famous lines, have also delivered speeches in the form of Gilbert and Sullivan parodies. These include Conservative Peter Lilley's pastiche of "I've got a little list" from The Mikado, listing those he was against, including "sponging socialists" and "young ladies who get pregnant just to jump the housing queue".[2]

Other government references include postage stamps issued to memorialize the operas and various other uses by government entities. For instance, the arms granted to the municipal borough of Penzance in 1934 contain a pirate dressed in Gilbert's original costuming, and Penzance had a rugby team called the Penzance Pirates, which is now called the Cornish Pirates.

The law, judges, and lawyers are frequently subjects in the operas (Gilbert briefly practiced as a lawyer), and the operas have been quoted and otherwise mentioned in a large number of legal rulings and opinions.[17] Some courts appear to reach approximately the same conclusions as Gilbert and Sullivan: "Where does this extraordinary situation leave the lower... Courts and State Courts in their required effort to apply the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States...? Like the policeman in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance," their 'lot is not a happy one.'"[18] A few refer to the law as shown in Gilbert and Sullivan as being archaic.[19]

The pronouncements of the Lord Chancellor in "Iolanthe" appear to be a particular favourite in legal quotations.[20] One U.S. Supreme Court case even discussed a contempt citation imposed on a pro se defendant who, among other conduct, compared the judge to something out of Gilbert and Sullivan.[21]

[edit] Phrases from the operas

Aside from politics, the phrase "A short, sharp shock" has appeared in titles of books and songs (most notably in samples of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"). Likewise "Let the punishment fit the crime" is an often-used phrase in popular media. For instance, in episode 80 of the television series Magnum, P.I., entitled "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime," Higgins prepares to direct a selection of pieces from The Mikado to be staged at the Estate.[22] The phrase and the Mikado's song also are featured in the Dad's Army episode, "A Soldier's Farewell." In the movie The Parent Trap (1961) the camp director Miss Finch quotes the same phrase before sentencing the twins to the isolation cabin together.

[edit] Songs and parodies

The works of Gilbert and Sullivan, filled as they are with parodies of their contemporary culture, are themselves frequently parodied or pastiched.[23] A notable example of this is Tom Lehrer's The Elements, which consists of Lehrer's rhyming rendition of the names of all the chemical elements set to the music of the "Major-General's Song" from Pirates. Lehrer also includes a verse parodying a G&S finale in his patchwork of stylistic creations Clementine ("full of words and music and signifying nothing", as Lehrer put it, thus parodying G&S and Shakespeare in the same sentence).[24]

Allan Sherman sang several parodies and pastiches of Gilbert and Sullivan songs:

  • I'm called Little Butterball (about Sherman's admitted corpulence, based on a song from H.M.S. Pinafore)
  • When I was a lad I went to Yale (about a young advertising agent, based on the patter song from H.M.S. Pinafore - at the end, he thanks old Yale, he thanks the Lord, and he thanks his father "who is chairman of the board")
  • You need an analyst, a psychoanalyst (a variant on "I've got a little list" from The Mikado presenting reasons why one might want to seek psychiatric help).
  • Titwillow - a parody of the song from The Mikado, in which the bird sings with a stereotypical Yiddish accent. Sherman is so impressed by the bird's singing that he takes him "down from his branch", and home "to mein shplit-level ranch". His wife, "Blanch", misinterprets the gift and fricassees the bird, whose last words are, "Oy! Willow! Tit-willow! Willow!"

Anna Russell performed a parody called "How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera."[25] The Two Ronnies' Gilbert and Sullivan parodies include their 1973 Christmas special.[26] In addition, numerous G&S song parodies and other references to G&S are made in the animated TV series, Animaniacs, such as the "HMS Yakko" episode, which includes its well-known parody of the Major-General's Song, "I Am the Very Model of a Cartoon Individual", as well as pastiches of "With Cat Like Tread" (Pirates) and "I am the Captain of the Pinafore" and "Never Mind the Why and Wherefore" (H.M.S. Pinafore)[27] Animaniacs also presented a version of "Three Little Maids" used as an audition piece in the episode Hello Nice Warners. Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck as the Three Musketeers used music from The Pirates of Penzance and the overture to Princess Ida[28]; In 2002 Youthopera.com did a pastiche of G&S music in their The Princess and the Pea (see this YouTube clip).</ref>

Gilbert and Sullivan songs are sometimes used in popular music. The popular song, "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here," is set to the tune of "With cat-like tread" from The Pirates of Penzance (in particular, the segment that starts, "Come, friends who plough the sea." The musical group Peter, Paul and Mary included the song, "I have a song to sing, O!" from The Yeomen of the Guard on one of their children's albums, Peter, Paul and Mommy (1969). In addition, the songs are often used in advertising. For example, Gimbels department store had a campaign sung to the tune of the Major-General's Song that began, "We are the very model of a modern big department store."[29] The song, "My eyes are fully open," (with some changed lyrics) is used in Papp's Broadway production of The Pirates of Penzance (1980-81), and the tune of the song is also used as "The Speed Test" in the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002).

[edit] Other references to songs in The Mikado

In The Producers, a terrible auditioner for the musical Springtime for Hitler begins his audition with Nanki-Poo's song, "A Wand'ring Minstrel I." After only nine words, the director cuts him off abruptly, saying "THANK YOU!" In at least two episodes of Blackadder Goes Forth, parts of "A Wand'ring Minstrel I" are played. The movie poster for The Little Shop of Horrors, shown to the right, parodies the song title, "The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring," changing the word "bloom" to "kill".

References to "Three Little Maids":

  • In the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, Harold Abrahams first sees his future wife as one of the Three Little Maids. Also, the song is featured in the soundtrack to the 1999 Anthony Edwards film Don't Go Breaking My Heart.[30]
  • The Capitol Steps also performed a parody entitled "Three Little Kurds from School Are We" about conditions in Iraq.

References to "Tit-Willow" ("On a tree by a river"): Allan Sherman's parody is described above. In one of his appearances on The Dick Cavett Show, Groucho Marx and Cavett sang the song. Groucho interrupted at the line "...and if you remain callous and obdurate, I shall perish as he did..." to quiz the audience on the meaning of the word "obdurate". The song is featured in the 2003 TV movie And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself.[31] An episode of Perry Como's TV show did a parody titled "Golf Widow". A Muppet Show episode featured Rowlf the Dog singing, with the refrain "Oh, willow, tit-willow, tit-willow" being spoken, under protest, by Sam the Eagle. The song is played during the film Music for Ladies in Retirement (1941)[32]

References to the "Little List" song: Sherman also did a variant on the song, described above. In a Eureeka's Castle Christmas special called "Just Put it on the List," the twins, Bogg and Quagmire, describe what they'd like for Christmas to the tune of the song.

References to "The sun whose rays": In addition to the poignant inclusion of the song near the end of Topsy-Turvy (1999; see below), the song has been heard in numerous film and TV soundtracks, including in the 2006 films The Zodiac and Brick and the UK TV series Lilies, in the 2007 episode "The Tallyman."[30]

[edit] Other references to songs in H.M.S. Pinafore

Songs from Pinafore are featured in a number of films. "When I Was A Lad" is sung by characters in the 2003 fantasy movie Peter Pan; "A British Tar" is sung in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); "For he is an Englishman" is sung in Chariots of Fire (1981), and "I'm Called Little Buttercup" is sung in The Good Shepherd (2006).

Songs from Pinafore are also pastiched or referenced in television episodes, including episode #3 of Animaniacs, "HMS Yakko"; "Cape Feare" episode of The Simpsons; Family Guy's episode 3.1 "The Thin White Line," among others; and the Leave it to Beaver episode "The Boat Builders." "For he is an Englishman" is referenced both in the title's name and throughout The West Wing episode "And It's Surely To Their Credit".

[edit] Other references to songs in The Pirates of Penzance

The Major-General's Song is frequently parodied, pastiched and used in advertising. Its challenging patter has proved interesting to comics, as noted above, and has been used in numerous film and televistion pastiches. In many instances, the song, unchanged, is simply used in a film or on television as a character's audition piece, or seen in a "school play" scene. For example, in Kate and Leopold, Leopold sings the song while accompanying himself on the piano. Likewise, in the Two and a Half Men episode "And the Plot Moistens" (Season 3, Episode 21), Alan sings a verse of the song to persuade Jake to join the school musical. Similarly, in season 2 of Slings & Arrows, Richard Smith-Jones uses the song to audition for the festival's musical. likewise, in the Mad About You episode "Moody Blues," Paul directs a charity production of Penzance staring his father, Burt, as the Major-General. Parts of rehearsal and performance of the song are shown. When the lyrics slip Burt's mind, he improvises a few lines about his son. The song is heard in the 2005 film Beautiful.[30]

Other examples of television renditions of the song, in addition to the Animaniacs example mentioned above, include The Muppet Show (season 3, episode 61),[33] which staged a duet of the song with guest host and commedienne Gilda Radner and a six-foot tall talking carrot. Radner was said to have requested a six-foot tall talking parrot, but was misheard. In an episode of "Home Improvement", Al Borland, thinking he was in a sound-proof booth, belts out the first stanza but is heard by everyone. Others include the Babylon 5 episode "Atonement"; the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Disaster; the episode of Frasier titled Fathers and Sons; the episode of The Simpsons entitled "Deep Space Homer"; two VeggieTales episodes: "The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment" and "A Snoodle's Tale"; and the Married With Children episode "Peggy and the Pirates" (Season 7, Episode 18).

Parodies or pastiches of the song in television programs have included, the computer-animated series ReBoot ended its third season with a recap of the entire season, set to the song's tune. The Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip episode "The Cold Open" (2006), the cast of Studio 60 opens with a parody: "We'll be the very model of a modern network TV show...." In the Doctor Who Big Finish Productions audio, Doctor Who and the Pirates, the Doctor sings, "I am the very model of a Gallifreyan buccaneer" (and other songs, from Pirates, Pinafore and Ruddigore, are parodied). When he hosted Saturday Night Live, David Hyde Pierce's monologue was a parody of the song. In The Wild Thornberrys episode "Sir Nigel," Nigel Thornberry sings a song about the family to the tune of the song. In an episode of Pinky and The Brain, The Brain sings a typically megalomaniacal parody of the song. In Scrubs episode "My Musical" (Season 6, Episode 6), the song is parodied as Dr. Cox sings about why he hates J.D.

Other songs from Pirates that have been referenced frequently include the chorus of With cat-like tread, which begins "Come, friends, who plough the sea," which was used in the popular American song, "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here," popularized by Fred Astaire. For instance, the song is featured in Chariots of Fire (discussed in more detail below). The song was also pastiched in an episode of Animaniacs in a song about surfing a whale. In the movie "An American Tail," Fievel huddles over a copy of the score to "Poor Wandering One," and as he wanders the streets of New York, the song plays in the background. The theme song of the cartoon character Popeye bears some similarity to "For I am a Pirate King". That song is heard on the soundtrack of the 2000 film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells.[30] "Ah, leave me not to pine alone" is featured on the soundtrack of the sentimental 1998 British film Girls' Night[30] as well as the 1997 film Wilde.[27]

[edit] Literature

In addition to reminiscences, picture books and music books by performers, conductors and others connected with, or simply about, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, the Light Opera of Manhattan, the J. C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company and other Gilbert and Sullivan repertory companies,[34] numerous fictional works have been written using the G&S operas as background or imagining the lives of historical or fictional G&S performers. A recent example is Bernard Lockett's Here's a State of Things, a historical novel that intertwines the lives of two sets of London characters, a hundred years apart, but both connected with the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.[35] Similarly, in The Getaway Blues by William Murray, the main character names all his racehorses after Gilbert and Sullivan characters and constantly quotes G&S.[36]

P. G. Wodehouse makes dozens of references to Gilbert and Sullivan in his works.[37] Wodehouse sometimes referred to Gilbert at length,[38] and he based his PSmith character on Rupert D'Oyly Carte or his brother.

Several mysteries include a G&S theme, including Death of a Pooh-Bah by Karen Sturges; The Ghost's High Noon by John Dickson Carr, which quotes the song of the same name from Ruddigore; The Plain Old Man by Charlotte MacLeod, concerning a production of The Sorcerer; Murder and Sullivan by Sarah Hoskinson Frommer, which involves a production of Ruddigore; Ruddy Gore by Kerry Greenwood concerns murders taking place during a 1920s revival of the opera; and The West End Horror, by Nicholas Meyer, a Sherlock Holmes pastiche involving the murder of a member of the ladies' chorus in The Grand Duke. The Dalziel and Pascoe books of Reginald Hill contain many references to G&S. One of the recurring characters, Sergeant Wield is a G & S fan. In the Ruth Rendell mysteries, Chief Inspector Wexford likes to sing G&S in the shower.

Science fiction author Isaac Asimov, a fan of Gilbert & Sullivan, was fascinated by some of the paradoxes that occur in their works and mysteries surrounding their manuscripts. He wrote several stories exploring these, including one about a time-traveller who goes back in time to save the score to Thespis. [39] Another, called "The Year of the Action," concerns whether the action of Pirates took place on March 1, 1873, or March 1, 1877. That is, did Gilbert forget, or not know, that 1900 was not a leap year? In "Runaround", a story in I, Robot, a robot, while in a state similar to drunkenness, sings snippets of "There Grew a Little Flower" (from Ruddigore), "I'm Called Little Buttercup" (from Pinafore), "When I First Put This Uniform On" (from Patience), and "The Nightmare Song" (from Iolanthe). He also wrote a short story called The Up-To-Date Sorcerer that is a parody of and homage to The Sorcerer. In addition, Asimov wrote "The Author's Ordeal, lyrics to a song included in his collection of short stories Earth Is Room Enough. The lyrics imitate a patter song similar to the Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song from Iolanthe, depicting the agonies that Asimov went through in thinking up a new science fiction story.

[edit] Film

Aside from adaptations, several films have treated the G&S partnership.[40] Mike Leigh's film Topsy-Turvy (1999) is an award-winning film depiction of the team and the creation of their most popular opera, The Mikado. Another G&S film is the 1953 The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (or The Great Gilbert and Sullivan in the U.S.), starring Robert Morley as Gilbert and Maurice Evans as Sullivan, with Martyn Green as George Grossmith. Specific film versions of the operas have included a 1926 D'Oyly Carte Opera Company short promotional film that featured some of the most famous Savoyards, including Darrell Fancourt, Henry Lytton, Leo Sheffield, Elsie Griffin, and Bertha Lewis.[41] In 1939, Universal Pictures released a ninety-minute technicolor film adaptation of The Mikado.[42] The film stars Martyn Green as Ko-Ko and Sydney Granville as Pooh-Bah. The music was conducted by Geoffrey Toye, who was also credited with the adaptation. William V. Skall received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. Also, in 1966, the D'Oyly Carte produced a film version of The Mikado, which showed much of their traditional staging at the time, although there are some minor cuts.

Several film scores draw heavily on the G&S repertoire, including The Matchmaker (1958; featuring Pinafore and Mikado music), I Could Go On Singing (1963; featuring Pinafore music), The Naughty Victorians (1975), The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978; the score features many excerpts from The Mikado), Chariots of Fire (1981), The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1989; using several G&S themes), The Browning Version (1994; features music from The Mikado), and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (1992; featuring songs from Pinafore and Pirates). Chariots involves a character who was a member of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and features "He is an Englishman" (H.M.S. Pinafore), "Three Little Maids from School Are We" (The Mikado), "With Catlike Tread" (Pirates), "The Soldiers of Our Queen" (Patience), and "There Lived a King" (The Gondoliers). In The Naughty Victorians, an X-rated film subtitled A Man with a Maid, the entire score is G&S music, and many musical puns are made, with the G&S music underlining the dialogue appropriately for those familiar with G&S.[43][44]

In other films, characters sing songs from the operas. In Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), Picard, Worf and Data sing "A British Tar" from Pinafore. In Kate and Leopold (2001), among other Pirates references, Leopold sings the "Major-General's Song," accompanying himself on the piano. In The Good Shepherd (2006), Matt Damon's character sings Little Buttercup's song falsetto in an all-male version of Pinafore at Yale University. In another Matt Damon film, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), the song "We're Called Gondolieri" is featured in the soundtrack.[30] In Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Sallah sings Pinafore tunes. In the 2003 fantasy movie Peter Pan, the Darling family sings "When I Was A Lad". The 1969 film Age of Consent featured the song "Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes" from The Gondoliers. In The White Countess (2005), the overture to H.M.S. Pinafore is used in the soundrack.[45]

In a number of films, a significant part of the action is set during a G&S opera. Foul Play (1978) features an assassination attempt that culminates during a showing of The Mikado. The thwarted assassin falls into the rigging used as a backdrop for H.M.S. Pinafore. Similarly, in Walt Disney's cartoon Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004), the finale occurs at the Paris Opera during a G&S performance. The score features "With cat-like tread", "The Major General's Song", "Climbing over rocky mountain", "Poor wandering one", and the overture from Princess Ida and a performance of The Pirates of Penzance that becomes the setting for the climactic battle between the Musketeers and Captain Pete.

In other films, there have simply been prominent references to one or more of the operas. For instance, in Pretty Woman, Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) covered a social gaffe by prostitute Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts), who said that the opera La Traviata was so good that she almost "peed in [her] pants" by saying that she had said that she liked it almost as much as "The Pirates of Penzance." In Making Love (1982), Michael Ontkean and Kate Jackson are a happy G&S-loving couple until he leaves her for another man (Harry Hamlin).

[edit] Television

Gilbert and Sullivan, and songs from the operas, have been referenced in numerous TV series, including many The Simpsons episodes, including "Cape Feare", "Deep Space Homer", and "Bart's Inner Child"; numerous Frasier episodes; "Conviction", an Angel episode in the fifth season where Charles Gunn becomes a good lawyer, and learns a lot of G&S, because it's "great for elocution"; numerous references in Animaniacs; numerous references in The West Wing (in particular by Deputy Communications Director, Sam Seaborn); the episode "The Cold Open" (1x02) of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; the episode "Atonement" of Babylon 5; in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, Harold Bishop often makes G&S references; references in the VeggieTales episodes "Lyle the Kindly Viking," "The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment," "The Star of Christmas" (a Christmas special entirely devoted to spoofing G&S and their operas), and "Sumo of the Opera"; Family Guy referred to and parodied G&S a number of times, especially in season four (beside the examples named above and below, see episode 4.20, "Patriot Games," which includes the song from The Sorcerer, "If you'll marry me"). In the UK series Lilies, in the 2007 episode "The Tallyman" both "When I Was a Lad" and "The Sun Whose Rays" are heard.[46] Muppet Wiki has a G&S page.[47]

The following television examples of references to some of the best-known G&S operas include:

  • H.M.S. Pinafore: In the "Cape Feare" episode of The Simpsons, Bart stalls his would-be killer, Sideshow Bob, with a "final request" that Bob sing him the entire score of Pinafore; the first story of episode #3 of Animaniacs ("HMS Yakko") parodies Pinafore; a Pinky and the Brain song called Meticulous Analysis of History is set to the tune of "When I was a lad"; the "Lord Bravery" theme song in Freakazoid uses the tune from the chorus of "A British Tar"; Family Guy's Stewie, in episode 3.1, "The Thin White Line," Stewie imagines himself to be a sea captain and sings a parody of "My gallant crew" implying that he sleeps with his crew. In the film, Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, Stewie gives sex lessons by singing "I am the monarch of the sea" to illustrate rhythm. The scene is repeated in episode 4.30, "Stu and Stewie's Excellent Adventure."
  • Pirates: In addition to those already mentioned above, in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a poster from "The Pirates of Penzance" hangs on Matt Albie's (Matthew Perry) office wall. In Family Guy episode 4.11, "Peter's Got Woods," Brian sings "Sighing softly to the river."

[edit] Other media

The operas are also referred to in video games. For example, in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a casino is called "Pirates in Men’s Pants", a crude play on Pirates of Penzance. In addition trading cards were created, using images from some of the operas, that advertised various products.[48]

Both Nelson Eddy and Danny Kaye recorded albums of selections from the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The 1970s popular music singer Gilbert O'Sullivan adopted his stage name as a pun on 'Gilbert and Sullivan'.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b See Bradley, Ian Oh Joy! Oh Rapture! The Enduring Phenomenon of Gilbert and Sullivan Oxford University Press (2005), Chapter 1. ISBN 0195167007 and this article at the musicals101 website
  2. ^ a b c Green, Edward. "Ballads, songs, and speeches" (sic). BBC, 20 September 2004. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
  3. ^ Lawrence, Arthur H. "An illustrated interview with Sir Arthur Sullivan" Part 3, from The Strand Magazine, Vol. xiv, No.84 (December 1897). Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
  4. ^ American print advertisements using G&S characters and themes seen here and here
  5. ^ In addition, adaptations and parody versions of G&S shows, such as The Swing Mikado, have been popular in their own right.
  6. ^ Fishman, Stephen. The Public Domain: How to Find Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More, Ch. 1. Nolo Press. 3rd ed., 2006.
  7. ^ a b Downs, Peter. "Actors Cast Away Cares". Hartford Courant, October 18, 2006. Available for a fee at courant.com archives.
  8. ^ PG Wodehouse(1881–1975) guardian.co.uk, retrieved on 2007-05-21
  9. ^ Lesson 35 — Cole Porter: You're the Top. PBS.org, American Masters for Teachers, Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
  10. ^ Furia, Phillip. Ira Gershwin: The Art of a Lyricist Oxford University Press, Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
  11. ^ Noting W. S. Gilbert's influence on Wodehouse and the Gershwins
  12. ^ "G&S in the USA" at the musicals101 website
  13. ^ The Noel Coward Song Book, (London: Methuen, 1953), p.9.
  14. ^ Collection of political cartoons based on G&S themes
  15. ^ See, e.g., this Daily Mail editorial piece, dated June 29, 2007
  16. ^ Sporting stripes set Rehnquist apart, Sept. 4, 2005, Journal Sentinel Online. Downloaded 26 May 2007.
  17. ^ See, for example, Allied Chemical Corp. v. Daiflon, Inc., 449 U.S. 33, 36 (1980) (Noting that courts' attitudes toward writs of mandamus approximates "What never? Well, hardly ever."); U.S. v. Weaver, 1992 U.S. App. Lexis 14552, 27 (4th Cir. 1992): "Throughout history, the object of sentencing has been 'to let the punishment fit the crime'"; De Sole v. United States, 947 F.2d 1169, 1176 (4th Cir. 1991) ("It, therefore, is instructive to take a lesson from the law described by Gilbert and Sullivan as that of the monarch of the sea."); Borer v. American Airlines, Inc., 19 Cal.3d 441 (1977) ("The majority raise the spectre of liability not only to the victim's spouse but also to a Gilbert and Sullivan parade of 'his sisters and his cousins, whom he reckons up by dozens'", Dissent of Justice Mosk); Ayers v. Landow, 666 A.2d 51, 57 (D.C. 1995) (referring to the Mikado’s "disfavored 'billiard sharp'"); and Gallimore v. Children's Hosp. Med. Center, 67 Ohio St. 3d 244, 252 (1993) (limiting consortium damages to parents only, not "a Gilbert and Sullivan cavalcade of 'his sisters and his cousins... and his aunts'").
  18. ^ Wagonheim v. Maryland State Board of Censors, 255 Md. 297, 321 (1969); see also Banks v. District of Columbia Dep’t of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs, 634 A.2d 433, 441 fn. 1 (D.C. 1993) (citing Ruddigore’s admonition to "blow your own trumpet"); In re Stevens, 119 Cal.App.4th 1228, 15 Cal.Rptr.3d 168 (2d Dist. 2004) ("a felon's 'capacity for innocent enjoyment' is just as great as any honest man's.")
  19. ^ E.g., Askew v. Askew, 22 Cal.App.4th 942 (4th Dist. 1994), which uses an extensive reference to Trial By Jury as an introduction to a discussion of suits for breach of promise and "the potential for abuse inherent in such lawsuits".
  20. ^ See, for example, Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555, 604 (1980) (dissent of Justice Rehnquist); Spriggs v. United States, 962 F. Supp. 68, 69 fn. 1 (E.D. Va. 1997) (disapproving the conduct of a prosecutor after making a plea bargain); and Storch v. Zoning Bd. of Howard County, 267 Md. 476, 485 (1972).
  21. ^ Mayberry v. Pennsylvania, 400 U.S. 455, 457-61 (1971).
  22. ^ See Wikipedia List of Magnum, P.I. episodes and TV.com Magnum, P.I. Episode Guide
  23. ^ Links to reviews and analysis of many G&S parody recordings
  24. ^ Review and analysis of Lehrer's G&S parodies
  25. ^ Review and analysis of Russell's G&S parody
  26. ^ The Two Ronnies' G&S parodies in their 1973 Christmas special
  27. ^ a b Listing of G&S cultural references
  28. ^ YouTube clip of the Mickey Mouse Princess Ida music
  29. ^ One of these ads ran in the New York Times on 27 October 1953 as a full-page advertisement.
  30. ^ a b c d e f W.S. Gilbert at the IBDB database
  31. ^ [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0337824/soundtrack Soundtrack information for And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself
  32. ^ Note about "Tit Willow" in Music for Ladies in Retirement
  33. ^ "tv.com link" Information on Muppet Show from TV.com
  34. ^ A recent example is John Reed's book, Reed, John (2006). Nothing Whatever to Grumble At: His Story, as told to Cynthia Morey. London: Xlibris Corporation.  ISBN 1-4257-0256-2, but examples are too numerous to list
  35. ^ Lockett, Bernard Here's a State of Things, Melrose Books, Ely (2007) ISBN 1-905226-96-9
  36. ^ Murray, William. The Getaway Blues (1990) Bantam ISBN 0553070290
  37. ^ Robinson, Arthur. References to Gilbert & Sullivan in the Works of P. G. Wodehouse. LaGrange College, 2006-12-22. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
  38. ^ Scene from Bring on the Girls (1954)
  39. ^ Asimov, Isaac. "Fair Exchange?", Asimov's SF Adventure Magazine, Davis Publications, Inc., Fall 1978, pp. 56. 
  40. ^ Posters from several G&S-themed films
  41. ^ Information from the G&S Discography
  42. ^ From the G&S Discography
  43. ^ IMDB listing for the film
  44. ^ Information about the film at the G&S Discography
  45. ^ Soundtrack information for The White Countess
  46. ^ The Tallyman soundtrack information
  47. ^ Muppet Wiki's G&S page
  48. ^ See these pages describing G&S trading cards used in advertising: Mikado card and Pinafore card

[edit] External links


v • d • e
Gilbert and Sullivan
The Triumvirate
W. S. Gilbert | Arthur Sullivan | Richard D'Oyly Carte
The Gilbert and Sullivan Operas
Thespis • Trial by Jury • The Sorcerer • H.M.S. Pinafore • The Pirates of Penzance • Patience • Iolanthe • Princess Ida
The Mikado • Ruddigore • The Yeomen of the Guard • The Gondoliers • Utopia, Limited • The Grand Duke
Other Works, People and Related Matters
Other Works by W. S. Gilbert • Other Operas by Arthur Sullivan • Other Music by Arthur Sullivan
People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan • Gilbert and Sullivan performers
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company • Helen Carte • Rupert D'Oyly Carte • Bridget D'Oyly Carte
Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan • International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival