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Gilbert and Sullivan : A Dual Biography - Michael Ainger

Gilbert and Sullivan

A Dual Biography

By: Michael Ainger

Hardcover | 13 May 2005

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"A Gilbert is of no use without a Sullivan." With these words, W.S. Gilbert summed up his reasons for persisting in his collaboration with Arthur Sullivan despite the combative nature of their relationship. In fact, Michael Ainger suggests in Gilbert and Sullivan the success of the pair's work is a direct result of their personality clash, as each partner challenged the other to produce his best work. After exhaustive research into the D'Oyly Carte collection of documents, Ainger offers the most detailed account to date of Gilbert and Sullivan's starkly different backgrounds and long working partnership. Having survived an impoverished and insecure childhood, Gilbert flourished as a financially successful theater professional, married happily and established himself as a property owner. His sense of proprietorship extended beyond real estate, and he fought tenaciously to protect the integrity of his musical works. Sullivan, the product of a supportive family who nourished his
talent, was much less satisfied with stability than his collaborator. His creative self-doubts and self-demands led to nervous and physical breakdowns, but it also propelled the team to break the successful mode of their earliest work to produce more ambitious pieces of theater, including The Mikado and The Yeoman of the Guards. Offering previously-unpublished draft libretti and personal letters, this thorough double-biography will be an essential addition to the library of any Gilbert and Sullivan fan.
Industry Reviews
"Gilbert and Sullivan: A Dual Biography is a landmark in the field: simply the best thing of its kind, and a remarkable achievement that we may not live to see bettered. If you read no other book on G&S, you must read Ainger."-- G&S News "A new biography of Gilbert and Sullivan needs to bring something fresh to the table to justify its existence and merit attention. ... Ainger scores in having the benefit of full access to all known Gilbert and Sullivan manuscripts, diaries, letters, and the like, and his biography evinces meticulous research. ...Ainger has conducted valuable research."--Albion "Michael Ainger's book is, on the whole, an impressive achievement, particularly in the marshalling of an enormous quantity of material."--Music and Letters "Gilbert and Sullivan: A Dual Biography" is a landmark in the field: simply the best thing of its kind, and a remarkable achievement that we may not live to see bettered. If you read no other book on G&S, you must read Ainger."-- G&S News

You Can Find This Book In

Non-FictionBiographies & True Stories BiographiesArts & Entertainment BiographiesArts & EntertainmentMusicMusic Styles & GenresMusicalsWestern Classical Music & OperaOperaIndividual Composers & Musicians, Specific Bands & GroupsActing & Theatre Studies

Other Editions and Formats

Paperback

Published: 23rd February 2009

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