The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan

Edited by Ian Bradley

More comprehensive than any other edition of the Savoy operas
It explains what modern theatregoers find obscure and greatly enhances the enjoyment of these perennially popular works
'Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about G&S here comes another book with even more information to swell the cards of Trivial Pursuit.' Musical Opinion
'a treasure-trove, absorbing even for the G & S non-devotee.' Birmingham Post
'curiously absorbing...superbly edited by Ian Bradley with a succinct but informative introduction to each opera and copiously detailed notes explaining away the wildest fancies of Gilbert's wide-ranging erudition.The approach is scholarly without being heavy-going.' Classical Music
It explains what modern theatregoers find obscure and greatly enhances the enjoyment of these perennially popular works.
Hardback has sold 8700 since publication (9/96).

The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan

Edited by Ian Bradley

Description

The Complete Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan provides the complete text of all the Gilbert & Sullivan operas which are still performed today, together with extensive annotations covering 'lost' songs, alterations and additions, obscure allusions, production points, and comments of interest. Each opera has an introduction which places it in its context, and a potted history of performances up to the present. No other book provides such extensive commentary on the texts of the Savoy Opera nor such a source of innocent merriment to fans of the incomparable Victorian duo.

For each opera, there is a short introduction describing how the work came to be written, and giving its performance history. The text, including stage directions, is given on the right-hand page, and on the left (keyed in by line numbers) are notes. These give such information as the identity of a real-life person appearing or mentioned as a character, wordings that were different in the original edition (the one sent to the Lord Chamberlain for licensing), changes made for the first American performance, glosses on technical terms (e.g. legal terms), literary references, cross-references to similar items in other Savoy operas, comments from first-night critics, and many other things

The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan

Edited by Ian Bradley

The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan

Edited by Ian Bradley

Author Information

Edited by Ian Bradley, Senior Lecturer in Practical Theology in the School of Divinity at the University of St Andrew's

Ian Bradley is an historian and the author of a number of books on 19th century liberalism. He is now a minister of the Church of Scotland, living in St Andrews and Senior Lecturer in Practical Theology in the School of Divinity at the University of St Andrews.

The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan

Edited by Ian Bradley

Reviews and Awards

"a beautifully produced door-stopper of a book." - Times Literary Supplement

"Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about G&S here comes another book with even more information to swell the cards of Trivial Pursuit." - Musical Opinion

"superbly edited by Ian Bradley with a succinct but informative introduction to each opera and copiously detailed notes explaining away the wildest fancies of Gilbert's wide-ranging erudition." - Classical Music

The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan

Edited by Ian Bradley

From Our Blog

Gilbert & Sullivan's D'Oyly Carte memorabilia 'sails' to the British Library

One of classical music's greatest guilty pleasures'the music of Gilbert & Sullivan'celebrated an historic event in late October when the famed D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, the 144 year-old company founded by the team's original producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte, sold some of their last remaining original Gilbert & Sullivan treasures to the British Library.

Posted on December 15, 2015

Read the blog post