GILBERT AND SULLIVAN
Sir,-As R.D.McE. implies in adio Review (July 19) it is absurd to suggest that copyright law should be waived for Gilbert and Sullivan, but his reference to D’Oyly Carte "routines" calls for comment. This matter of supposed rigid control, which I remember being discussed over 50 years ago, is dealt with at length in the section entitled "The Future: What is the ‘Tradition’?" in Leslie Baily’s Gilbert and Sullivan Book, published in 1952, probably the best work of the kind. Baily says the reiterated belief that nothing whatever has been changed since the early days is fiction and myth. Derek Oldham, one of the later stars, is quoted as saying of Rupert D’Oyly Carte’s chief producer, a man trained under Gilbert, that he was flexible; he would accept fresh ideas, provided they were within the tradition. Every student of the operas knows they have been redréssed from time to time. The Savoy tradition imposes a certain tone or style, and quite rightly. In
mentioning Sheridan and Wilde, R.D.McE. supports Carte, for there, too, style has to be carefully preserved, or disaster will result. Performances of The School for Scandal (for me spread over some 50 years) or The Importance of Being Earnest do not differ in essential style from one generation to another. The Savoy operas and these comedies are perfect artificial works of art, and must be played throughout to a true pitch. "Were Oi Thoi Broide," cited by R.D.McE., is an example of being off pitch. This reminds me of B.E.G.M.’s acidulous comment (June 28) on two episodes of the BBC Gilbert and Sullivan chronicle. Ironically, this appeared during the triumphant Wellington season of the operas. Gilbert’s satire may be "miniscule" compared with that of Dickens (though why bring in Dickens?), but Gilbert continues to be a household word throughout the English-speaking world. Sullivan is said to be "very small beer beside his European contemporaries." What contemporaries? What kind of music are we considering? Like Gilbert, Sullivan goes on delighting millions, and his reputation as a composer is rising. A friend of mine is so much the "perfect Wagnerite" that he has seen The Ring over 20 times, but he admires Sullivan.
VICTORIAN
(Wellington).
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19570816.2.22.3
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 940, 16 August 1957, Page 11
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369GILBERT AND SULLIVAN New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 940, 16 August 1957, Page 11
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